What a difference a week makes. While this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 76 wasn’t exactly a premier card, it at least had a great main event with a potential star in Joe Duffy and the UFC’s No. 3 heavyewight, Stipe Miocic, fighting in what likely would have been a title contender. Now, both men have pulled out with injuries. Sigh.
CURRENT ODDS
Check our online UFC Fight Night 76 odds for the remaining bouts. Paddy Holohan vs. Louis Smolka have been moved up from the prelims to the main event. It’s crazy that an overlooked bout is now the the headlining fight, but it’s not like the UFC had many options this close to the event.
EVERYBODY LOSES
There’s not much else to say except that this whole situation sucks. For Joe Duffy, his fight with Dustin Poirier was an opportunity to graduate from a prospect to a true contender. Poirier, who was TKO’d by superstar Conor McGregor, had the chance to exact some measure of revenge against another Irishman in McGregor’s hometown.
No word has been said on whether the match will be rescheduled for a later date. I was personally looking forward to watching Duffy’s brilliant boxing in action against a legitimate lightweight like Poirier.
As for the heavyweight bout, nobody loses more than Ben Rothwell. The veteran big man had notched three straight surprising wins, forcing himself into title picture. Had he beaten a top contender like Miocic, Big Ben would have a strong case for a shot at the gold. Rothwell in a title match is something that nobody ever thought would happen.
What’s worse is that it’s been reported that Miocic will fight fellow contender Andrei Arlovski once on the January 2 UFC pay-per-view card. While I do think that this is a higher-profile fight and a better title eliminator, it’s hard not to feel bad for Rothwell.
I can see why it makes sense for the UFC to throw their marketing dollars behind a former champion in Arlovski rather than an awkward, paunchy fighter like Rothwell, but they’re screwing the guy over in every sense. Rothwell beat some good fighters in Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem and Ben Rothwell to earn his shot, and was ready to go this Saturday. Through no fault of his own, he’s without an opponent or a payday in the near future.
THE UPDATED MAIN CARD AND ODDS
MAIN EVENT: Louis Smolka -120 vs. Paddy Holohan +100
LIGHTWEIGHTS: Norman Parke -270 vs. Reza Madadi +225
WELTERWEIGHTS: Darren Till +117 vs. Nicolas Dalby -137
FLYWEIGHTS: Neil Seery vs. Jon Delos Reyes
HOW TO BET
Sign in to get the latest UFC Fight NIght 76 odds. BookMaker Sportsbook offers daily updates to moneylines, totals, prop bets and more, so make sure to lock in your bets should you find a favorable wager. UFC Fight Night 76 takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2015 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The entire card is expected to stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Don’t forget to check in during fight night to get live odds. During each fight, BookMaker Sportsbook updates their odds in real-time, so you can keep betting as each fight unfolds on live television. It’s a great way to hedge your bets should you fall behind. With our mobile platform, it’s never been easier to bet on UFC events.
