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EliteXC Saturday Night Fights
Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith
EliteXC returns this Saturday with the second installment of CBS Saturday Night Fights. The first show left a lot of hardcore MMA fans yearning for more, but this card is pretty solid and should provide be a pretty nice balance for MMA hard cores and newcomers alike. Listed below are the odds for all the matches as well as predictions and analysis on the top matches including Robbie Lawler taking on Scott Smith.
Scheduled to air on CBS:
-Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
-Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson
-Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
-Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg
-Shayna Baszler vs. Cristiane Cyborg Female MMA
This fight pits the submission savvy Shayna Baszler against the relative MMA newcomer Cristiane Cyborg. Cyborg trains with the highly respected Chute Box academy, and has 3 TKO’s to her credit, but I think she is going to have a tough time dealing with Baszler. Baszler is 9-4 and has won every single fight by submission. In her last fight, she submitted Keiko Tamai with a twister, a submission that is more rare in MMA then the gogoplata. Cyborg Santos has not fought since November of 2006, and I think cage rust will play a factor in her bout with Baszler. Baszler will try to take her to the ground and work her submissions from there.
Prediction: Shayna Baszler Submission: Choke Round 1
-Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
After the brothers Diaz got into it with the Noons family at the last EliteXC show, this is a must fight win for Diaz if he wishes to get his shot at Noons lightweight title. The fans want to see this fight badly, especially after we saw Diaz lose by cut in the first bout.
Denny is an experienced veteran in the MMA Game, but he doesn’t throw anything that Diaz hasn’t seen before, and he isn’t going to pose much of a problem to Diaz on the ground. Then again, who does?
A fire has been lit under Nick Diaz. Diaz wants KJ Noons badly, and he has to plow through Thomas Denny to get there.
I don’t think he will have much of a problem doing so. KJ, watch out. Nick Diaz is coming.
Prediction: Nick Diaz KO/TKO Round 2
-Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson
This fight should be pretty good. Jake Shields is one of the best welterweights in the world, and Nick Thompson is right behind him. Nick Thompson is an MMA veteran with 46 fights to his credit. He has a pretty good submission to KO ratio and has only gone to a decision 5 times in his MMA career. Still, Jake Shields is too hot right now. Shields has drawn a lot of criticism for winning a majority of his fights by decision, but he is riding a 9 fight win streak and is really taking it to his opponents lately. Despite the fact that he is finishing his opponents, I don’t think he will finish off Thompson. I think Shields has the tools to take him to a decision and continue to work his way up the ranks as top-tier welterweight.
Prediction: Jake Shields Unanimous Decision
-Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith
The last time these guys met, they fight was stopped unceremoniously when Scott Smith was accidentally poked in the eye by Lawler. The fight was pretty good up until that point, and I personally think that Smith was getting the better of Lawler after round 1. Scott Smith was a 3-1 underdog in the last match, but something tells me the odds will be a little closer this time. Lawler is still the favorite in this match, but I think Scott Smith is going to pull this off. He took a really good beating last time and still out conditioned Lawler in the later rounds of the fight. Lawler’s hands were low and Smith took advantage of that. Smith can absorb a lot of punishment, and dish it out just as hard.
I don’t think Lawler has the gas in his tank to make it past round 3 with Smith, and I think this time we will see a definite finish, and a new EliteXC middleweight champion.
Prediction: Scott Smith TKO/KO Round 4
ELITEXC ODDS
7/26
Visit 5dimes.com for updated odds
Robbie Lawler -250
Scott Smith +190
Antonio Silva -500
Justin Eilers +300
Jake Shields -350
Nick Thompson +275
Nick Diaz -600
Thomas Denny +400
Shayna Baszler -210
Cristiane Santos +170
Wilson Reis -150
Brian Caraway +120
Rafael Cavalcante -500
Travis Galbraith +300