UFC 139: Betting Odds and Predictions for Saturday's Fight Card

This Saturday's UFC 139 in San Jose, Calif., is filled with exciting bouts throughout the entire card.

Seven former world champions will be fighting, with six of them capping off the main event.

Headlining the event will be a light heavyweight bout between former Pride champions Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua.  This will surprisingly be the first time these two legends will have faced each other.

Also on the main card will be a middleweight bout between veterans Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le.

Former WEC champions Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles will face each other in a bantamweight bout with major title implications.  The winner is likely to receive a rematch with current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

Here are all the predictions and some of the betting lines for this stacked event.

Lightweight: Shamar Bailey vs. Danny Castillo

On the preliminary card, lightweight veterans Shamar Bailey and Danny Castillo will duke it out in the first fight of the evening.

Both Castillo and Bailey are coming off hard-fought, unanimous decision losses earlier this year.

Before dropping the decision to Jacob Volkmann in August, Castillo was riding a three-fight win streak that included a knockout of Will Kerr and a big decision win over Joe Stevenson.

Bailey failed to take the win in his return to the lightweight division, losing to Evan Dunham back in September.

The Ultimate Fighter alum is 0-2 as a lightweight and has two technical knockout losses on his record.  Castillo is definitely the better striker and should use it to his advantage during this fight.

Prediction: Castillo via first-round TKO

Welterweight: Matt Brown vs. Seth Bacynski

Seth Bacynski has been on a roll since dropping his first bout in the UFC, winning three in a row, including a submission win over Clay Harvison in his return to the Octagon.

An avid submission artist, Bacynski has won nine of his 14 fights by tapout.

Matt Brown is coming off a big win over John "Doomsday" Howard in June, snapping a three-fight losing streak.  All three of those losses were by second-round submissions, losing most notably to Ricardo Almeida and Chris Lytle.

With that in mind, if this fight goes to the ground, Bacynski should have no problem finishing Brown.

Prediction: Bacynski via second-round submission

Bantamweight: Miguel Torres vs. Nick Pace

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will look to get back to his winning ways as he takes on Nick Pace.

Torres was riding a three-fight win streak, including a victory in his UFC debut, before dropping a decision to Demetrius Johnson at UFC 130.

Pace is also coming off his first UFC loss that came at the hands of veteran Ivan Menjivar at UFC 133.

Both fighters are solid submission artists and should neutralize each other on the ground.  Torres is the better striker and should be able to hold his own in the stand-up.

Prediction: Torres via split decision

Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos

These two well-rounded Brazilian lightweights will definitely excite the crowd no matter where this fight goes.

Dos Anjos is coming off a huge, 59-second knockout win over highly touted George Sotiropoulos at UFC 132.  

Tibau is riding a two-fight win streak that includes victories over Kurt Pellegrino and a Submission of the Night win over Rafaello Oliveira.

Both fighters are Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts who also possess solid striking.  But with Tibau's history of submission wins and solid takedowns, he has the edge in this fight.

Prediction: Tibau via second-round submission

Bantamweight: Michael McDonald vs. Alex Soto

At 13-1, Michael McDonald may be the hottest prospect in the bantamweight division.

Riding a six fight win streak coming into Saturday's event, McDonald has not lost since joining the Zuffa family and owns big wins over Cole Escovedo and Edwin Figueroa.

Alex Soto will have a tough challenge in his UFC debut, but the United States Army veteran and former dolphin trainer will definitely be game come this weekend.

The biggest factor here will be experience, as the 6-0-1 Soto has only been fighting professionally since 2009.  

McDonald's exciting style and edge in the experience category should be enough to put away Soto.

Prediction: McDonald via third-round knockout

Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman

Odds: Tom Lawlor +300; Chris Weidman -400

Highly touted middleweight prospect Chris Weidman will take on veteran Tom Lawlor in a bout that will be shown via the UFC's Facebook stream.

Weidman is riding a huge wave of success entering this fight as he is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC after taking the Submission of the Night honors at UFC 131 against Jesse Bongfeldt. In his debut, Weidman dominated veteran Alessio Sakara in March.

Lawlor may have to deal with ring rust as he hasn't fought since UFC 121 in 2010, defeating Patrick Côté.

