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LAS VEGAS -- UFC 200 is Saturdays undisputed biggest betting event, the marquee attraction of a busy sports weekend that also includes the Wimbledon mens and womens finals and the Euro 2016 final.The card was dealt a blow when Jon Jones dropped out of the headlining match with Daniel Cormier, but the UFC was able to quickly fill the void as former champion Anderson Silva signed on to fight Cormier in an intriguing nontitle bout. The Miesha Tate-Amanda Nunes womens bantamweight title bout now takes over as the headliner, with popular heavyweight Brock Lesnar also taking on Mark Hunt -- and just like that, the buzz around the T-Mobile Arena is as electric as ever.The fact that this kind of change doesnt derail the whole show (and that one cant imagine a boxing card scrambling so effectively on short notice) shows how far the Ultimate Fighting Championship has come, especially since its humble beginnings as a niche sport in the 1990s. Weve come to expect the UFC to have exciting title fights and competitive cards from top-to-bottom for fans and bettors alike.That hasnt always been the case.UFC 1 was held on Nov. 12, 1993 at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado, and was promoted by original owners Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG). Early editions of these mixed martial arts events -- commonly referred to as MMA, which includes all the other organizations, although were focusing here on the history of the UFC -- were promoted as no-holds-barred bouts with no rules. There was no set number of rounds and there were no weight classes; contestants fought until the loser was knocked out or choked out, or tapped out.Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) famously referred to the fledgling sport as human cockfighting in 1996 and there were calls to outlaw it. The UFC had many other critics, and it wasnt able to get licensed in Nevada. Instead, it held cards all over the country in a wide variety of cities: Charlotte, North Carolina; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Casper, Wyoming; Buffalo, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Birmingham, Alabama; Augusta, Georgia; Dothan, Alabama; Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The UFC also hosted events in Puerto Rico and Japan as its fan base grew.The UFC slowly made its way into pop culture and the mainstream, receiving a big boost in that regard when it was featured on the wildly popular TV show Friends on May 8, 1997. In an episode titled The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion, Monicas millionaire boyfriend Pete Becker (played by Jon Favreau) competes in the octagon and repeatedly takes a beating.John Avello, the director of race and sports at the Wynn Las Vegas, was at his former job at Ballys in the mid-1990s.This was 20 years ago, so I dont have specific recollections of conversations of UFC at that time, Avello says now, but the discussions were probably similar to what were seeing now with esports. I dont recall any meetings with the Gaming Control Board like were having already with esports, but we were keeping an eye on it and deciding how we would book it and how it would be handled by Gaming.Lets face it, it was a younger persons game -- just like esports is now -- but us old bookmakers know how to adjust, and when they cleaned up the sport, it made it OK for us to book it.While the no rules policy appealed to the desired demographic of 18-to-34 males, the UFC gradually outlawed eye-gouging, fish-hooking, hair-pulling, head-butting and blows below the belt to make the sport less barbaric. To appeal to state athletic commissions, they also added rounds and a scoring system to make it more like a sport -- more like boxing, but still decidedly different.The Fertitta brothers -- Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III, who inherited the Palace Station Hotel-Casino from their father, Frank Jr., in 1993 and built the Station Casino empire here in Las Vegas -- bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001 (current UFC President Dana White, the Fertittas childhood friend, also owns a minority ownership stake). That was just after UFC 29, and they continued to legitimize the sport, which ultimately led to the UFC getting licensed in Nevada.Marc Ratner was the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from 1992 to 2006 and is credited with helping the UFC get licensed in the state. Ratner later left the NSAC in 2006 to become the UFCs vice president of regulatory affairs, and he has helped the UFC get licensed in every other state -- capped off by New York making it legal in March. Thats a huge comeback from when 36 states banned no-holds-barred fighting in the 1990s.The first card held in Nevada was UFC 33, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sept. 28, 2001. Hugh Citron was a sportsbook supervisor at Mandalay Bay, which was an independent book at that time, and jumped at the chance to set MMA odds.I followed UFC since its inception and was fascinated by it, Citron said, but we didnt book it until we hosted that first event in Las Vegas. The main reason was to give the fans going to the fights a chance to bet, but we found out right away that the UFC had very dedicated fans -- and they werent afraid to bet.In the following years, other books started booking UFC but would usually just do