The main reason to bet on UFC 199 – and obviously to watch it – is to see Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping tear each other limb from limb in the main event. There is no love lost between these two guys and they have made no secret of it – cutting badass promos on each other and what not. They hate each other worse than Dr. Henry Jones Jr. hates snakes, and will settle matters like two responsible, civilized, and contributing members of society would – by stepping inside a steel cage and discussing things with full contact sign language.
Current Middleweight Champion Rockhold is the UFC betting favorite (-1050), while Bisping – who took the fight on two weeks’ notice and may thus not be fully prepared or trained for such a momentous occasion – is expected to find out what happens when you meet a stranger in the Alps. Bisping does have that kind of Rocky Balboa mystique going on, having struggled in the UFC 199 for a decade before just now receiving his first title shot, not to mention that back in his native England he was forced to abandon full-time training and work at factories, slaughterhouses and demolition companies; as well as being an upholsterer, postman, tiler, plasterer and salesman.
In what many people who bet on UFC consider a co-main event, Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz will defend his title versus Urijah Faber in what will be the rubber match between the two. Cruz lost to Faber at WEC 26 on March 24th, 2007 via a guillotine choke – fortunately, Cruz was not actually beheaded. Then, Faber lost the return match at UFC 132 on July 2nd, 2011 via unanimous decision. In the grand scheme of things, though, Faber has a lot more to prove. He is at risk of having the worst title match record in UFC history, after suffering three previous losses for the UFC Bantamweight Championship (the aforementioned UFC 132 vs. Cruz; at UFC 149 vs. Renan Barao; and at UFC 169 vs. Barao again). Not surprisingly, Cruz is the UFC betting favorite (-650).
Finally, Max Holloway will face Ricardo Lamas is what may very well be a number 1 contender match. Whoever wins will position himself to challenge the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight championship. The Hawaiian Holloway has been tearing up the pea patch as of late, winning eight in a row after losing to Conor McGregor about three years ago – and people who bet on UFC 199 know that there is no shame in going down to the top fighter in the world right now.