‘Ultimate Fighter’ takes 8th bow

By Jeff Haney

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The finale of “The Ultimate Fighter,” scheduled for Saturday at the Pearl at the Palms, caps the eighth season of the popular mixed martial arts reality-competition show.

At stake are contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to be awarded to the winners of tournaments in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions.

The opposing teams of fighters in each season of “The Ultimate Fighter” are coached by established UFC stars. In Season 8, “Minotauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir, who fight each other Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand, served as coaches.

Since its inception, the program has showcased up-and-coming MMA fighters hoping to make a name for themselves in the UFC.

As such, it can be a tricky endeavor to create betting odds for the final card of “The Ultimate Fighter,” given the limited professional experience many of the fighters bring to the program.

Yet that limitation has not stopped Las Vegas oddsmakers from posting betting lines on Saturday’s two co-features and eight undercard bouts.

In fact, one of the two headlining fights contains the largest betting favorite on the entire card: Phillipe Nover has been installed as a minus 500 (risk $5 to net $1) selection against Efrain Escudero in the lightweight final. The price on Escudero is plus 350 (risk $1 to net $3.50).

Expectations for Nover, of Brooklyn, N.Y., have been high since Nogueira compared him to middleweight world champ Anderson Silva, and UFC President Dana White compared him to welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, in part because of his impressive performance in preliminary bouts during “The Ultimate Fighter.”

“I just took it as a compliment,” said Nover, a registered nurse. “I’m not going to say I’m the next Anderson Silva. It’s a little more pressure, but I perform well under pressure. Nothing is going to change. I’m still going to fight hard.”

Nover and Escudero, of Tempe, Ariz., are both Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialists.

The co-main event is essentially lined at pick ’em, with Vinny Magalhaes the slightest of favorites at minus 120 against Ryan Bader (minus 110) in the light heavyweight final.

Magalhaes, of Rio de Janeiro, is another Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert. Bader, a Reno native fighting out of Tempe, Ariz., was an All-America wrestler at Arizona State.

“All four guys in the finals deserve to be there,” Mir said. “They’re the most talented guys.”

On the undercard Junie Browning, who drew attention and some criticism for his erratic behavior on “The Ultimate Fighter,” is a minus 170 favorite in his lightweight fight against Dave Kaplan (plus 140).

Other bouts on the card:

• Wilson Gouveia (minus 160) vs. Jason MacDonald (plus 130).

• Anthony Johnson (minus 360) vs. Kevin Burns (plus 280).

• Krzysztof Soszynski (minus 330) vs. Shane Primm (plus 250).

• Eliot Marshall (minus 200) vs. Jules Bruchez (plus 170).

• Kyle Kingsbury (minus 240) vs. Tom Lawlor (plus 190).

• Shane Nelson (minus 200) vs. George Roop (plus 170).

• Rolando Delgado (minus 180) vs. John Polakowski (plus 150).

Odds are from the Venetian sports book and are subject to change.

Boxing odds

Kendall Holt, the WBO junior welterweight champ, had been favored in his fight Saturday night in Atlantic City.

When his opponent changed, Holt became an even bigger favorite. Holt (24-2, 13 knockouts), of Paterson, N.J., is a minus 260 favorite against replacement opponent Demetrius Hopkins (28-0, 11 KOs) of Philadelphia (Showtime, Cox cable channel 240).

Torres pulled out of the fight after he became ill during training in his homeland of Colombia and said he would not be able to make weight. Hopkins, fighting in his first world title fight, had been scheduled to face Germaine Sanders on Saturday’s undercard.

Lucky’s contest

The prize pool in the free NFL contest at Lucky’s sports books has grown to $24,000 for this week’s games. The contest, free to enter and limited to one entry per person, entails picking the winner of all of the week’s NFL games. If no one hits a perfect card, $6,000 is added to the pot each week.

Picks can be submitted any time before 9 a.m. Sunday at any Lucky’s sports book including those at the Plaza and Terrible’s in Las Vegas.