Burn the Books – UFC on Fox 19

Burn the Books is a recurring segment here at Cage Burn. Before every major event, and many of the minor ones, we will break down some of the best betting lines and give you our expert gambling advice. This week we look at UFC on Fox 19, a fight card expected to take us back in time until Lyoto Machida was scratched. It’s the most exciting thing to hit the Tampa metropolitan area since Hulk Hogan’s sex tape trial a few weeks ago. Check out the previous instalment.

 

Somebody pops for steroids during the walkout: +550

There are no steroid tests during the walkouts. There’s not even really a feasible way for it to happen. It would literally take a fighter to pee their pants in fear and then fall over crotch-first onto some testing equipment owned by USADA. I know people are thinking about taking this bet based on the spirit of the times, but seriously, they’re sucking you in to take your money. I mean, who falls over crotch-first?

“Dana Afraid to Really Travel Back in Time”: Scott Coker

As of late, it has become the en vogue thing for MMA matchmakers to reach into yesteryear and dust off some oldies but goodies in an attempt to rekindle some of the sport’s pre-saturation lustre. This weekend’s UFC on Fox 19 card from Tampa, Florida does just that, featuring a main event of Glover Teixeira vs Rashad Evans and a co-main event of Lyoto Machida vs Dan Henderson.

But according to Bellator’s Scott Coker, Dana White is afraid to really crank up the Delorean and take the sport for a ride back in time.

Faces of MMAeth – Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson goes by “El Cucuy” as a fighter, which is simply Spanish for “the boogeyman.” After recently pulling out of a scheduled fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov in a bout most assumed would determine the next challenger for the lightweight title questions began to be asked. Is Ferguson facing a boogeyman of his own?

Looking at the image above, a stark contrast can be seen. A healthy, smiling Tony on the left compared to a gaunt, ashamed Tony on the right. Sure, a suitable replacement was found for Nurmy, but the composition of a fight card is not our big concern. Ferguson’s excuse for pulling out? Blood in his lung.

MMAeth is a scourge that threatens us all. Have young addicts moved from simply snorting and smoking it to injecting it directly into their lungs to maximise the high? If so, heaven help us.

See more Faces of MMAeth.

 

BREAKING: Nurmagedomev replacement for Ferguson revealed

The world of MMA was in despair today as Russian virtuoso Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov once more had his competitive aspirations dragged into uncertainty. The world-renowned hardman, famous for wrestling actual BEARS as a child, has had a hard run of it with injury after injury over the past few years.

This time, however, it’s not Nurmy…it’s his opponent, Tony Ferguson. Forced to withdraw from his upcoming appearance on UFC on FOX 19 due to blood in his lung (!!), the fearsome bruiser known as ‘El Cucuy’ is on a seven fight win streak and as such, his match-up with Nurmagomedov was highly anticipated.

The news has seen a raft of the UFC’s top talent calling to be the replacement, with everyone from Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone to Rafael Dos Anjos calling out the Russian maniac.

Today, CageBurnMMA can exclusive reveal that Nurmagomedov’s opponent for April 16 has just been revealed – and it is a pack of Siberian wolves.

While the devout Muslim’s judo skills and sambo pedigree are not to be taken lightly, it remains to be seen how much of match they are for the razor sharp teeth, vicious rending claws and highly evolved pack instinct of one of the greatest predators of the natural world.

Reached for comment, the Russian declined to comment, merely peeping out from under his funny hat and shrugging in a wonderfully stoic Russian manner.