For just the third time in the Zuffa era, the Octagon will make its way to the state of Georgia for a UFC event. Instead of Atlanta, this time around the organization visits Duluth, and the scale of the card is much smaller than the two previous pay-per-views coming out of the Peach State. That isn’t to say the UFC Fight Night isn’t an intriguing card, as five fighters ranked in the UFC’s top ten in their respective divisions will be attempting to pick up victories on the evening. The main event between #6 Luke Rockhold and #10 Costas Philippou is an interesting test for Rockhold, who looks to bounce back from a defeat at the hands of Vitor Belfort but faces another power striker in Philippou. The odds for that bout and the co-main event between Lorenz Larkin and Brad Tavares have already been released at Several Bookmakers. Today, MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened lines for the remaining main card bouts, including a battle between the sixth and seventh ranked bantamweights, TJ Dillashaw and Mike Easton. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (Fox Sports 1, 7pm ET) Luke Rockhold -405 Costas Philippou +285 Lorenz Larkin -210 Brad Tavares +160 Charlie Brenneman -245 Beneil Dariush +175 TJ Dillashaw -230 Mike Easton +170 Yoel Romero -245 Derek Brunson +175 Cole Miller -165 Sam Sicilia +125 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Brenneman is obviously the more known quantity, and he has looked much better since dropping to 155 in terms of his ability to be more aggressive in his grappling and secure finishes. Finishing Dariush on the ground will be no easy task, as he has exhibited excellent grappling both in Jiu-Jitsu and MMA competition. The stand up won’t be overly kind to Brenneman either, as he has never had a rock-solid chin and Dariush looks to have picked up some decent striking thus far. If Brenneman wants to win here, he’ll probably have to go back to that smothering top control style which won’t endear him to fans, and even then there’s no guarantee that Dariush won’t catch something. If you look at the Dillashaw/Easton bout in terms of skills, it is a very competitive bout. Up until recently, Easton probably would have been considered the better striker, but Dillashaw has made great strides in that department. On the ground, Dillashaw is the better wrestler, but Easton has solid takedown defense and a often-overlooked grappling game… when he chooses to use it. That’s the key with Mike Easton, he’s good when he goes out there and fights actively. However, against someone like Dillashaw who will force the pace of the fight on him, Easton will most likely revert to his inactive counter-mode en route to losing a decision. If this is finally the fight where Easton lives up to his talent, there could be an upset in the making though. I would not want to switch places with Derek Brunson heading into this fight. He takes on a stud wrestler who is also a far more polished and dangerous striker than himself. Unless Brunson can put Romero on his back (which has been done), and keep him there (far more difficult) early, tiring the Cuban out, I don’t see his consciousness lasting too long in this one. Some may say his striking has improved, but based on how little we saw in his last fight, I’m not willing to make that determination yet. Finally, kicking off the main card is a bout that I found more tricky as I watched tape on it. Originally I thought Miller’s length would allow him to control the stand up and his grappling would let him play a sweet and submit (or at least scramble) game from the bottom if Sicilia — the far better wrestler — did take him down. Now, I’m not so sure. He’s another tall guy who doesn’t control range well, and Sicilia has shown an improving base on the ground to go along with his heavy ground and pound. I’m actually leaning a bit towards the upset here.
