UFC 136 Fight Card: Early Betting Odds and Predictions

The UFC goes to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas for a jam packed night of fights on October 8.

The card will be headlined by two title fights. First, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo defends his title against former lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian.

In the main event, UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar will take on Gray Maynard for the third time. Their highly competitive second bout ended in a draw at UFC 125.

Other fights include Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann, Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens, Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago and Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon.

These are very early odds and predictions for the fights.

Heavyweight Bout: Mike Russow vs. Dave Herman

Mike Russow is 14-1 in MMA and 3-0 in the UFC. He has eight wins by submission, four by knockout and two by decision. He also has one no-contest. His lone loss came by submission.

Dave Herman is 21-2 and 1-0 in the UFC. He has 15 knockouts, five submission victories and one win by decision. His losses came by TKO and disqualification.

Breakdown: I'm predicting a fan-friendly fight in this one. Herman is one of the UFC's most exciting heavyweights and isn't afraid to dig deep to pull out a win. He showed this in his debut versus Jon Olav Einemo.

Russow is a very experienced fighter and is a crafty submission specialist. If he can get the fight to the ground, he has a very good chance of winning. He also displayed a very good chin in his fight versus Todd Duffee. That will definitely help here.

Prediction: Dave Herman by split decision

Lightweight Bout: Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon

Melvin Guillard is 29-8-2 in MMA with one no-contest and 11-4 in the UFC. He has 19 victories by knockout, two by submission and eight by decision. His losses have come by submission seven times and decision once.

Joe Lauzon is 20-6 overall with a 7-3 UFC record. Four wins have come by knockout while 16 have come by submission. His losses include two knockouts, three submissions and one decision.

Breakdown: Guillard is on a five-fight win streak and has a ton of momentum behind him. Lauzon also had an impressive victory in his last fight but can he capitalize on the momentum when he has failed to do so in the past? Lauzon has been hot and cold in his last seven or eight bouts and that makes Guillard the favorite here.

Both are very aggressive early and this one might not make it very far. If it goes past the second, I would favor Lauzon by submission although he hasn't shown to be the most successful fighter in the later rounds of past fights. Guillard also has new and improved takedown defense and has Greg Jackson in his corner to help him establish a game plan he can execute to get the victory.

Prediction: Melvin Guillard by TKO in the second

Lightweight Bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens

Jeremy Stephens comes into this bout with a 20-6 record, including 14 wins by knockout, three by submission and three by decision. He has a 7-5 record in the UFC. His losses are split at three by submission and three by decision.

Anthony Pettis is 13-2 in MMA and 0-1 in the UFC. He has five victories by knockout, six by submission and two by decision. Both of his losses have come by decision.

Breakdown: This could be a war, and that makes it very dangerous for both fighters. It could have a very unexpected outcome as many of their fights have had before. It will probably be fought exclusively on the feet but both can take it to the mat if they find themselves getting in trouble.

Pettis is better suited on the feet where he can utilize his wide array of kicks. Big power advantage goes to Stephens as well, but Pettis is the better technical fighter. Pettis will be looking to get his first UFC victory so he may not fight as wild as he has in the past.

Prediction: Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision

Middleweight Bout: Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago

Demian Maia is 14-3 in MMA and 8-3 in the UFC. He has eight victories by submission and four by decision. Only two knockouts to his credit. His losses include one by knockout and two by decision.

Jorge Santiago is 23-9 and 1-3 in the UFC. All three of his losses in the UFC have come by knockout. He has nine wins by knockout and 12 by submission.

Breakdown: Maia fought a very competitive fight versus Mark Munoz in his last fight and showed a lot of improvement in his striking. Santiago was knocked out by Brian Stann in the first fight of his comeback to the UFC. Both will be looking to get back on the winning track, and Santiago knows he needs the win to stay in the UFC.

Santiago has never been submitted in his career and that's where Maia shines. I expect Maia to do what he has done before in fights with good grapplers and keep this fight on the feet. Santiago is no slouch there as well. He has very good Muay Thai and could possibly upset Maia.

Prediction: Demian Maia by unanimous decision

Middleweight Bout: Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann

Odds: Chael Sonnen -250 / Brian Stann +190

Chael Sonnen is 25-11-1 in MMA and 4-4 in the UFC. He has 15 wins by submission, seven by knockout and three by submission. Eight of his losses have come by submission.

Brian Stann is 11-3 in MMA and 5-2 in the UFC. He has eight victories by knockout, one by submission and two by decision. He has one loss each by submission, knockout and decision.

Breakdown: Sonnen is the favorite here, and it's not entirely hard to see why. Stann has showed considerable improvement in his game since making his UFC debut, but Sonnen holds an advantage over him in wrestling, which may ultimately determine the outcome of the fight. Stann doesn't have the jiu-jitsu skills from the bottom to really threaten Sonnen off his back.

Sonnen has a good enough chin to make it through the power Stann possesses but he can leave himself open with his aggressive attack. Both are extremely tough and competitive so this could turn out to be an interesting fight if Stann can avoid the takedown.

Prediction: Chael Sonnen wins via unanimous decision

Featherweight Championship Bout: José Aldo (c) vs. Kenny Florian

UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo is 19-1 in MMA and 1-0 in the UFC. He has 12 victories by knockout, two by submission and five by decision. His lone loss is by submission.

Kenny Florian is 15-5 in MMA and 12-4 in the UFC. He has 10 victories by submission, two by knockout and three by decision. His losses are one by submission, one by knockout and three by decision.

Breakdown: Florian will hold an advantage over Aldo in big fight experience but not in winning them. In his two championship bouts and The Ultimate Fighter finale, he has lost every time. He may have the BJJ advantage as well but Aldo is good on the ground. Aldo just doesn't show it.

Aldo had a tough weight cut in his last fight, and it made him look a lot more vulnerable then he may really be. Still, he dominated his opponent to win a unanimous decision while being in bad shape.

If Aldo can keep this on the feet and comes into this fight prepared, he has a very good chance of knocking Florian out early. Depending on what Florian's game plan is, and he may have plans of taking this the distance, he will need to be ready from the opening bell to the last. Aldo's aggression may be the key to him getting a early victory.

Prediction: Jose Aldo wins by TKO in the second round

Lightweight Championship Bout: Frankie Edgar (c) vs. Gray Maynard

Odds: Gray Maynard +125/ Edgar -155

Frankie Edgar comes into this fight 13-1-1 in MMA and 8-1-1 in the UFC. He has two wins by knockout, three by submission and eight by decision. His only loss is by decision.

Gray Maynard is 10-0-1 in MMA and 8-0-1 in the UFC. He has one no-contest as well. Eight of his wins have come by decision while two have come by knockout.

Breakdown: Edgar showed amazing durability in the second fight; and while he was almost knocked out, it's a good guarantee he won't make the same mistake twice.

Just as he showed from the first to second fight against BJ Penn, expect him to show considerable improvement in his overall game from the second to third fight with Maynard.

Many had given Maynard the wrestling advantage going into the second bout, but I think Edgar has the edge there this time around. They are both very technical boxers but Edgar is the faster of the two while Maynard is the more powerful. I think Maynard will need a knockout to win this one.

You could have made the argument he lost four of the five rounds in the first bout, and that's not enough to give him the edge in this one if it goes the distance. Expect Edgar to look better than ever as he usually does in all of his rematches.

Prediction: Frankie Edgar wins a unanimous decision