UFN 24 picks, Vegas-style: Hardy an underdog against Johnson

Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson meet up tonight on the comeback trail. Hardy is trying to get a win after a knockout loss at the hands of Carlos Condit, while Johnson returns from injuries after 16 months off. Hardy is staring at three straight losses, yet he's an underdog. Hardy at plus-125 is on our best best plays on the card.

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joins us to break down Ultimate Fight Night 24 (Spike 10 p.m. ET/PT) and gives his Vegas odds winners.

Even though this is only his ninth fight since turning pro in 2008, Phil Davis is a huge 3-to-1 favorite over veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. There's value on "Lil' Nog" at plus-220, but only if can stay off the mat against Davis, a former Penn State wrestler.

Leonard Garcia is a favorite over "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung. Garcia has decision wins over Zombie and Nam Phan, but many observers thought he lost both. Amir Sadollah (4-2, 4-2 UFC) is a massive favorite at minus-300, that in spite of the fact that he's had trouble finishing fights. DaMarques Johnson (12-8, 3-2 UFC) has broken mentally a few times in the past, but he's a pretty dangerous fighter on the ground and brimming with confidence right now.

Michael McDonald and John Hathaway, two of Zuffa's better prospects, are on the Facebook undercard. McDonald, 20, is a big favorite over Edwin Figueroa while Hathaway, 23, who has a limited wrestling experience, faces a good grappler in Kris McCray. This is the second fight at welterweight for the plus-250 McCray.

Keep an eye on Mike Russow against Jon Madsen. The "The Ultimate Fighter 10" alum Madsen has quietly gone 4-0 in the UFC but relies heavily on his takedown game. Russow is a stocky dude with good power in hands. He offers nice value at plus-240. Another TUF alum with a question mark could be Alex "Bruce Leroy" Cacares. He faces an experienced veteran with a lot of motivation in Mackens Semerzier. Semerzier's back is against the wall with three straight losses.

Official plays in bold below.

UFN 24 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+220) vs . Phil Davis (-300) - Light heavyweight

Dan Hardy (+120) vs. Anthony Johnson (-150) - Welterweight

DeMarques Johnson (+220) vs. Amir Sadollah (-300) - Welterweight

Chan Sung Jung (-105) vs. Leonard Garcia (-125) - Featherweight

Alex Caceres (+170) vs. Mackens Semerzier (-200) - Featherweight

Mike Russow (+240) vs. Jon Madsen (-320) - Heavyweight

Kris McCray (+250) vs. John Hathaway (-330) - Welterweight

Edwin Figueroa (+220) vs. Michael McDonald (-300) - Bantamweight

Sean McCorkle (+135) vs. Christian Morecraft (-165) - Heavyweight

Mario Miranda (+180) vs. Aaron Simpson (-220) - Middleweight

T.J. Waldburger (+300) vs. Johny Hendricks (-400) - Welteweight

Waylon Lowe (+180) vs. Nik Lentz (-220) - Lightweight

Related: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Phil Davis, Ultimate Fight Night 24

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Johnson flips the script on Hardy, taking him down at will for UFN 24 win

Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy have excellent knockout power, so the fans were expecting an all-out firefight. In fact during the prefight teleconference, Johnson promised there'd be no takedowns. He lied, and for good reason.

Instead, Johnson decided to prey on Hardy's biggest weakness. Johnson scored takedowns and maintained top control in every round to cruise to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards, in the co-main event at Ultimate Fight Night 24 in Seattle.

All five of Johnson's previous UFC wins had come via KO or TKO. Hardy's takedown defense was shown to be very weak against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111, so Johnson turned to his JUCO wrestling pedigree. The crowd at Key Arena booed loudly at different times, but there was no reason to risk anything on the feet. Johnson outlanded Hardy 72-5 over the course of the 15 minutes.

