Though I think Evans will win this fight I do not like the sports betting odds for this fight. Silva opened up at +160. I think the lines should a lot closer and the -195 UFC betting line for Evans is a little off base. I personally don’t like the opening sports betting odds for this fight. Yes I do think that Rashad is going to win this fight but the -195 opening betting lines seem a little steep. The reason why the lines are so steep is because Rashad was on the Ultimate Fighter reality show and he has more exposure than Silva. Betting for mixed martial arts has never been about trends or ability but more about marketing. Because Evans has more exposure he gets favourable betting lines.
We dont even know if Thiago Silva is even a top ten fighter yet. This will be his biggest test to set if he is an upper echelon fighter.  Once a member of the renowned Chute Boxe Academy, Thiago now trains with established fighting stable American Top Team. However, one thing is for sure and that is he can fight. The one thing that still needs to be answered about Silva is if he can fight top level fighters. He has only fought only one really top level fighter in Lyoto Machida where he was KO`èd in the first round. He has an impressive KO over Keith Jardine which has given him some more credibility but the real test is Rashad Evans.

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Striking wise Silva is a better striker. He has been kicks and punches and he is very agressive in his forward attack and his strikes. He will pose some problems for Evans. The one disadvantage about Silva`s striking is that he is not patient. He likes to come forward too much and this puts him in vulnerable situations. Even though Rashad does not have as much skill in the striking department he is a smarter fighter and striker. He likes to be patient and wait and time his strikes. Rashad is not a very aggressive striker and he will wait until it is the perfect time to strike while Silva is more aggressive and puts him in vulnerable positions. Rashad uses a lot of head movements and tries to fake his opponent to throw strikes. Once his makes his opponent throw a punch or kick he will counter attack. Just look at his fight with Chuck Liddell. He was patient and waited for Liddell to come in an throw a punch and then he counter attacked and was able to knock out Liddell. Well Silva is an even more aggressive striker than Liddell is and will press the action. This will leave him in a vulnerable position to be hurt by Evans. Bottom Line: Both fighters come from great MMA camps but Evans trains with Greg Jackson and he is the best trainer in mixed martial arts today. He will come up with a game plan to fight Silva. He will adjust his fight plan for Silva. Thiago already beat a Greg Jackson fighter in Keith Jardine. Silva knocked out Jardine with a left hook and ground and pound stopping the fight at 1:35 minutes  of the first round at UFC 102. You might be able to beat Greg Jackson once but not twice. Evans is a very smart fighter and will listen to whatever game plan Jackson comes up with.

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Technorati Tags: Evans, Free, Pick, Rashad, Silva, Sports, Thiago

UFC 117 odds are set to commence on August 7th from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California with the Middleweight title championship on the line as current defending champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will meet Chael Sonnen. …
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UFC 117 is on its way and fans are still in favor of middleweight champion Anderson Silva, although many of them silently hopes he gets dethroned by number 1 contender Chael Sonnen to pull Silva’s strings down to earth again.

After his lackluster performance and mockery of Demian Maia in UFC 112, Silva was bombarded with loud criticisms for lacking the will to engage and the killer instincts in the octagon. Nonetheless UFC gaming is still on a roll, with bets pouring in on the way to the fight.

Anderson Silva (26-4) gets the -450 odds in UFC betting, proof of his advantage over the challenger and number 1 contender in Sonnen (24-10-1). With this fight The Spider gets to redeem himself after UFC 112 and show the fans how he became the world’s pound for pound fighter with his laser-guided strikes and great evasion.

With what ever is on the line, part of the fight is personal for Sonnen. He has been throwing garbage at Silva’s backyard all the way through the fight in August and has shown disrespect over the champion, including his friends. Recently, he belittled the Noguiera brothers for their jiujitsu, saying that the team’s black belt is “no big deal.”

“I think a black belt under the Nogueiras is saying, like, I got a free toy in my Happy Meal. I don’t really understand what the big deal is. One of ‘em’s a punching bag, and the other one I just ignore; he’s really irrelevant,” says Sonnen in an interview.

Among the many elite cage fighters in UFC, Sonnen has shown the forciveness that will put pressure on Silva in the whole fight. Sonnen may not have real respect for Silva, but he will still have to back his words and put Silva to sleep or else he gets the toughest humiliation from every big names in Silva’s camp and their fans. Silva is ready, he is the champ, and like he said, Sonnen should come ready too.

 

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Anderson Silva and Demian Maia headline UFC 112 betting odds at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Silva is a -875 favorite in UFC odds at online sportsbooks to defend his middleweight title while Maia is the underdog at +575. This bout is one of 11 on a great fight card for Saturday in Abu Dhabi. You also want to remember that because of the time zone difference that the fights will begin at 1:00pm EST. Silva comes into this bout with a record of 25-4 while Maia is 12-1. Bet Anderson Silva -875 against Demian Maia +575 in UFC 112 odds and receive a 10% deposit bonus.

Silva is the most dominant striker in UFC betting while Maia is a submission expert. For Maia to have any chance he will have to get this fight to the ground. “I think at this fight I put a little bit more attention in wrestling,” Maia said. “I need to take Anderson down.” The problem for Maia is that he may not survive long enough to get a takedown. Silva has landed 75% of his strikes which is far and away the best percentage in UFC odds. He is also hard to hit, as his opponents in his last four fights have landed just 20% of their strikes.

