UFC 81 Breaking Point Preview and Picks

It will be very interesting to see whether the UFC’s decision to book a PPV for the day before the Super Bowl pays off. Mainstream coverage has been virtually nil because of the big game, but the demographics of these two sports align quite nicely, and Brock Lesnar (-150) happens to be in the feature bout against Frank Mir (+120). We’ve seen people like Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic struggle to make the transition from PRIDE to UFC; what Lesnar is trying to accomplish is much more daunting. This is Mir’s fight to lose.

Although Lesnar and Mir are the poster boys for UFC 81, the actual main event pits former UFC Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia (+135) against former PRIDE champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (-165) for the Interim title. Nogueira has the skills to beat Sylvia without having to venture dangerously close to the big man, but at these odds the universally hated Sylvia is tough to fade.