Johnson's best moments came in the first, when he floored Hardy with a head kick, and the third when he took Hardy's back. He went from attemtping choke to locking an arm-triangle choke and even worked a neck crank in the final seconds. When he rose to his feet, as the crowd howled, Johnson blew some kisses.

Hardy's lost three straight fights. This was a big one for Johnson, who'd missed the last 16 months battling injuries and recovering from knee surgery. While sidelined Johnson (9-3, 6-3 UFC) blew up to 220-plus pounds. He normally cuts a lot of weight and has suffered stamina issues in some past fights. Tonight, he looked fresh for all 15 minutes. He said during the postfight press conference that walked into the cage in this 170 pound fight somewhere between 190-195 pounds.

Related: Georges St. Pierre, Anthony Johnson, Ultimate Fight Night 24

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Will the St. Louis Blues regret trading Erik Johnson to Avalanche?

The St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche pulled off the most shocking trade of the season at 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, meaning there's a good chance at least one member of each fan base returned from the bars, opened their computers, rubbed their eyes and assumed that Erik Johnson(notes) ending up in Denver was a whiskey haze hallucination.

Fact: Defenseman Erik Johnson, drafted first overall by the Blues in 2006 and a U.S. Olympian, is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche; and the Avalanche gave up some significant (and quite popular) assets to get him. From the Blues:

St. Louis Blues Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Saturday the club has acquired former first round draft choices Chris Stewart(notes) and Kevin Shattenkirk(notes) along with a conditional 2011 or 2012 second round draft choice from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement(notes) and a conditional 2011 or 2012 first round draft choice.

"We're very excited to acquire a young emerging power forward in Chris Stewart and a top young NHL defenseman in Kevin Shattenkirk," said Armstrong. "These are two solid young players which will help us now and continue to grow and improve our team. I would like to thank Erik and Jay for their service to the St. Louis Blues and wish them nothing but the best of luck."

The deal was broken by Post-Dispatch writer Jeremy Rutherford. According to Bob McKenzie, the condition on the St. Louis 1st rounder is "it's top 10 protected. In other words, if St. Louis' 1st rounder is top 10 this year, Colorado gets 2012 pick instead."

Johnson signed a 2-year contract extension with the Blues last summer, and is a restricted free-agent after the 2011-12 season. Johnson wanted something long-term; the Blues wanted something short-term; and now, his term in St. Louis is over, the Blues having seen enough of him to leave him out of whatever it is they're building there.

Hopefully the golf carts are more well-behaved in Colorado.

A trade of this magnitude is about what you know, and what you don't know.

No one knows what Shattenkirk becomes after a promising rookie season. Stewart's an even wilder wild card: 6-2, around 230, a 23-year-old power forward who potted 28 goals last season and ruled the world in the first of this season ... until he broke his hand in a fight and scored twice since Jan. 14. Does he have upside, or has he reached a plateau as an NHL player?

Erik Johnson, you know. (Well, you also know what kind of defense you get from Jay McClement, and that he's inked through 2012, too.) Johnson plays 22:07 per game on average, on both the power play and shorthanded. He simply hasn't become the defenseman the Blues drafted him to be. GM Doug Armstrong dodged questions about trading Johnson left and right in this interview with the Blues website, but when asked about how tough it was to trade a former No. 1 pick, he said, "Not really."

As Jeff Gordon wrote last summer:

"He has the skill to become a 60-point scorer, but does he have the defensive instincts to become a Norris Trophy candidate some day?"

That's the hope for the Colorado Avalanche, who add a 22-year-old (23 in March) potential franchise defenseman to a team that (a) is absolutely loaded with young talent at forward and (b) has a few more young defenseman in the pipeline after Shattenkirk.

Two teams on the outside looking in at the playoffs just made a huge trade. One cut bait on a No. 1 draft pick. The other dealt two very promising players for a young defenseman who's already a solid pro and could be a spectacular one.

One is tempted to give the Avalanche the win here, but betting on Eric Johnson fulfilling his potential is what landed him in Denver in the first place, right?

