UFC 134 Las Vegas Odds: Brendan Schaub vs Antonio Nogueira

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

by Bodog Sportsbook

UFC 134 Las Vegas Odds: Brendan Schaub vs Antonio Nogueira

Legendary Antonio Nogueira fights for the first time in his native Brazil this weekend, and the bout is attracting heavy action on the UFC 134 betting odds.

But the homecoming has other factors which weigh heavily on the odds at the Bodog Sportsbook for his fight against Brendan Schaub.

The 35-year-old former PRIDE champion is a +195 MMA underdog against the improving Schaub, mainly due to oddsmaker uncertainty over his long layoff from the sport. Schaub has fought four times since Nogueira’s last action on Feb. 20, 2010, when he was battered by Cain Velasquez at UFC 110.

In the meantime, training and injuries have kept ‘Minotauro’ out of the Octagon and the UFC betting public continues to side with ‘The Hybrid,’ who is now a -250 favorite on the MMA odds.

In fact, Nogueira has fought just three times since 2008, bookending losses to Velasquez and Frank Mir around a decision win over Randy Couture at UFC 102. Still, he’s 32-6-1 overall in his career with 20 wins coming via submission.

Schaub was the best athlete in the Ultimate Fighter Season 10, but lost in the finale to Roy Jones. Since then, he has won four straight, including wins over dangerous foes in Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop.

At 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, Schaub will be the slightly bigger dog in this fight but Nogueira has enlisted the training help of wrestling coach (and MMA competitor) Josh Janousek to help deal with Schaub’s size.

MMA experts have been impressed with Schaub’s evolution and many peg him as a championship contender in 2012 if he can get past Nogueira. That adds pressure to the big American, who will be looking to vanquish his third straight big-name foe.

Schaub’s background is boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, while Big Nog (expected to weigh in closer to 240 pounds) is a BJJ specialist.

Get all your UFC odds at Bodog Sportsbook.

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