While the UFC 122 odds lineup may not exactly what MMA fans had in mind after the mega matchup of heavyweights Brock Lesnar and new champ Cain Velasquez in the UFC 121 title match?
And the UFC 122 Main event featuring Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami may not quite have the same ring to as the upcoming Rampage Jackson vs. Lyoto Machida, it’s perhaps not quite the let down that everyone has been making it out to be.
And even if there is no title on the line you can expect a great fight whenever Marquardt steps into the Octogan and his fight with Okami should be no different. It’s a bit anticlimactic as the winner is alleged to get a shot against the reigning middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, the best pound per pound fighter in MMA and perhaps the history of the sport. And unless the sun rises in the West and hell freezes over the winner of this UFC 122 betting Main Event is not going to beat Silva.
But instead of taking a ‘glass half empty’ approach to this bout, fans should see it as a positive scenario. The UFC 122 odds Main Event is actually a de facto middleweight title fight. No one has seriously challenged Silva in the cage since George Bush was in office. In the past half decade that Silva has held the middle weight title he’s won 14 straight fights. No matter who wins the Marquardt vs. Okami fight in the UFC 122 betting action, neither is capable of defeating Silva.
Marquardt (30-9-2) is always a tough matchup and nobody wants to fight this guy, but the fact of the matter is he’s nowhere near Silva’s ability level. The last time these two met in 2007, with the title on the line Silva made mince of him, ending the match with a TKO in the first round.
The same is true of Okami (20-5). He may be able to beat Marquardt in the UFC 122 odds event but he’s not on the same plain as Silva.
One interesting note however, is that Okami is actually the last man on the planet to have beaten Silva, back in January 2006; even if it was because of a an illegal kick DQ from Silva, it’s still something to think about.