Related: Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart, Jay McClement, Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues

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The Shutdown Corner Interview: Steve Johnson, Pt. 1

He may be best known for the incident after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in which he angrily Tweeted God after dropping five passes in the game, but Buffalo Bills receiver Steve Johnson has actually become one of the most productive and efficient pass-catchers in the NFL. We recently got to catch up with Steve, talking about everything from his (abbreviated) high school football days to how he's helping the Bills become - if not a winning team - at least a team that can bring close games and surprise wins against better squads. This is part one of two.

Shutdown Corner: You had 12 catches total in your first two years, but things have just exploded this season. What's been the primary difference?

Steve Johnson: Well, it's crazy going from 12 to 60 or 70 catches, but this is all an opportunity. We had some voids, and I felt like I've been here a couple years, but I really haven't had the chance to show Buffalo what I can do. Losing Josh (Reed) and Terrell (Owens) opened things up for me, and that was pretty much it - I had my opportunity to play, and I'm just trying to show it.

SC: The thing that stands out most to me about you is your ability to get open in short spaces and beat coverage in tight windows - you've got good speed, but your suddenness really jumps off the tape. How do you develop that, and what do you think are your other attributes as a player?

SJ: I developed that as a young kid, playing Pop Warner. I went through a lot of different position - from running back to cornerback ... I never played receiver at all until I got to college. Playing safety, corner, linebacker (before), I feel like after I catch the ball, I know where the defenders will be, and I just go off of instincts.

SC: The touchdown against the Dolphins last week, where you popped into the screen out of nowhere - what was that play?

SJ: It was a deep post, and we actually worked that all week in practice - working in the post to see if we could get a (cornerback) to flip his hips. Sean Smith(notes), he really didn't flip his hips, but I kind of lulled him to sleep with my route - I kind of straightened him up and used a little speed, decelerated and accelerated again at the top of the route. He was lost a little bit, and that gave me enough space for Ryan (Fitzpatrick) to put the ball in. I made the play and came down with it.

SC: What are you still working on in your game?

SJ: Everything. As far as blocking and trying to stay mentally-focused as far as on plays when it's not coming my way or when it really shouldn't come my way. And blocking and just watching overall film on everybody on the field instead of just cornerback. Watching what the safeties are doing, and watching what linebackers are doing. There's still a lot for me to learn. I still hook up with Lee (Evans) a lot throughout the week and try to break down defensive schemes and stuff.

SC: Bills head coach Chan Gailey is known for going into systems, finding undervalued assets, and making the most of good players. What's it like working with him, and how is the offense different now?

SJ: It's great working with Coach Gailey - it doesn't show in our record, but we've been putting up yards and points. He seems to be an offensive mastermind - he knows how to use his players. Me personally, I just want to go all out for him anyway, because he took this job when a lot of coaches didn't. I just want to give my all for him, because he took a chance on us.

SC: Ryan Fitzpatrick(notes) is another guy surprising a lot of people. What's your assessment of him?

SJ: He's a gunslinger. Period. He throws the ball wherever and whenever. Everybody's live. That's what it's been like since I've been playing receiver for him on the scout team. He's been throwing it short, flat, medium--when you don't expect him to throw it, he'll throw it to you. Everybody's live. Ryan, he's a gunslinger and I love playing for him.

SC: Just looking at it from a talent point of view, the Bills might have more underrated players than any other NFL team right now. There's you, Fitzpatrick, Kyle Williams ... who else on your team is really standing out that the national media needs to pay attention to?

SJ: We can break it down by position. At receiver, we got a couple of undrafted guys--David Nelson(notes) and Donald Jones(notes). Naaman Roosevelt(notes), he's been getting his opportunities now. (inaudible) We got a guy, Corey McIntyre(notes), who does a lot on special teams. He's our fullback, he does a real good job. Freddie (Jackson), everybody pretty much knows about Freddie now. We got a few guys, the thing is, there all guys that nobody know about, but they can ball. We've seen ‘em ball throughout practice and since they've been here with the Buffalo Bills. So we've seen ‘em ball, but the world hasn't yet, but they will. Also Arthur Moats(notes) has a great motor and he's ballin' out now.

