The UFC takes a trip across the pond this weekend for the first time in a decade to stage UFC 144. The card is headlined by a very intriguing Lightweight title match and is littered with a ton of Japanese talent fighting to stay relevant in the biggest MMA organization on the planet. <\/p>\n
UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson<\/strong> Main Card:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Frankie Edgar (14-1): -125<\/strong> The Lightweight Title is on the line in Saitama, Japan as Frankie Edgar tries to defend for the fourth time \u2013 this time against former WEC Champion Ben Henderson. It has been a while since Edgar fought anyone other than Gray Maynard but if there is one thing that we learned from those fights it is that Edgar is constantly evolving and strengthening his previous weaknesses.<\/p>\n Henderson is no slouch \u2013 impressive wins over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller and Clay Guida have his squarely in the spotlight. His size, speed and aggressive style have been a nightmare for most! But Edgar\u2019s rapidly improving boxing game could be the difference in this one. Henderson will have to get this fight to the mat to have any sort of chance \u2013 that plays right into the hands of the defensive boxing prowess of Edgar.<\/p>\n It may not be the most exciting fight, there may not be a whole lot of damage inflicted but Edgar should be able to come out of this with a decision victory. Simply put, there is nothing that Henderson can bring that Edgar won\u2019t be able to defend.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Frankie Edgar -125<\/p>\n Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (32-9): -240<\/strong> In a clash of styles, wrestler Ryan Bader will take on Quinton Jackson in the Co-Main Event. Rampage is clearly on the downside of his career but he has all the skills to defeat the young, hungry Bader \u2013 take down defense and a legendary striking game. Bader will absolutely have to get this fight to the ground \u2013 don\u2019t think that Rampage is not aware of that.<\/p>\n Look to the crafty veteran to keep the fight standing and to inflict some serious damage on the younger fighter. Japan is the scene of a good majority of Jackson\u2019s MMA victories \u2013 expect another victory this time in impressive, tenacious style!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Rampage Jackson -240<\/p>\n Mark Hunt (7-7): +250<\/strong> It is hard to believe that a fighter with a 7-7 record is on the Main Card of a UFC but that is the case with Mark Hunt as he takes on former Kickboxer Cheick Kongo. Hunt may actually have the striking advantage in this one but Kongo has the enormous all around edge \u2013 particularly his work in the clinch.<\/p>\n The key for Kongo is to follow his fight plan, stay away from Hunt\u2019s danger zones and to use his size, reach, strength and conditioning advantage. I think Kongo learned a thing or two from his fight with Pat Barry \u2013 don\u2019t get too cute. Look for Kongo to weather a first round storm and take over after that \u2013 Hunt\u2019s conditioning will be his nemesis in this fight.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Cheick Kongo -350<\/p>\n Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-4, 2 NC): +250<\/strong> Surprisingly, both of these fighters may be battling for their careers in the UFC with Akiyama having gone 1-3 in his last four fights and Shields 1-2 in his last three. Akiyama will certainly have the striking advantage and he will have a revved up home crowd on his side. But Shields is still a top flight Welterweight with the wrestling chops to get it done.<\/p>\n Akiyama\u2019 conditioning has always been a question mark \u2013 now he moves down a weight class which could affect his conditioning even more. There are absolutely no issues with Shield\u2019s conditioning. While an early Akiyama KO is certainly possible, I have to lean toward Shields in this one. After all, he did take GSP\u2019s best for five rounds! Shield\u2019s defense, wrestling and durability will be too much!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Jake Shields -350<\/p>\n Anthony Pettis (14-2): -220<\/strong> A Lightweight scrap of two \u201cB level\u201d fighters starts the pay-per-view festivities on Saturday when Joe Lauzon hopes to take another step up the ladder against the very tough Anthony Pettis. While Lauzon has decent striking and a motor that won\u2019t quit, he is just a notch below Pettis in every aspect of this fight. The one hole in Pettis\u2019 game is his take down defense \u2013 I can\u2019t see Lauzon effectively taking this fight this fight down and keeping it there. Lauzon may come out strong but Pettis should be able to weather the first round storm and pick Lauzon apart as the fight wears on.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Anthony Pettis -220<\/p>\n Yushin Okami (26-6): -375<\/strong> Yushin Okami will look to bounce back from the thud that was his title shot against Anderson Silva. Okami is simply better in every aspect of this fight \u2013 his grappling is terrific and his stand up is certainly emerging. If Okami\u2019s head is screwed on straight after a brutal loss in Brazil, he should control this fight. In front of his home town crowd, I can\u2019t see him being denied.