(Lyoto Machida walked into the gym that day just to learn a little jiu-jitsu, but he walked out as a witness to murder.)

With Labor Day weekend upon us we are forced to admit that MMA’s Summer of Weird – the summer that saw us reach new highs with UFC 100 and bizarre new lows with the Affliction: Trilogy cancellation – is over.  Waiting for us in the future is a fall fighting season full of fistic goodness.  But since there’s no significant action until mid-September, we decided to take a look at some of the current betting lines on MMA’s coming attractions.

Naturally, we turn to our friends at BestFightOdds.com for the most profitable lines on some select match-ups:

UFC Fight Night 19: September 16

Melvin Guillard (+215) vs. Nate Diaz (-220)
Gray Maynard (-264) vs. Roger Huerta (+264)

UFC 103: September 19

Rich Franklin (-150) vs. Vitor Belfort (+135)
Frank Trigg (+310) vs. Josh Koscheck (-355)
Junior Dos Santos (-127) vs. Mirko Filipovic (+115)

UFC 104: October 24

Lyoto Machida (-450) vs. “Shogun” Rua (+370)
Ben Rothwell (+215) vs. Cain Velasquez (-240)

UFC 105: November 14

Michael Bisping (+115) vs. Denis Kang (-135)

UFC 106: November 21

Brock Lesnar (-240) vs. Shane Carwin (+240)
Mark Coleman (+295) vs. Tito Ortiz (-365)

Strikeforce: ???

Fedor Emelianenko (-550) vs. Brett Rogers (+425)

So who do we like?

- Vitor Belfort is definitely worth a little action as a slight underdog against Rich Franklin.  “Ace” has looked just aiiight recently, while Belfort might have his old swagger back.  The same can’t be said of another slight underdog on that card, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.  He wasn’t all that sharp against Mostapha Al-Turk, using an eye-poke/uppercut combo to win the fight, so we agree that the young, hungry Dos Santos might be too much for him to handle. 

- At UFC 104 the oddsmakers have confirmed what we’ve long suspected, and that’s that “Shogun” Rua will be lucky to land a single punch against Lyoto Machida.  But seeing Ben Rothwell as a 2-1 underdog against Cain Velasquez is enough to pique our interest.  Rothwell is a Midwestern boy who trains with the Miletich camp, so his takedown defense is bound to be a little better than Cheick Kongo’s.

- As far as we’re concerned, Bisping vs. Kang is a pick-em.  When he’s at his best, Kang ought to be able to win this nine times out of ten.  But when was the last time he really performed at his best?

- Okay, obviously we feel like Shane Carwin is a good bet at +240 against Brock Lesnar.  He’s got the physical tools and the background to test Lesnar at his own game, and he’s got the punching power to exploit some of Lesnar’s weaknesses on the feet.  We’re taking this one before the online bookies dial it back some.

- Brett Rogers at +425?  Has no one told the oddsmakers about his plan to fake an injury?

Official Cage Potato Long-Term Parlay: Maynard + Belfort + Dos Santos + Machida + Emelianenko.  It might take a while to collect, but you gotta think long when it comes to your investments.