After two fighters had to drop out, the Ryan Roberts will take on Marcus Aurelio in a bout on April 2nd at the UFC Fight Night 13. Spencer Fisher, the original opponent had to drop out due to injury. Ryan Roberts is on a two win streak with both victories taking place in 2008. He is 8-2 overall in MMA. BodogLife.com sportsbook has MMA Betting Odds for Kenny Florian vs Joe Lauzon with Kenny Florian as a -220 MMA Betting favorite.
Spencer Fisher would have been a much tougher opponent than most people would think. Marcus who is 15-5 has had a great amount of experience in his long MMA history. In fact, last week I learned Hermes Franca was learning BJJ from Marcus Aurelio back in Brazil many years ago. Hermes as you recall was last seen in a title fight in the UFC. Marcus is one of three fighters to still have a win recorded over the star from Japan, Gomi. The 4th bout would have been against Nick Diaz had not failed his drug tests.
No word from Marcus Aurelio or his management was said though, which would not hint that they whether or not 
they are taking Roberts seriously. Both Marcus and Thiago Silva are managed by the same person and sponsored by the same retail store in Miami, Sobe Knockouts. The store's owner Auggie Mejia, the owner, said that even with the opponent chage they have kept each other in great shape. They also plan to open their own branch of American Top Team after they both fight on April 2nd's card in the UFC Fight Night 13.
Thiago Alves fights Karo Parisyan the same night Marcus Aurelio takes on Ryan Roberts. I was speaking with Karo over the phone last week and he indicated that he thinks that Thiago Alves is an amazing striker. Karo Parisyan also mentioned his kicks specifically are lethal. It sounds like Karo Parisyan has worked to adjust for such talent. Both Thiago Alves and Aurelio are in Denver now training for their fight in high altitude and away from the crazy life of South Florida. BodogLife.com has Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le MMA Betting Odds of Frank Shamrock as a -220 MMA Betting favorite.
The full card is as follows:
Main Card Bouts:
-Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
-Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves
-Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch
-Kurt Pellegrino vs. Nate Diaz
-Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard [possibly televised]
-Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Preliminary Bouts:
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Ryan Roberts
-Din Thomas vs. Josh Neer
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Jeff Cox
-Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
-George Sotiropoulos vs. Roman Mitichyan
-Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson