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Yushin Okami -375<\/p>\n Hatsu Hioki (25-4-2): -175<\/strong> Highly regarded Featherweight Hatsu Hioki will attempt to inch closer to a title shot against Jose Aldo when he takes on the crafty veteran Bart Palaszewski. While Palaszewski is decent in all aspects of MMA, he is not great in any one discipline. Hioki will bring superior grappling chops and a size advantage into the fight and look to impose his will. I definitely see that happening \u2013 Hioki isn\u2019t the third ranked Featherweight in the world for no reason! [ad-3573245]<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Hatsu Hioki -175<\/p>\n Preliminary Card:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Takeya Mizugaki (15-6-2): -200<\/strong> Fireworks will ensue when Japanese brawler Takeya Mizugaki takes on Muay Thai practitioner Chris Cariaso in what has Fight of the Night potential. Both fighters have been in there with some top flight opposition and both have fared well against some of the top dogs in the division but Mizugaki\u2019s ability to get out of trouble by taking the fight to the mat should be the difference. Mizugaki\u2019s only recent losses have come at the hands of title holders or serious title contenders \u2013 Cariaso is neither of those.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Takeya Mizugaki -200<\/p>\n Norifumi Yamamoto (18-5, 1 NC): -350<\/strong> Norifumi Yamamoto has yet to win in the UFC \u2013 hopes are that fighting in front of his home crowd will finally allow him to get off the schnide. Standing in his way is the wildly unpredictable Vaughan Lee who has a decent kickboxing background to go along with a desire to submit his opponent at every turn. I actually like the dog in this one \u2013 Yamamoto is a one trick pony and his trick hasn\u2019t been very effective as of late. Lee confuses and frustrates Yamamoto on the way to a shocking victory.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Vaughan Lee +250<\/p>\n Riki Fukuda (17-5): -300<\/strong> The wrestler Riki Fukuda returns to the Octagon after recovering from the affects of a car accident to take on kick boxer Steve Cantwell. Cantwell has lost four straight fights \u2013 no way he can outpoint or out-tough Fukuda in this one. Wrestling rules the day!<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Riki Fukuda -300<\/p>\n Takanori Gomi (32-8, 1 NC): -220<\/strong> Takanori Gomi, loser of three of his last four fights needs a win Saturday against submission specialist Eiji Mitsuoka in order to remain in the UFC Lightweight picture. Keep in mind that Gomi\u2019s three recent losses have come by submission and Mitsuoka has submitted the likes of Gleison Tibau, Brian Cobb and Sergei Golyaev. But despite all, I have faith that the Takanori Gomi who terrorized the MMA world nearly 10 years ago will give the new generation a sense of what a great champion he once was.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Takanori Gomi -220<\/p>\n Tiequan Zhang (15-2): -325<\/strong> Issei Tamura took this fight on two week\u2019s notice having lost two of his last three fights. Zhang hasn\u2019t exactly been lighting the world on fire either \u2013 just 2-2 in his last two fights. Tamura would love to use his wrestling chops, take this fight to the ground and control Zhang. It is exactly the style that Zhang has had trouble with in the past. Despite the lack of preparation, I like the upset in this one \u2013 Tamura is destined to give Zhang fits.<\/p>\n Pick:<\/strong> Issei Tamura +245<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UFC 144 Returns to the Land of the Rising Sun The UFC takes a trip across the pond this weekend for the first time in a decade to stage UFC 144. The card is headlined by a very intriguing Lightweight title match and is littered with a ton of Japanese talent fighting to stay relevant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1436],"tags":[53723,53724,53725,53726,53730,53732,10039,53599,53727,53728,53729,53731,1932,2105,1942],"class_list":["post-48421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fight-club","tag-edgar-henderson-odds","tag-edgar-henderson-picks","tag-edgar-henderson-predictions","tag-edgar-vs-henderson","tag-edgar-vs-hendersonufc-japan","tag-frankie-edgar-vs-ben-henderson","tag-free-ufc-predictions","tag-mma-fighting","tag-ufc-144","tag-ufc-144-lines","tag-ufc-144-odds","tag-ufc-japan","tag-ufc-odds","tag-ufc-picks","tag-ufc-predictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48421"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48688,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48421\/revisions\/48688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDate\/Time: February 25, 2012, 10pm ET\/7pm PT
\nLocation: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
\nBroadcast:<\/strong> Pay-per-view<\/p>\n
\n Ben Henderson (15-2): -105<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Ryan Bader (13-2): +190<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Cheick Kongo (17-6-2): -350<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Jake Shields (26-6-1): -350<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Joe Lauzon (21-6): -175<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Tim Boetsch (14-4): +275<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Bart Palaszewski (36-14): +145<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Chris Cariaso (12-3): +160<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Vaughan Lee (11-7-1): +250<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Steve Cantwell (7-5): +220<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Eiji Mitsuoka (18-7-2): +175<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Issei Tamura (6-2): +245<\/strong><\/p>\n