‘The Crank’ favored vs ‘Chata Tuska’

In this 2019 file photo, Frank “The Crank” Camacho, left, swings at Nick Hein during their lightweight bout in the UFC Fight Night 153 in Stockholm, Sweden. (MMA Junkie Photo)

A website for fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, MMA, boxing, and other combat sports around the world marked Frank “The Crank” Camacho as the moderate favorite when he meets Brok “Chata Tuska” Weaver in the UFC Fight Night 177 in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sept. 12.

Tapology had Camacho getting -225 on betting odds against Weaver’s +175 as slight underdog. A negative odd, in sports, means that athlete or team is more likely to win the match and placing a bet on that outcome would payout less than the amount one wagered. A positive odd is given to the one that is less likely to get the victory, but if he does, the payout would be more than the amount wagered.

Pundits picked the Marianas warrior over the Alabama fighter because he has more UFC experience than Weaver. Although Camacho has only two wins out of his seven UFC bouts, an MMA fan commented on Tapology how the 31-year-old slugged it out with China’s Jingliang Li in his UFC debut in Singapore, brawled American Drew Dober in North Carolina, and hammered Germany’s Nick Hein in Sweden.

Frank “The Crank” Camacho gets his hands done by one of his cornermen before going into the UFC cage last year. (Contributed Photo)

As for Weaver, he hasn’t proven anything yet in the UFC stage, as he won his first fight (versus Rodrigo Vargas) in February this year via disqualification (illegal knee) and was badly beaten by Roosevelt Roberts in his quick return (May 30) to the octagon cage.

A Tapology reader also commented how a battle on the ground would work on Camacho’s favor, as the island warrior has improved his grappling and wrestling skills in the past years. A standup duel, on the other hand, is Weaver’s trademark and the 28-year-old boasted how he has developed deadlier striking skills in recent interviews with MMA websites.

Both Camacho and Weaver went into a training camp before heading to Las Vegas for this weekend’s bout (Monday on Saipan) with the former working out with Team Oyama in California and the latter in Florida with American Top Team.

Brok “Chata Tuska” Weaver, right, takes a hit from Roosevelt Roberts during the first round of their bout in the UFC on ESPN 9 held last May in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Contributed Photo)

The Camacho-Weaver lightweight tussle is lined up as the third supporting bout in the UFC Fight Night 177, which will feature Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson and former Invicta FC strawweight titlist Angela Hill. The UFC Fight Night 177’s main event was supposed to have Thiago Santos face Glover Teixeira in the light heavyweight class, but that headliner has been moved to next month after the latter was tested positive for COVID-19.

There will be 10 supporting bouts in the UFC Fight Night 177, including the duel between Matt Frevola and Roberts. Incidentally, Frevola was Camacho’s original foe in the UFC Fight Night 173 before UFC newcomer Justin Jaynes came in, as the former was pulled out from the fight card after his cornerman tested positive for the coronavirus.

Camacho lost to Jaynes and eyes to recover from back-to-back defeats and finish his second contract with UFC on a winning note to boost his chances of getting a fresh deal from the biggest MMA promotion company in the world.