the main event. But we knew that any fights we put on the board would get tons of action.As Citron alluded to, the UFC became more popular with the sportsbooks in Vegas as MMAs popularity grew in the mainstream, and stars such as Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz emerged. Bettors also loved that most fights didnt go to the judges scorecards, so there were more clear-cut results rather than the kind of controversial decisions that have plagued boxing.The Vegas sportsbooks handle UFC mostly the same way as boxing, with odds on the two fighters and an over/under on the number of rounds. There hasnt been much in the way of prop betting, though there have been a few notable exceptions. When UFC 183 was held on Super Bowl eve in 2015, the Westgate SuperBook posted a prop on the number of completed rounds in the Anderson Silva-Nick Diaz fight vs. the number of made field goals by the Patriots and Seahawks; the FGs were -0.5 and a -150 favorite, but the Silva-Diaz bout went five rounds and only one FG was made in the Super Bowl.Another milestone event was UFC 51 on April 9, 2005, which featured the finale of The Ultimate Fighter reality show that aired on Spike TV. Avello -- who has become well-known outside Nevada for his odds on reality shows such as Survivor, American Idol, The Bachelor and just about any other reality show you can name -- said he remembers getting caught up in The Ultimate Fighter craze, which White, to this day, credits as the turning point when the UFC really went big-time. Avello points out there were other factors that helped the UFC become the force that it is today.There were big names, for sure, but UFC also benefited with the decline of boxing, Avello said. Boxing, which really made this town back in the day with so many big fights, started to fall apart with so few big names except for Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in recent years, and the heavyweight division has pretty much been nonexistent. UFC has pretty much just filled that void. If the sport of boxing had stayed strong, UFC wouldnt have had as easy of a time growing like it has.Citron marvels at how the sport has continued to increase in popularity, but says handicapping UFC hasnt changed too much.Back when we started booking UFC, it was easier to follow because there were maybe 10 fighters in each weight class, so it wasnt hard to know them all pretty good, he said from his Stratosphere office, where he has worked since 2012, and still enjoys putting up his UFC odds. Now, the UFC has hundreds of fighters, so that makes it more challenging. Its still not like boxing, where you can make a heavy favorite. In UFC, you never want to lay a really big price, because as weve seen with some of the big upsets, anything can happen. The fighters have to engage, unlike boxing, where a fighter might be able to dance around. When you have to engage, theres a lot more ways to lose.Avello agrees with certain public sentiments that the UFC has almost grown too much, and does question whether the product is getting to the point of overexposure. It took 16 years to get to UFC 100 in 2009, or an average of just over 6 cards a year, and now were at UFC 200 just seven years later -- an average of about 14 pay-per-view cards per year, to say nothing of the cards broadcast on TV.Even though Avello mentioned the decline of boxing several times, he stops short of saying UFC has surpassed boxing in the betting arena.Its still comparing apples and oranges, Avello says. Theres still nothing like a big title fight like we had last year with Mayweather-Pacquiao, but the problem with boxing nowadays is that you rarely get a card with good fights on the undercard. But if you take away those mega-boxing events, the UFC cards out-handle the lesser boxing events because theyre usually deeper with more good fights.However, Jay Kornegay of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook disagrees, saying that the UFC out-handles boxing, at least at his book, and it comes down to that increase in volume.UFC out-handles boxing at a 2-to-1 clip, with boxing being skewed by a few marquee fights, said Kornegay, adding that an average UFC card takes in bets comparable to a solid NFL playoff game. This disparity is widening every year. UFC cards can offer up to 10 matches to wager on, while boxing only offers one to three at most. A lot of boxing undercard matches arent worthy for posting on betting boards.Despite losing the Jones-Cormier matchup, Saturday nights UFC 200 will still produce big lines at the betting windows at the sportsbooks in Vegas. As of 10 a.m. PT Friday, the consensus Vegas lines for the top fights were:Tate -240 over Nunes, a popular underdog play at +200Hunt -170 over the popular Lesnar at +150Cormier -450 over Silva at +375And a great matchup with a tight line, featuring Frankie Edgar (-115) vs. Jose Aldo (-105) Where To Buy Cheap Kyrie Shoes . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Ultra Cheap . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. 