UFC on FX 7, also known as UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping, comes to the world live from Ibirapuera Arena in São Paulo, Brazil this Saturday, January 19, and it looks to be a good MMA event on free TV. The visits to Brazil by the UFC have been full of enthusiasm and energy, with the Brazilian fans embracing the UFC as their second favorite sport next to soccer, and this card should elicit the wild response once again. FUEL TV plays host to the prelims for the event with international viewers being able to tune in on Facebook.com. Starting the night off is 2012 Knockout of the Year winner Edson Barboza (10-1), looking to restart his journey to the top of the lightweight division after Jamie Varner derailed the seemingly unstoppable Brazilian. Standing in his way is Lucas Martins, a 12-0 prospect out of the Chute Boxe camp that is promising a thriller. Considering Barboza is always willing to get into a war (he’s a three-time Fight of the Night winner), this looks to be one of the most exciting fights of the prelims, if not the whole card. One would have to assume Barboza has the advantage on the feet and possibly on the ground, and he opened as a -345 favorite (bet $345 to win $100) against Martins, who is a wild card and a +265 underdog (bet $100 to win $265) according to the MMA odds. Nik Lentz (22-5-2-1) and Diego Nunes (18-3) step into the cage next in order to finally create some structure in the featherweight division outside the Top 5. Lentz (+135) started his UFC career with a blast, going 5-1 in his first six fights, only to lose his next two against Mark Bocek and Evan Dunham. Nunes (-165) entered the UFC from the WEC with much fanfare and title contention talk, but since entering the Octagon, he has yet to string two wins together. Both of these guys are solid overall fighters that are still trending upwards, and this match could determine the pecking order for a bigger name after the Edgar/Aldo Lamas/Koch and Swanson/Siver fights work themselves out. Ronny Markes (13-1) is undefeated in the UFC at 2-0, and he welcomes fellow unbeaten UFC fighter Andrew Craig (8-0, 2-0 UFC) to Brazil. Craig (+185) has a solid wrestling base, which he may employ in order to keep Markes (-245) off his feet and on his back since both are about equal in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu department. This means this fight could come to the feet, where Craig has the slight advantage. Markes will be fighting in his home country, but Craig can’t be counted out after he had one of the most remarkable comebacks in years after knocking out Rafael Natal at UFC on FUEL TV 4. Despite the odds, this should be a close fight. Finally, in the preliminary card main event, TUF: Brazil fighter Godofredo Castro (8-1) fights veteran Milton Vieira (13-7-2). Castro (+165) is a 25-year-old monster who lost in his UFC debut, falling to Rony Mariano Bezerra for the title of first Brazilian featherweight Ultimate Fighter. That loss gave him his first mark in the losing column of his career after finishing every single opponent he had faced up until that point. He will no doubt be looking to rebound against the favored Vieira (-215), who walked away with a draw in his UFC debut against Felipe Arantes. Vieira has gone 7-2-1 in his last 10 fights dating back to 2006 and owns a solid edge in experience. Complete MMA betting opening odds for the UFC on FX 7 preliminary card bouts are listed below… PRELIMINARY (FUEL TV, 6 p.m. ET) Godofredo Castro +165 Milton Vieira -215 Andrew Craig +185 Ronny Markes -245 Nik Lentz +135 Diego Nunes -165 Lucas Martins +265 Edson Barboza -345 Pedro Nobre +300 Yuri Alcantara -450 Ildemar Alcantara +200 Wagner Prado -260 PRELIMINARY (Facebook, 5:35 p.m. ET) C.J. Keith +240 Francisco Trinaldo -310
