Three time heavyweight champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture puts his belt on the line this Saturday evening against Gabriel Gonzaga in UFC 74: Respect. This is the 44 year old Couture’s first title defense since reclaiming the belt back in March from Tim Sylvia. Gonzaga earned the title shot after his malicious knockout of the heavily favored Mirko Cro Cop this past April. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Gonzaga is an expert in submissions and guard defense. Sportsbook.com has Randy Couture as at slight -105 odds favorite over Gabriel Gonzaga.
The bad news for Gonzaga is that Couture is extremely difficult to submit. In fact, the only time he was has been submitted was a loss to Ricco Rodriguez almost five years ago. However, his guard defense is so good that it could very well frustrate and possibly negate Couture’s main strength: the ground and pound. Despite his highlight reel knockout of Co Cop a few months back, Gonzaga will undoubtedly attempt to get this fight on the ground.
Of course this isn’t the only UFC fight to bet on this Saturday at Sportsbook.com. In fact, there are eight other fights on “Respect’s” card including the much anticipated welterweight bout between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck. The well rounded GSP makes his return to the octagon for the first time since losing his belt to the heavy underdog Matt Serra.
Gabriel Gonzaga -125 vs. Randy Couture -105
Georges St. Pierre -260 vs. Josh Koscheck +200
Roger Huerta -450 vs. Alberto Crane +300
Joe Stevenson -330 vs. Kurt Pellegrino +260
Kendall Grove -265 vs. Patrick Cote +205
Thales Leites -270 vs. Ryan Jensen +210
Renato Sobral -205 vs. David Heath +165
Frank Mir -165 vs. Antoni Hardonk +135
Clay Guida -145 vs. Marcus Aurelio +115
