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The folks at BetUS.com are going out on a limb predicting that Kenny Florian wins his bout against BJ Penn in a UFC 101 Saturday night upset.
The American mixed martial artist with a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai comes into this one as a smaller underdog than Forrest Griffin (3/1 odds fighting Anderson Silva) but with decent payout potential. Florian would pay almost $2 for every $1 bet or $190 for every $100 bet if he wins his UFC 101 bout.
Tim Furius of BetUS.com comments:
"Florian is widely remembered as the guy who lost to Diego Sanchez in the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter". What a lot of people fail to recognize is that he hasn't lost in nearly three years. With wins over Roger Huerta and Joe Stevenson, Florian has climbed to an impressive 11-3 SU fight record and now has a chance to legitimize his career against B.J. Penn. The oddsmakers tilt the fight against Florian, pegging him as a +190 underdog in the match.
"Penn's stature as one of the greatest fighter in UFC history took a staggering step backwards when he was throttled by Georges St. Pierre and he needs to desperately win this fight to reinforce the fact that he's the freaking Lightweight Champion. His clout and reputation have him as the favorite at -240, but I never like a fight like this for a guy like Penn. He simply has too much to prove, and I doubt that he can move in the ring with a gigantic monkey on his back."
It's not just the folks from BetUS.com picking Florian as the winner. The fighters themselves are betting on the underdog as well.
The Boston Herald spoke with four of them. Each of the fighters interviewed have fought Florian or Penn, or in some cases both. Some have even spent time training alongside Florian or Penn, giving them an up-close look at each one's preparation and skills.
While three of the fighters interviewed pick Penn, the best of the pack - Georges St. Pierre is going with Florian.
"Trained with Florian in April and June to prepare for tonight's fight; beat Penn via fourth round TKO in January welterweight title fight," St. Pierre points out.
"Since that (Sean) Sherk fight I really changed a lot about the way I approached the game, the way that I train, did a lot of things to really be a professional athlete, be a professional fighter," Florian says.
Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
