Lines for Pearson/Barboza just opened at Dimes and I think there is awesome value here with Ross. Edson is flashy but struggled against Njukuoni... he's still green and I think the hype is pushing the opener the wrong way. 5u on Pearson.
-
-
I've just put 6 units on Barboza at -185, and now it's back at -230. Pearson only scraped that win against an aging Spencer Fisher, he lost the first round and actually took more damage in the second until a late flurry. In the third Fisher slowed considerably and Pearson got a takedown to seal the round. He got tagged far too much for my liking and I don't think that bodes well against a technical striker like Barboza, he's particularly susceptible to straight punches down the pipe - he walked in to C.Miller's and got tagged by Fisher's straights on numerous occassions. I cant see Pearson out muscling Barboza and getting takedowns neither. Only concern with Barboza is whether he has the cardio to cope with Pearson's pressure for three-rounds. If Pearson is going to win I can only imagine a grinding decision win so I'd personally wait and play Pearson by decision.
A minor factor to consider is the humidity in the arena as its in Brazil, us Brits dont deal well with extreme heat or humidity, especially Northerners like Pearson! Osipczak and others complained about the humidity in Abu Dhabi and said it effected their cardio.
Comment -
Nice. Didn't have time to think about all the factors really... but those are all good things to take into consideration. I just think that this fight is pretty evenly matched overall and had a tough time calling a winner. So with +185 on Pearson I felt more than comfortable laying down. Ross has always looked pretty sharp with his boxing to me. He does set a fast pace so it will be interesting to see how much the humidity comes into play. I really like the prospect in Barboza, but I think that Ross can grind out the decision. I saw his line drop to +145, but now it's right back up again. Seems to be a lot of action on both sides so far.Comment -
Comment -
bowling opens -180 over voelker.........the second fight was pretty one-sided(if my memory serves me)...Comment -
My $ was on Barboza in that fight... and I was worried all the way through. Njokuani could have easily gotten the nod as he won the standup in the 2nd round and the 3rd was fairly close. Barboza also slowed down considerably after the first. I specifically remember the big roundhouse at the end... and I also remember that Edson didn't go for the kill after he rocked Njokuani there when he had a few seconds left to finish it.Comment -
Yeah he stole that fight by being smart and gettin the takedowns at end of each round and then the round house left a big impact! But Njokuani is one of the best strikers in the division, he showed that against Winner...pure domination for three rounds and didnt have a scratch on him at end of it.Comment -
njokuani whooped winner, and pearson was even with winner, and did not impress me against fisher.
definitely taking barboza.Comment -
Pearson looked scared to death of being hit against Fisher. Wonder if he's gunshy after his chin got cracked by Cole Miller. Not liking him here.Comment -
niceComment -
I think this is a good match-up for Barboza given his striking ability, but at +195, the value is definitely with Pearson right now. He's improved all facets of his game since coming off TUF, and even though people rag on him for dropping the first round to Fisher, that was easily the best iteration we've seen of Fisher in a long time. I actually thought that fight showed us a different side of Pearson: while Pearson was in the driver's seat from the beginning against Siver and Riley, against Fisher, he showed that he's capable of digging deep and following his corner's instructions to a tee. That's pretty significant, and I think we could see him really put the heat on Barboza late in the fight (should it last that long).
As for Barboza, he's clearly extremely talented, but some aspects of his performance against Njokuani give me pause. He struck me as a tad overly cautious at times, and despite hurting Njokuani rather badly with that spinning hook kick, he decided to back up and wait for the bell, as opposed to following up and trying to finish him. That hesitation could end up being the difference between Pearson getting finished in the first, and the fight going the distance.
If Pearson tries to recreate what he did to Fisher in the last two rounds of their fight - throwing those right hooks to the body, working for takedowns, then keeping his opponent down whilst landing elbows - then I definitely like his chances here. If he tries to win a kickboxing match with Barboza, then he'll probably end up getting knocked out. After seeing his performance against Fisher, I'd say he's smart enough to opt for the safer route.Last edited by Ladle; 07-20-11, 10:37 AM.Comment -
Well it looks like the SBR consensus is against me (with the exception of Ladle)... I was considering waiting for an arb to present itself, but it doesn't look like it will happen so I'll most likely just ride this one out as I like Pearson's chances against the Aldo v.2 hypetrain at the current odds.Comment -
Ok... having second thoughts now. For some reason I completely missed the fact that Edson had an injured leg and hand in the Njokuani fight. I knew he looked a bit off, but just now read up on this information. I should have done a bit more research before I made a quick decision. Now the line on Barboza looks about right.Comment -
Pearson's blogs leading up to the fight can be seen on this site... (2 up so far)...
Comment
