Weekend Primer: Ultimate Chaos On Pay-Per-View... Seriously

This weekend isn't a MMA fan's dream come true by any means. Unless you're the hardest of the hardcore fan living in Japan, you'll be disheartened to find out that there isn't much taking place stateside this weekend. DEEP's 42nd Impact card is the most intriguing card taking place within the time frame, but even that's a stretch as it takes place on June 30th. Nonetheless, you do have the option of blowing $29.95 to watch the potential trainwreck that is Ultimate Chaos from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Ultimate Chaos will attempt to do what YAMMA failed to do... actually get some PPV buys. Unfortunately for the people in charge at Ultimate Chaos, the PPV model has only truly been successful by the UFC, who has some of the greatest MMA stars in the world. Affliction has had some success, but a small-time card in the middle of Mississippi that really only features Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Chris Horodecki, Gilbert Yvel, Din Thomas, and Pedro Rizzo isn't exactly something that fans would shell out $29.95 to watch. In fact, I think it's safe to say that the PPV model will sink this show.

In any case, the show will go on. The matchups that everyone will at least have a slight interest in seeing will likely be the battles between former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley and Japanese demi-god and former NFL player Bob Sapp, and the matchup between MMA bad boy Gilbert Yvel against Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo.

Like most of you, I've tuned into each of Bobby Lashley's bouts in MMA with mixed thoughts. The matchup with Jason Guida was probably the most telling sign that Lashley has a lot of work to do, but he followed the performance with choke out of Mike Cook at MFC 21. I'm not holding my breath at all the talk regarding Sapp's training regiment and sushi diet as I did actually witness Jan Nortje punch him into a crying spell. While Sapp is over 300 pounds and sporting a six-pack, I doubt he has the physical explosiveness to compete with Lashley.

The more interesting bout of the evening that most fans might actually want to watch is the bout between strikers Gilbert Yvel and Pedro Rizzo. Yvel has already stated in the past that "takedowns are bullshit", and Rizzo isn't the type of fighter to want to take Yvel to the floor, but it'd probably be the smarter gameplan. Nonetheless, this could at least be a highlight reel waiting to happen. After all, Yvel did manage to destroy seven straight opponents before running into Josh Barnett.

Former UFC fighter Din Thomas will take on Javier Vazquez in a lightweight matchup. This will be a move back up to lightweight from featherweight for Din as he defeated Gabe Lemley at March Badness via a knee in the first round at 145 pounds. Vazquez will be looking to grapple, and this fight may actually be a bit underrated as Vazquez has some solid wins on his record. The only problem is that Vazquez has had a tough time finishing as he has moved up in competition.

IFL veteran Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki will take on relatively unknown William Sriyapai in a lightweight matchup. I've never been a huge fan of Horodecki's powerless combinations, and Sriyapai's record is indicative of substantial power in his hands. This could have upset all over it, but Horodecki is the better striker. He's also got a solid training camp in Xtreme Couture.

Affliction President Tom Atencio will take on equally green Randy Hedderick. Honestly, it'd be a bit comical to see Atencio either get crushed or absolutely crush someone while at the ripe age of 42. I'm not sure where this fight will go since both guys are pretty green, but Heddrick has already stated that he'll be looking for the knockout. Upset?

The rest of the card rounds out with Affliction fighter Brett Cooper taking on Waachiim Spiritwolf, TUF contestant Danny Abbadi vs. Lance Thompson, Colby McMahan vs. James Orso, and Team Takedown and Penn State All-American wrestler Eric Bradley vs. Colin McKee.

Bettor's Corner

I wouldn't bet on this event unless you are actually going to watch it. It'll probably liven the event up a bit for you, but betting on pure underdogs would probably make this event pretty fun.

Bobby Lashley (-550) vs. Bob Sapp (+425): This line is pretty spread, but Lashley is nearly a guaranteed victory.. oops, that probably hit a nerve with the Minotoro crowd. I'll lay off this line at -550. If you actually expect Sapp to somehow win, twitter me to death when it happens.

Gilbert Yvel (-120) vs. Pedro Rizzo (+105): Honestly, I'm a bit torn on this fight. What if Rizzo actually puts Yvel on the ground? Probably won't happen, so I'll bank on Yvel believing Rizzo is actually a referee and teeing off.

Din Thomas (-265) vs. Javier Vazquez (+235): The first decent line of the night, Thomas isn't a bad deal here at -265, but Vazquez is pretty dangerous. I think Thomas' experience and skill set are going to be too much though, so I'll bank on Thomas in this matchup.

Chris Horodecki (-600) vs. William Sriyapai (+500): This is a tough call for me. I don't like Chris Horodecki, and I'm not sure why. No offense, Chris. Maybe it's his boyish charm or actual boyish looks. In any case, Sriyapai has some big power in his hands. Upset worthy? Probably not. Staying away from this line.

Brett Cooper (-410) vs. Waachim Spiritwolf (+330): I'll bet on Brett Cooper at -410. It's a very high line, but I don't see how a continually improving Cooper loses this fight.

UPSET OF THE NIGHT: Randy Heddrick (+130) vs. Tom Atencio (-160): I'm taking Heddrick because I can. At 42 years of age, I think he succumbs to the power of Heddrick.