SC: We have to cover the whole "Tweeting God" thing - what was behind that, what was the fallout from people, and do you regret it?

SJ: No, I don't regret it because I know what I meant by it. It was bad for...everybody was coming at me different ways and everything, but I knew what I meant by it. I know the Lord is 100% good and I was simply asking why, you know. It was nothing to where I'm blaming him for anything. Not at all. But I don't take it back at all, because I know what I meant by it.

SC: More fun was the "Why So Serious" shirt - what was behind that?

SJ: To be flat-out honest, I think yeah, I think it is a little out of hand. (inaudible) "Why So Serious?" we're having fun and you can get fined $5,000 for that. It's pretty wild, you know. Guys are getting hit and they're fining ‘em for it instead of suspending cats. I don't understand that, but why would you take the money instead of suspending them. I don't understand it. It's supposed to be football, it's supposed to be fun, it's entertainment. I know a lot of people don't really like the flashiness of players, but I know some people that do appreciate that and want to turn the TV on and see some entertainment, you know. That's all, we're trying to have fun and nobody's trying to do anything to damage another guy's reputation or anything, it's just all in fun.

Related: , Ryan Fitzpatrick, Donald Jones, Arthur Moats, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Looking for a promotion, Johnson and Bowling produce mixed results

Strikeforce develops its future stars on its Challengers shows. Three months back, Sarah Kaufman came up big with a win over Roxanne Modafferi to move up Strikeforce's shows on Showtime. Las night, it was time for Roger Bowling and Lavar Johnson to land that signature win that'd get them the call up. Johnson came through with a KO finish of Virgil Zwicker while Roger Bowling showed he needs a little more seasoning during a loss to Bobby Voelker.

Early in the fight, the 6-foot-4, 251-pound Johnson had to deal with the speed of  Zwicker. He took some good licks - leg kicks and some straight rights - before unloading on the smaller heavyweight. Ninety seconds into the first, with little regard for Zwicker's power, the big man began to swing for the fences. After some huge uppercuts, Zwicker crumbled to the mat. Johnson didn't have to throw another shot in getting his third Challenger Series win at 2:17 of the first.

"I hit him hard a few times but he was in it for the fight. He made it a good fight," said Johnson.

Johnson (15-3) said he's ready for the step up to Showtime's main cards.

"I'm ready for the big show. I want to chase down some of those big name guys and see if I have what it takes or not. I'm not afraid of an ass whuppin',"  said Johnson.

Johnson, 33, mentioned names like Andrei Arlovski and Brett Rogers. 

Bowling (8-1) looked awesome early in his fight. His speed overwhelmed Voelker but he got a little left hook happy. Voelker lost the first but started to time that Bowling leaping left hook. Voelker had Bowling missing badly in the opening minutes of the second and fired back with some hard shots. That's when Bowling went for a takedown. It got stuffed and instead of scrambling back to his feet, Bowling sat there on all fours allowing Voelker to tee off. He landed six huge shots and it was downhill from there for Bowling.

Bowling got back to his feet but then tried another sloppy takedown that was thwarted. Voelker got top control and never relinquished it. He stayed busy with punches and hammerfists. Bruised and bloodied on his face, Bowling eventually covered up and turned to his side. The referee had to save him giving Voelker (23-8) the win at 3:58 of the second.  

Strikeforce Challengers results (Courtesy MMAjunkie):

Bobby Voelker def. Roger Bowling via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 3:58
Lavar Johnson def. Virgil Zwicker via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:17
Billy Evangelista def. Waachiim Spiritwolf via unanimous decision
Julia Budd def. Shana Olsen via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:51
John Devine def. Brandon Cash via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:05
David Douglas def. Dominic Clark via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:33

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