Super Bowl betting players will be inundated with stories of Ben Roethlisberger's redemption leading up to the big game, and in the world of mixed martial arts, Nick Diaz is also in the middle of his own redemption story as he has bounced back from a couple of disciplinary problems to hold the Strikeforce welterweight title. He'll be challenged on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg by Evangeline Santos, who is looking to add another title to his household.
Santos Diaz Betting Odds - Saturday, 11:00 PM ET
Evangeline "Cyborg" Santos (18-13, 11 KOs) is the husband of Cristiane Santos, the Strikeforce Women's Middleweight champion, and after starting out as a middleweight, Santos is back as a welterweight and earned this title shot by knocking out Marius Zaromskis in the first round of Strikeforce: Los Angeles in June. Santos uses Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai, but he has been a bit of a mystery over his MMA career. He has fought all over the world, but Santos just seems to falter against high-level competition. However, you're usually going to get a good and exciting fight when Santos is on the card; only six of his 31 fights have ended by decision.
Nick Diaz (23-7-0-1, 12 KOs) is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist who UFC betting players will recognize from a couple of stints in the UFC, and he's also the older brother of Nate Diaz, who won "The Ultimate Fighter 5". Diaz is also a professional boxer, and he has solid submission skills as well. However, many people remember the older Diaz for failing a drug test in PRIDE in February 2007, fighting with Joe Riggs at a hospital after losing to Riggs at UFC 57, a post-bout fight with KJ Noons' corner in EliteXC in June 2008, and finally, another post-fight brawl with Jason Miller, who tried to get at Diaz's teammate Jake Shields, who had just beat Dan Henderson.
This fight will be well worth the price per head for the ticket-buying customers, and the MMA Betting odds will see Diaz come in as a -360 MMA Odds favorite to defend his title, while Santos is favored at +285. We've spent a lot of time talking about Diaz's discretions out of the ring, but he is a good fighter who is tough as nails, and his great boxing skills sets up his jiu-jitsu. Santos just hasn't shown us enough to make us think he can pull off the upset. Santos did knock out Zaromskis, but so did Diaz, and Diaz has also fought better competition. If he can keep his wits about him, Strikeforce Picks Diaz is by far the superior fighter, and he should roll to an online sports betting win.