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Adrienne Roberson started out as a theater major at the University of Tennessee but quickly switched to broadcasting when she realized she could combine two passions: sports and speaking into a microphone.She loved listening to Casey Kasem and Dick Clark on the radio, and she grew up in Philadelphia, going to Eagles and Phillies games with her dad. Once she got to Tennessee, she realized its like you eat and breathe football.Since then, Roberson, 41, has worked in radio across the U.S. as a disc jockey, sports and traffic reporter and sports board operator for SiriusXM. But her big break came in college when she got the job as public address announcer for the Knoxville Smokies minor league baseball team for two seasons. Shes done PA work for a number of college and pro sports teams -- true labors of love -- and has been the voice of the Bowie Baysox, the Baltimore Orioles Double-A affiliate just minutes from her home in Odenton, Maryland, since 2005. By her count, shes one of only three women doing the job in organized baseball.She reached the majors in 2012 when she worked the mic for an Orioles game at Camden Yards on Mothers Day. She has done eight other Os games since and was one of seven finalists (out of 672 applicants) for the teams regular gig.Roberson juggles a hectic schedule working for the Baysox and Sirius, doing PA work for Georgetown University and several other teams, and raising two teenagers with her husband, a U.S. Navy officer. Recently she talked about her baseball career -- and why its always important to get your foot in the door.Put down that beer!When I applied to the Smokies, I got a job as a box-seat hostess, which is basically when you bring the beer to the people sitting in the lower section. I wanted the job to announce, but that wasnt open. So I got my foot in the door.The announcer was a TV on-air guy, and he got called away to do a big story one day, and I put the beer down, as a hostess, and walked up to the press box. They literally had me put the beer down on the ground and I went up and announced the game. I was there, and they knew I wanted that job. Then the guy started doing more stuff and I got the job. So in 1996 and 97, I was the full-time announcer.Everything has always been about being in the right place at the right time. Even if you have the talent, it doesnt matter. Youve got to pay your dues, youve got to learn from the bottom up and at least get in the door and work for what you want to do.Voice of the BaysoxIn 2004, we moved here from Pennsylvania and while looking for homes, I saw the Bowie Baysox stadium. We live about 15 minutes from there so I put in an application to be an announcer. They didnt have an announcing position open so I was actually a camera operator in 2004. I maybe did about 30 games that year, you know, following the flight of the ball or fan action, that kind of stuff. Again, the announcer couldnt make it one day, and I filled in beccause again they knew thats what I wanted.dddddddddddd When he decided to change jobs, they offered it to me.Her styleI play it pretty straight. I do weave in a lot of enthusiasm. I definitely embellish sometimes. Any players names that end in O, I like to give that much more. Like, Now batting, Manny Machadooooooo!When players come up to bat, theyve got so much on their mind. Sometimes theyre listening and sometimes theyre not, but they need to hear their music to kind of get in their zone and kind of tune out all thats going on around them. I just try to give them that little bit of extra energy and just bring enthusiasm to the game. Its not just reading a name on a piece of paper. Youre a big element of the game.Tongue twistersWhen I first get to the park, I sit down with the radio guy from the other team and we run through the rosters for any weird pronunciations or names you think you know how its going to sound, but its completely different. I write them phonetically real big on a piece of paper so when that name comes up, I have it. Theres been some difficult names. Two names I remember that were hard were Eulogio de la Cruz -- pronounced a-oo-low-Hee-E-oh -- and Ambiorix Concepcion.Critics?For the most part Ive had really positive reaction. You do have some people that would prefer a mans voice. Youd have that anywhere. You have people that dont like you. So I know theres people out there, but I havent had anybody say it to my face. I have seen it on Twitter.Showing up to The ShowIts been incredible, just an absolute dream come true to work Orioles games. Its like the Baysox but on a grander scale. Instead of 7,000 people, youre talking closer to 40,000, but its a whole different world. Youre still in front of the mic, youre still doing the game, but the crowd energy, the enthusiasm. Thousands of people are echoing what you say.Wow factor at Camden YardsId say from the second inning on, I enjoy every moment, just looking around at this gorgeous field, and the city itself and the game. But that first little bit ... every time I go theres still that wow moment.This is work?Its a job but it doesnt feel like a job. I never get bored. I get excited every time I go. Its my passion. I get to watch a game and announce and every day is something new. Its never seeing the same game again and again. Every day, something amazing happens. The people I work with, we all like working together. When the seasons over, its sad.Always busyIts a good thing I really like what I do and it doesnt feel like a job, but at the same time, you work all the holidays, either with the Baysox or Sirius or Georgetown. Theres pretty much sports every day. But Im used to it. And just getting to be outside, enjoying the game is fun. Youre not in an office behind a desk all day. Youre a part of the game. ' ' '