Weidman's impressive grappling background stemming from his days as a two-time All-American wrestler at Hofstra, and his training under former UFC welterweight champion and Renzo Gracie black belt Matt Serra, will make the difference in this fight.

A win over Lawlor will solidify Weidman as a legitimate prospect.

Prediction: Weidman via first-round submission

Light-Heavyweight: Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz

Odds: Ryan Bader -280; Jason Brilz +210

Both Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz will be fighting for their jobs at UFC 139, as both fighters are currently slumping after two straight losses.

In just 20 seconds, Brilz was knocked out by Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 129, his second straight loss after being on the wrong side of a Fight of the Night performance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Bader's woes have come at the hands of the UFC's bigger names, losing back-to-back via guillotine choke to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz.

After winning the Ultimate Fighter, Bader has shown that he is more than just a wrestler, showcasing his heavy hands against Keith Jardine at UFC 110, where he won via knockout.

Bader has the better all-around skills and the knockout power that Brilz lacks.

Prediction: Bader via second-round knockout

Light-Heavyweight: Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury

Odds: Stephan Bonnar +100; Kyle Kingsbury -130

Like other rising prospects on the card, Kyle Kingsbury will look to show fans that he can hang with the big boys.

Taking on longtime veteran Stephan Bonnar, Kingsbury will try to extend his win streak to five in a row and add a big-name win to his record.

Bonnar has been defeating better known opponents of late, with back-to-back wins over Igor Pokrajac and Krzysztof Soszynski.

However, the surge Kingsbury has been on, as well as his improved skill set, may be enough to take the nod.

Prediction: Kingsbury via unanimous decision

Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story

Odds: Martin Kampmann +115; Rick Story -145

Martin Kampmann will look to rebound from a controversial loss to Diego Sanchez as he takes on Rick Story on Saturday.

Kampmann somehow dropped the decision in a Fight of the Night performance in March when he had dominated Sanchez in every aspect of the fight, but the judges saw fit to award Sanchez's reckless aggression.

Story is coming off a loss to Charlie Brenneman in June and will try to bully Kampmann with his grinding, wrestling style.

He is actually coming into the fight as the favorite because of his past wins over Thiago Alves, Jake Ellenberger and Dustin Hazelett.

However, if Kampmann can keep the fight standing and pick Story apart from a distance, he should be able to reverse his losing ways.

Prediction: Kampmann via split-decision

Bantamweight: Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles

Odds: Brian Bowles +175; Urijah Faber -220

Former WEC champions Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber will try, yet again, to defeat UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz if they come away victorious.

Faber just faced Cruz at UFC 132 in July, unable to repeat his first win over the champion that occurred when both were featherweights.

Bowles has not lost since losing his WEC crown to Cruz at WEC 47 and is a perfect 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Takeya Mizugaki and Damacio Page.

With Faber's wrestling and heavy hands, expect him to pick apart Bowles in the standup and grind away at him from the top if the fight goes to the ground.

Prediction: Faber via split decision

Middleweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le

Odds: Wanderlei Silva +115; Cung Le -145

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le will finally realize his dream of making it to the UFC as he takes on former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva.

Le has never been consistent in his fighting career, sporadically entering the cage in between movie roles. However, in virtually every fight he has dominated with his Sanshou kicks, mixed in with an underrated wrestling game.

Silva may be on his way out as the Pride legend has been unable to duplicate his success since coming to the UFC. Recently, he was knocked out in just 27 seconds by Chris Leben at UFC 132.

With Le fighting in his hometown of San Jose and possessing a style that will sure to give Silva trouble, Le should be able to easily take the win. 

Prediction: Le via second-round knockout

Light-Heavyweight: Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua

Odds: Dan Henderson +105; Shogun Rua -135

With both men having faced nearly every possible opponent in their careers, it's amazing how Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua have never faced each other.

Rua bounced back from a title loss to Jon Jones when he decimated Forrest Griffin with a first-round knockout at UFC 134 in Brazil.  

Henderson has lost only once in his last seven fights, an amazing streak for the aging former champion that includes knockout wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Michael Bisping, Renato Sobral and Rafael Calvalcante.

Although Rua may have the striking prowess and youth on his side, Henderson has Olympic-level wrestling and great knockout power—a combination that Jones used to take Rua's belt.

Because of this, Henderson has the ability to upset Rua despite being the underdog.

Prediction: Henderson via third-roundTKO

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