By Tom MacKay, FightTicker.com contributor

It's been a while since UFC 87, but we are back with a vengeance for UFC 88. I am truly impressed with this card. I think the UFC has done a very nice job of matchmaking with UFC 88.

I like the idea of having established stars (Liddell, Franklin, Henderson, Parisyan) fighting up-and-coming guys with tons of potential (Evans, Hamill, Palhares, Yoshida). I am also head over heels for the Martin Kampmann-Nate Marquardt fight. My two favorite middleweights butting heads. Can't wait for that one.

Let's get into the betting odds. There were no lines on three of the fights listed, as of Wednesday. They were Dong Hyun Kim vs. Matt Brown, Mike Patt vs. Tim Boetsch, and Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald. If I had lines, or was able to find them before the fights, I'd be taking Kim, Boetsch and MacDonald. We'll have to see if those become available before Saturday.

As a rule, I don't usually bet on every fight on a card. It just presents too much of an opportunity to lose money. But for UFC 88, I am going to go against this guideline, and take all seven of the fights with lines. Here are the lines I was working with:

Thiago Tavares: Even
Kurt Pellegrino: 140

Ryo Chonan: -120
Roan Carneiro: -110

Nate Marquardt: -145
Martin Kampmann: +115

Karo Parisyan: -240
Yoshyuki Yoshida: +190

Dan Henderson: -240
Rousimar Palhares: +180

Rich Franklin: -270
Matt Hamill: +210

Chuck Liddell: -275
Rashad Evans: +215

I'm going to start with Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino. Pellegrino is a slight favorite in this one, yet I can't figure out why. The only "big" win on Pellegrino's ledger was a victory over TUF champion Mac Danzig in Pellegrino's first fight. He has trained with Ricardo Almedia in Jersey, Hermes Franca in Florida and Kenny Florian and Mark DellaGrotte's SitYodTong in Massachusetts. He has tons of talent, but just seems to wilt under the bright lights. His UFC wins are over Junior Assuncao, Nate Mohr, and Alberto Crane. His losses are to Drew Fickett, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. I think Thiago Tavares is much more along the lines of the latter three than the former. Tavares has lost two of his last three -- much like Pellegrino -- to Tyson Griffin and Matt Wiman. Tavares was expected to be a superstar at this weight class, and has not yet reached those expectations. I think he takes a big step up here and beats Kurt. I'm putting out the $100 to win $100 on Tavares, hoping that the line may move slightly my way to have a better payoff.

Next up is a rematch between Roan Carneiro and Ryo Chonan. Carneiro lost his last fight in surprising fashion to Kevin Burns by triangle. Carneiro is a star in the BJJ game, but he got caught by Burns. He has already been beaten once by Chonan, in February of 2005, because of a cut. Carneiro is 2-2 in the UFC, and may struggle with Chonan, the last man to defeat Anderson Silva legitimately. Chonan has been training with Team Quest, and I think he will be ready for this fight. His fight with Parisyan was a pretty boring decision loss for Chonan. I think laying the $120 on Chonan to win $100 sounds about right.

Now, the fight that has my interest piqued: Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt. Kampmann is 4-0 in the UFC, with wins over Crafton Wallace, Thales Leites, Drew McFedries, and Jorge Rivera. His knee seems to be sound, as he proved against Rivera in June. I love this guy. He seems to have the right attitude, trains with one of the best camps in Xtreme Couture in Vegas, and has something to prove, as he steps up in competition against Marquardt. Nate, on the other hand, is an already-established force in the 185-pound division. He is 5-2 in the UFC, with his losses to division king Anderson SIlva and Thales Leites. He's got wins over stars Jeremy Horn, Dean Lister, Kazuo Misaki, Ivan Salaverry, and Yves Edwards. I think Marquardt takes a hard-fought split decision in this fight. I'm going to bet the $145 in order to win $100.

Next up is Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshyuki Yoshida. This is going to be a great fight. Karo is 8-3 in the UFC, but looked slightly out of shape in his last fight against Thiago Alves. He seemed significantly slower than in his previous fights. While an amazingly talented judo player, Parisyan just does not finish fights. He has not finished a fight since defeating Nick Thompson in April of 2006. This could prove problematic against Yoshida, who hasn't been out of the second round in the same time period, a span of nine consecutive wins. Yoshida is a star in the making, in my opinion. This will be a tough fight, but I'm going to take Yoshida here, laying $100 to win $190.

That brings us to Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares. I am unable to hide my joy when talking about Palhares. I absolutely LOVE this guy, so I HATE this matchup for him. Henderson is just a guy who does not get subbed. The only guys who have gotten him are Anderson Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera, the UFC middleweight champion and the UFC interim heavyweight champion respectively. If this fight goes the distance, Henderson wins. If there is a KO, Henderson wins. But I am going out on a limb and taking Palhares. This is my riskiest pick of all, as I only see one way for my guy to pull off the upset, and it's a way that just doesn't happen to Hendo. I think Palhares latches on to a leg or an arm, and yanks on it for all he is worth. I'm putting up $100 on Palhares to win $180. By the way, I thought the odds on this fight would be much further apart. Seems to me that people are putting their money on "Toquino", too. I figured I'd get him at +250 or so.

On to the co-main event: Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill. So, we get Franklin moving up to 205 to take on a really strong 205 guy in Hamill. This is the one fight I debated not taking. I see Franklin winning the fight, but I think it will be much tougher than people assume. Hamill is so strong and he looked pretty impressive against Tim Boetsch (even though it was the altitude that eventually KO'd Boetsch). Franklin is a veteran, and I think he is still good enough to beat the guys who aren't named Anderson Silva. Hamill has a chance, but I'm not ready to put money on him against Ace. I'll lay the $270 on Franklin to win $100. This is another fight which had surprising odds. I thought I'd get Rich at around -240 or so, but it seems like a sound investment .

Finally, the main event: Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans. Unlike the Palhares-Henderson fight, I can't find a way for Rashad to win this fight, outside of a Rampage-like right hand that strikes Chuck down. Evans' game plan (outside of his highlight reel headkick KO of Sean Salmon), has always been to outwrestle his opponent. I'm not convinced he can do that to Liddell. Chuck's takedown defense is amazing, and while Evans is a great wrestler, he is not known as much of a striker (Salmon fight notwithstanding). It's part of the reason the casual fan boos a guy like Evans, or Josh Koscheck, or Brock Lesnar. He gets his opponent into a vulnerable position, and works off of that, sometimes to the detriment of a finish. It may seem boring, but it cannot be argued that it has been a successful approach for Evans. The problem stems from the fact that he is fighting a guy -- the guy -- that this game plan doesn't work on. Even though Evans trains with Liddell nemesis Keith Jardine, they are totally different fighters, and the game plan that worked for Jardine probably won't work for Evans. I think Chuck pulls out a unanimous decision victory in this fight. I am undecided as to how much I will lay on this fight. I am confident in Liddell, so it could be as much as $415, to win $150. I'll have to see how we look on Friday. Either way, though, there will be money changing hands multiple times Saturday night. I am hoping the majority of it is coming back my way.

Enjoy the fights!

(Tom MacKay is 18-12 on straight bets and 1-0 on parlays since he began writing for FightTicker.com. During that time he is up $1,575.)

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