MMA PREVIEW AND BETTING ODDS

Fight fans will have to make a choice Saturday Night, February 16th. Fork out 50 bucks to watch the rematch of Jermain Taylor and Kelly Pavlik or watch the MMA match between two street fighters by the names of Tank Abbott and Kimbo Slice.

The Kimbo Slice, Tank Abbott fight certainly has some intrigue. Neither are among the MMA elite, yet this is one of the most anticipated fights in quite awhile. Kimbo Slice is, for all intents and purposes, an internet phenomenon. He has only two MMA fights under his belt against questionable opposition. One opponent being the former boxer, Ray Mercer, who was "old" when he was boxing. He certainly didn't belong in the octagon.

Kimbo Slice made his name street fighting in Miami, and broadcasting his fights on youtube. Just go to youtube.com and do a search for Kimbo Slice. You can view all his fights there. Pay particular attention to his fight against Sean Gannon, a Boston Mass Police Officer. That fight was a loss for Kimbo, mainly due to his inability to deal with the MMA type tactics Gannon used. This is important of course, because this is an MMA fight with Abbot, who has much more experience in the Octagon.

Here are the rules for Slice's street fights -

1.This is not a mixed martial art or a street fight

2.Only punching allowed (no elbows, knees, kicks, etc.)

3.Stand up fighting only

4.No holding or grappling with opponent is allowed

5.If someone is knocked down he has thirty seconds to get up and continue fighting

6.Ways to win are KO, thirty second count out, and if the other guy quits

Those are the rules Kimbo Slice made his name fighting under, against nobody street fighters. It's safe to say that Slice will never be able to compete at the highest level of MMA. A bare knuckle brawler with limited skills is no match for the MMA elite........just ask Tank Abbott. Tank has an official record in the Octagon of 10-13 and has only won 2 of his last 9 fights. Though, like Slice, Tank has well over 200 street fights under his belt.

Tank made a name for himself more because of his fearless style and hard living, than his ability in the ring. Though of the two fighters here, Tank has the better training, having boxed for 13 years and trained as a wrestler since the age of 9.

So, what we have here, is an MMA fight between two fighters with limited MMA ability. A streetfight with official rules is what it boils down to. The purpose of this article of course, is from a betting standpoint. Is there any value to be had wagering in this fight. We think there is, as we think the price on this fight is a little too high.

Bookmaker.com has Kimbo Slice -450 and Tank Abbott +370.

Sportsbook.com has Kimbo Slice -360 and Tank Abbott +280

If you like Tank, bet it at bookmaker

If you like Kimbo, bet it at Sportsbook.com

At +370 we think there is some value with Tank Abbott. It's the equivalent of a boxer who built his record against tomato cans and then is exposed when he steps up in class. It's the unknown that makes the value.

Many believe that Tanks chance is in the first 30 seconds. If he doesn't catch Slice right away, he's dead. But in watching some of Kimbos fights, he tires easily as well.

The bottom line for us here, is that anything can happen in a street fight. While Kimbo may have an edge, we don't think it's an edge worthy of a -450 price tag. Another way of looking at it from a betting standpoint, is if these guys fought 4 times, Abbott would probably win once. If we took +370 in each of the 4 fights, and went 1-3, we'd come out ahead. That's where our value lies.

So put us down for Tank Abbott +370