For UFC 68 — and hopefully future events — UFCmania is proud to introduce our resident handicapper, Desert Dog.

Desert Dog runs a popular UFC betting site over at ufcbetting.blogspot.com. He is a successful poker player who parlayed that betting success into the Octagon.

Desert Dog — a long time fan of mixed martial arts — has been at this for three years and recently started his site just to keep track of his own bets.

Little did he know that he would attract such an audience in such a short amount of time.

His constant search for fight information and understanding how styles and fighters match up provides Desert Dog — and in turn UFCmania readers — with a consistent edge in picking fights.

Desert Dog’s mantra:

Share the knowledge, share the wealth.

Hopefully, Desert Dog will provide UFCmania readers who enjoy betting with some helpful tips and advice to consider before blowing a wad of cash on a “sure thing.”

He’ll provide insight, analysis and thoughts on each fight for UFC 68 this week. More important, Desert Dog will help explain the betting lines (points) and the smart bets for the March 3 event — better than I certainly can.

So, we hope you find his contribution to UFCmania not only helpful, but profitable, too.

We’re excited about this partnership and just want to thank Desert Dog again for sharing his expert UFC knowledge here at UFCmania.

Stay tuned for Desert Dog’s UFC 68 debut column early this week when the complete lines for the pay-per-view card are revealed.