UFC 135 Fight Card: Early Betting Odds and Predictions

When UFC 135 rolls into Denver, it will be the first time they held an event there in nearly 16 years!

Dana White said that they always wanted to go back to Denver but they wanted to do it the right way.  So what better way to do it than with the youngest champion in promotional history?

Jones is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, and Rampage is one of the most intimidating fighters out there.

Then before that, you have former welterweight champion, Matt Hughes, facing off against one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, Diego Sanchez.

There are still a few fights left to be announced for this card, and not all of them have odds yet, but all the ones I found I put in here.

Here are early predictions and lines for UFC 135.

Lightweight Bout: Tony Ferguson vs. Aaron Riley

Tony Ferguson (11-2) will make his second appearance in the UFC when he takes on Aaron Riley (30-12-1).

Ferguson is undefeated since dropping to lightweight, and looks to continue that streak at the hands of Riley.

Riley has been with the UFC since UFC 91, and has gone 3-2, alternating wins and losses. Prior to that, he had been in UFC for two other fights, losing both.

Expect Ferguson to overwhelm Riley and earn the victory.

Prediction: Tony Ferguson by 3rd round TKO

Lightweight Bout: Takanori Gomi vs. Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz will be making his return to the lightweight division against the former Pride Lightweight Champion, Takanori Gomi.

Diaz (13-7) is on a two fight losing streak in the welterweight division, dropping unanimous decisions to Dong Hyun Kim and Rory MacDonald.

Gomi is 1-2 since coming to the UFC, both of his losses coming via submission to Kenny Florian and Clay Guida.

Diaz has some slick jits, and Gomi's weakness has long been submission defense.

Prediction: Nate Diaz by second round submission

Heavyweight Bout: Travis Browne vs. Rob Broughton

Travis Browne (11-0-1) takes on Rob Broughton (15-5-1) in a striker vs. grappler matchup.

Browne comes into this fight off a huge win over Stefan Struve, where he knocked Struve out with a superman punch in the first round of their fight at UFC 130.

Broughton comes into the fight on a five fight win streak, including a third round rear-naked choke victory in his UFC debut over Vinicius Queiroz.

Browne has got 9 of his 11 victories via (T)KO, and seven of those are in the first round, and five of those are in less than one minute.

Expect a quick night, and potential knockout of the night, from Browne.

Prediction: Travis Browne by first round KO

Bantamweight Bout: Damacio Page vs. Norifumi Yamamoto

In a bantamweight matchup, Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto faces off against Damacio Page.

Yamamoto (18-4 [1 NC]) comes into the fight off a disappointing unanimous decision loss to Demetrious Johnson in his UFC debut.

Page comes into the fight, possibly fighting for his UFC livelihood, as he has now lost two in a row (one WEC one UFC), even though both fights were to top tier competition.

Page has never been knocked out in his career, and Yamamoto is a striker, so I wouldn't expect a finish in this one, but I would expect a great fight.

Prediction: Kid Yamamoto via unanimous decision

Welterweight Bout: Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez

In a fight that is sure to produce fireworks, former welterweight champion Matt Hughes (45-8) will be taking on one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC, Diego Sanchez (23-4).

Hughes comes into the fight after losing the third fight of his trilogy with BJ Penn via first round knockout back at UFC 123.  He won't be contending for a title any time soon, but he's going out there and putting on shows for the fans.

Sanchez comes in on a two fight winning streak, with unanimous decisions over Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann.

Prior to that, he had lost a decision to John Hathaway, and a loss to BJ Penn for the lightweight title.

Most people are picking Diego in this one, but I'm going to expect Hughes to be too much for Sanchez, and I'll give him the upset.

Prediction: Matt Hughes via unanimous decision

Diego Sanchez: -180

Matt Hughes: +150

Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Quinton Jackson

In the main event of the evening, the light heavyweight title is on the line, as Jon "Bones" Jones (13-1) faces off against former light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-8).

Jones comes into the fight looking to defend his title for the first time after winning it from Shogun Rua at UFC 128 with a third round TKO finish.  Prior to that, he had won three straight, with none of the fights making it out of the second round.

Rampage earned his title shot by beating Matt Hamill at UFC 130, and getting extremely lucky with timing.

Prior to the win over Hamill, Rampage defeated Lyoto Machida by split decision, and before that he dropped a unanimous decision to Rashad Evans.

Nobody's giving Rampage much of a chance, unless he lands a haymaker, but he's not going to get that luxury in this prediction article.

Prediction: Jon Jones via third round TKO

Jones: -500

Rampage: +350

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