Online Gambling - Sportsbooks

Shad
January 28, 2010

This Saturday January 30th, Strikeforce heads to Miami for a welterweight championship bout between Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis.

BetUS has odds on this event, starting with the main event at -260 Nick Diaz to +200 Marius Zaromskis. This is hardly surprising given Nick Diaz’s record and reputation. While his performance in the UFC was mixed, he has been consistently successful against fighters outside that organization. His two Strikeforce victories were against Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith, who are well-known fighters. Shamrock is a legend of the sport, though far past his prime, and Scott Smith recently defeated former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Cung Le. Victories over such tough competitors prove that Nick Diaz is a very dangerous combatant, who’ll take the fight wherever he needs it to go in order to finish it.

Marius Zaromskis will be stepping into his first Strikeforce fight with this event. He’s coming from the DREAM promotion in Japan, where he won the first DREAM Welterweight GP. He has a knack for taking off heads with his powerful kicks, having scored his last three victories in that manner. With a record of 16-3 and a 5-fight win streak, you’d be forgiven for thinking such a fighter would have the advantage. In this case, though, Diaz also has a 5-fight streak against solid competition, and this is the first time Zaromskis is fighting in an American promotion. Until now, all of his fights have been in Lithuania, England, or Japan. Diaz could just be too big a step-up in competition.

Another major fight on this card is a women’s lightweight championship bout between Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Marloes Coenen. BetUS has the fight at -550 Santos to +375 Coenen. The outcome of this fight is almost a given. Santos is easily one of the best female MMA fighters in the world, and the only fighters that would really pose problems for her are in Japan, where she would get much less exposure. Coenen has a lot of experience, but Cyborg has overwhelming striking skills that should hand her another victory.

Many are interested in the fight between former running back Herschel Walker and the inexperienced Greg Nagy. BetUS has the fight at -350 Walker to +250 Nagy. Despite this being Walker’s first fight, it is Nagy’s third fight and he is not an athlete on the same level as Herschel Walker. This is Walker’s fight to lose, and it has all the markings of a bout designed to make one fighter very, very good. If Nagy somehow takes it, Walker will have to drop his MMA aspirations or else spend a lot more time training before his next fight.

Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef promises a lot of excitement, and BetUS has the fight at -185 Manhoef to +155 Lawler. It really is a close fight to call, and it could all depend on where the fight ends up. Manhoef has more experience and better striking, but he is somewhat susceptible to submissions. His losses have been to some of the best names in the sport, however, and Robbie Lawler just may not be good enough to finish Manhoef. It’s an interesting match that could have implications for the Strikeforce middleweight title picture.

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