PADDY POWER UFC 97 BETTING TIPS

UFC 97: Redemption kicks off tomorrow in Montreal, Canada with one of the absolute best cards I've seen in a really long time. There is a lot of exciting betting opportunities here and I can see some real surprises here and that means some excellent money-making opportunities for UFC fans. Steve Cantwell vs Luiz Arthur CaneCantwell made the switch over from World Extreme Cagefighting and won against Razak Al-Hassan at UFC: Fight for the Troops. Cane is a different breed of fighter and has never actually been defeated before, he was disqualified for an Illegal knee to the face in UFC 79. Currently, Paddy Power has Cane as a pretty solid 4/11 favourite against Cantwell's 2/1. The most likely victory is a Kane KO at 8/11 with the bookies very confident that this one won't go the distance. Cantwell will be looking to end this one by submission and you can back him at 7/2 to do so. Verdict: Cantwell by sub in the 3rd @ 2/1, 7/2. Cheick Kongo vs Antoni HardonkChieck Kongo comes in as the 1/3 favourite against Antoni Hardonk at 9/4. The bookies favour a KO by Kongo and you can back that at 4/5. The bookies are confident this one will go the distance and aren't giving Hardonk much of a chance. It will take a big mistake from Kongo to lose this one and I'm backing him to win via KO in the 2nd or possibly the 1st. Verdict: Kongo by Ko in the 1st or 2nd round @ 1/3, 4/5. Krzysztof Soszynski vs Brian StannThe bookies have this one a bit tighter than some of the other matches on the card today. Soszynski is favoured to pull this one off at 8/15 against Stann's 7/5. Again, a smaller margin here and this one could really go either way. The most likely outcome is a Stann victory by KO at 15/8, which is very interesting. Soszynski's best hope seems to be submission, which pays out at 9/4. Verdict: Stann by KO in the 1st round @ 7/5, 15/8. Chuck Liddell vs Mauricio RuaOne of UFC's most decorated veterans takes on one of the hottest fighters in the world as the Iceman clashes with the Shogun in Montreal. I have a feeling that the foot stomp drama in the Montreal location could really influence this one. That's one of Rua's specialties and it takes an element of his style out of the match. Liddell will know this and will try to capitalize. Liddell is a justifiable 1/2 favourite with Rua listed at 6/4. Liddell by KO is the probable outcome with a price of 11/8. Rua is listed at 4/1 for KO and points with 10/1 for submission. This one will be a stand-up brawl and I think that suits Liddell. Verdict: Liddell by KO in the 3rd @ 1/2, 11/8. Anderson Silva vs Thales LeitesAnderson Silva goes into this one as a massive 1/6 favourite. There isn't a whole lot of value on this fight unless you're a huge Thales Leites fan. The odds on this fight going the distance are 9/2 which are the longest distance odds in the entire card. Silva will be hunting for the KO and a victory by that method carries a price of 1/3. Leites most likely method of victory is a submission which pays out at a whopping 7/1. His only hope is to take Silva to the ground and stay on top. Not sure if that's going to happen and I can't put my money anywhere other than Silva. Verdict: Silva by KO in the 2nd @ 1/6, 1/3.