MMA Betting Odds and Ends for Wednesday: St-Pierre and Diaz face off at UFC 158 pre-fight presser Jan 23, 2013

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Nick Diaz were in Montreal today for the UFC 158 pre-fight press conference. St-Pierre said he’s wanted to fight Diaz for a very long time and that’s why he called him out, while Diaz said he’s up for the challenge of taking on the dominant champion in his hometown on March 16. The opening MMA odds for the fight — which should draw massive pay-per-view numbers — show that Diaz is a sizeable underdog, while St-Pierre is a giant favourite.

TUF 17: Jones vs. Sonnen begins

TUF 17 started last night, with coaches Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, as well as UFC president Dana White, overseeing 14 middleweight tournament bouts to get into the house.

Here’s the results. If you don’t want to be spoiled, scroll down.

Adam Cella def. Jake Heun via submission
Zak Cummings def. Nik Fekete via TKO
Kevin Casey def. Eldon Sproat via submission
Tor Troeng def. Scott Rosa via submission
Clint Hester def. Fraser Opie via decision
Bubba McDaniel def. Ryan Bigler via TKO
Josh Samman def. Leo Bercier via TKO
Kelvin Gastelum def. Kito Andrews via decision
Jimmy Quinlan def. Mike Persons via TKO
Uriah Hall def. Andy Enz via decision
Gilbert Smith def. Eric Wahlin via submission
Dylan Andrews def. Tim Williams via decision
Collin Hart def. Mike Jasper via submission
Luke Barnatt def. Nicholas Kohring via decision

Three new UFC fights booked

The UFC announced today that Jorge Santiago will return to the UFC as a welterweight and fight Gunnar Nelson at UFC London, filling in for an injured Justin Edwards. Santiago is 1-4 in the UFC and this is definitely his last chance at keeping his job, but it won’t be easy because Nelson is one of the most promising young prospects in the game today and can submit anyone.

As well, the UFC announced that Mike Ricci will meet Colin Fletcher in a preliminary card fight at UFC 158. Ricci is coming off a loss in the TUF 16 finale to Colton Smith, while Fletcher lost to Norman Parke in the finals of TUF Smashes. This is an important fight for both fighters so expect both to be very motivated, especially Ricci, who fights out of TriStar Gym in Montreal, where the fight takes place.

And according to UFC Espanol, former Strikeforce light heavyweight Yoel Romero will make his UFC debut at UFC on FOX 7, when he takes on Clifford Starks in a middleweight contest. Romero is a former Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling for Cuba while Starks was a Division I All-American for Arizona State University.

New odds released for UFC on FOX 6 undercard and Bellator 86

MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has released the odds for the UFC on FOX 6 undercard, as well as Bellator 86. Here they are:

UFC ON FOX 6: JOHNSON VS. DODSON

Openers:

John Dodson +215
Demetrious Johnson -285
*Flyweight Title

Quinton Jackson +185
Glover Teixeira -245

Anthony Pettis +100
Donald Cerrone -130

Ricardo Lamas +110
Erik Koch -140

Matt Wiman -105
T.J. Grant -125

Hatsu Hioki +175
Clay Guida -225

Vladimir Matyushenko +325
Ryan Bader -475

David Mitchell +175
Simeon Thoresen -225

Shawn Jordan +165
Mike Russow -215

Mike Stumpf +180
Pascal Krauss -240

Sean Spencer +190
Rafael Natal -250

BELLATOR 86: ASKREN VS. AMOUSSOU

Karl Amoussou +300
Ben Askren -450
Welterweight title

Przemyslaw Mysiala +850
Muhammed Lawal -1550
Light-heavyweight-tournament opening round

Michail Tsarev +300
Douglas Lima -450
Welterweight-tournament opening round

Koffi Adzitso +255
Ben Saunders -355
Welterweight-tournament opening round

Brent Weedman +100
Marius Zaromskis -130
Welterweight-tournament opening round

Raul Amaya +115
Jose Gomes -145
Welterweight-tournament opening round

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