The most awaited Wednesday night special in July is almost here.
In April, it was revealed that Todd Duffee has finally secured a fight against MMA legend Frank Mir at UFC Fight Night 72. Pundits are saying that the match might end swiftly and violently as Mir will be facing against a heavy-handed, younger opponent.
UFC Fight Night 72: Mir vs Duffee Preview
Duffee has just returned from a two-year layoff recently, but that didn’t stop him impressively halting Anthony Hamilton in the first round at UFC 181. He is currently looking to step up into the UFC heavyweight division’s top contenders by defeating the former UFC champion.
Mir, on the other hand, shocked everyone when he KO’d Antonio Silva by in the first round on Silva’s home soil. With his recent win against Bigfoot Silva, many have retracted suggestions that the BJJ black belt is finished just yet. In fact, the odds on betting exchanges say that Mir is the favored fighter. Cagerank is predicting Mir as the 62% favorite against Duffee. The prediction was made by calculating the advantages of both fighters against each other with Mir eventually coming out on top according to Cagerank. The aforementioned breakdown has Mir favored due to his superior submission offense and defense, and takedown defense. He also has a stronger jaw, is harder to hit, and has longer reach (201 cm against Duffee’s 198 cm). Duffee’s advantages, on the other hand, are his quick, heavy hands and his age advantage (29 years old compared to the 36-year-old Mir).
UFC fight Night 72 will be held in Valley View Casino, which is quite uncommon for the San Diego-based establishment. The casino usually only features events from WWE, and very rarely from the UFC or any other mixed martial arts organization over the years.
The UFC has a long-standing relationship with casinos, which is actually a symbiotic setup since both have the right market for each other. UFC has a hardcore audience, and luxury-integrated casinos have the capacity to hold the matches and appeal to many wanting to book weekend trips away to watch fiercely competitive fights. The launching of online casino-gaming providers that offer convenience and huge deposit bonuses, which can go as high as $470, have taken a huge slice of the profits from brick-and-mortar establishments, making the UFC a very important partner for land-based casinos. Thus, many casinos across the United States now regularly hold MMA events for other organizations not just the UFC. The World Series of Fighting and Bellator both frequently hold shows at casinos across the country.
Tickets for the upcoming UFC Fight Night 72 went on sale to the general public on May 15, 2015. However, members of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight Club and UFC Newsletter Subscribers were able to grab tickets prior to the general public sale on May 13th and 14th.