Maia’s only chance is to win this fight is by submission but getting Silva to the mat is going to be extremely difficult. Silva could be at the point where he has to change weight classes to find some competition although he doesn’t want to say so. “I’m actually far from cleaning out my division. I feel that there may be guys that are even better than me coming into the UFC,” said Silva, “And proof that there’s tough guys in my division is Demian Maia right now. We’re going to have a great fight. It’s going to be a big fight, a big challenge for me.” Bet Demian Maia as the underdog at UFC 112 and receive a 10% bonus.

The other co-feature in UFC betting odds on Saturday has BJ Penn heavily favored against Frankie Edgar. Penn is -1100 while Edgar is +600. Also on the main card it is Matt Hughes is a -450 favorite against Renzo Gracie +300, Terry Etim -165 vs. Rafael dos Anjos +135 and Mark Munoz -185 against Kendall Grove +155. There are six bouts on the preliminary card in UFC 112 odds which include Paul Kelly vs. Matt Veach, Mostapha Al Turk vs. Jon Madsen, Alexander Gustafsson vs. Phil Davis, Paul Taylor vs. John Gunderson, DaMarques Johnson vs. Brad Blackburn and Nick Osipczak vs. Rick Story.

Technorati Tags: Betting, Maia, Odds, Silva

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based MMA promotion. Dana White serves as the president of the UFC while Zuffa, LLC (controlled by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta) owns the company.

Inspired by vale tudo competitions in Brazil, the UFC held its first competition in Denver, Colorado in 1993. Showcasing fighters of different proficiencies—including boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and Muay Thai, among others—the UFC sought to discover which martial art was the most effective in a real fight. After a period of political backlash, the UFC gradually underwent reform by embracing stricter rules and achieving sanctioning with State Athletic Commissions.

With a cable television deal and expansion into Canada, Europe and new markets within the United States, the UFC as of 2009[update] has gained in popularity, along with greater mainstream-media coverage. As of 2009[update] viewers can access UFC programming on pay-per-view television, Spike in the United States and Canada, on ESPN in the United Kingdom as well as in 33 other countries worldwide.

UFC Unleashed is a television series produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It features matches from past UFC events. Episodes are one hour in length, showing several exciting UFC bouts and best of compilations of popular fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.

In Australia the show can be seen on Fuel TV. In Sweden the show can be seen on TV4 Sport. In Portugal the show can be seen on Sic Radical. In Germany the show can be seen on DSF. In the United Kingdom, the show can be seen on ESPN UK every Thursday at 10pm. In Denmark, the show can be seen on channel 9. In Finland the show can be seen on MTV3 MAX.

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Having a hard time picking a winner on this one! There is an interesting background to it all. This fight has been in the works since early `06 and likely prior to that, we just do not know about. It has the makings of a great war and hopefully can live up to the hype!

Back in July 2006 at UFC 61 Dana introduces Silva to the UFC crowd and brings him in the cage. This is prior to the whole Pride purchase so this was a huge event at the time as there was always question as to which organization had the better fighters. Wandy gets the mic and says he wants to the fight the best in the UFC, i.e. Mr. Iceman, so in comes Chuck and they have a little stare down. The announcement was for the fight to be in November with one stipulation, Chuck had to beat Renato Sobral ‘Babalu’ in August and retain his title.

*Side note: Babalu got fired from UFC for not relinquishing a choke hold in a later fight after the ref told him to stop when his opponent tapped, serves him right!*

August came and went and Babalu, a Jiu-Jitsu black belt tries to go toe to toe with Chuck. As expected he took a little nap in the ring and now the fight with Silva should be a go for November, except for one big problem. Cro-Cop kicked Wanderlie in the head with bad intentions in September at the Pride Open Weight tourney. Now, I do not know if he got hurt but the fight never happened. There were a lot of reasons floating around, but who knows for sure which one is true. Either way does not matter. Fight was off, and appeared to be off forever. Rumors came and went but then UFC owners, the Ferttitas, bought Pride. What a great move setting up the best against the best! So, lots of stuff has happened but the fight is now on for Dec 29!!!

I usually have a gut feeling who I think will win but this time I am not sure. Both fighters have lost their last 2 fights. Wandy got KO’d twice (Henderson & Cro Cop), Chuck got rocked by Rampage and then lost a brutal fight to The Dean of Mean Keith Jardine. The mental game has to be a factor now. These guys are used to having their hands raised so 2 losses in a row has to affect them mentally, it can’t not! Chuck has even gone so far as to seek help from Tony Robbins to help him get his fire back as he really looked lack luster against Jardine. More than just a couple of guys who want to prove them selves this is a career fight for both of them. Someone walks away with their record showing L-L-L and that is going kill main event status and title contention for a very long time. The winner however jumps up the ranks. So, if the stress of losing two fights prior was not enough, throw that into the mix for them!

Chuck’s record is 20 – 5. Using 2003 as a cut off he is 8 – 4. I use 2003 as to be an indicator of the more recent performance as all fighters evolve in their career. I see a lot of wrestlers in that list of opponents. He lost to Randy Couture once who is proven to be a hall of famer over and over again. He fights him 2 more time and knocks him out both times. He put Tito to sleep 2 times. Looks to me like he has the wrestlers figured out, except one. Quinton Jackson. Like Iceman has Tito’s number, Jackson has Chucks. He has 2 straight losses to Rampage, both by KO. The rest of his fights are against some good fighters but not top tier by any means. The stand out is the fight against Jardine. No doubt that was a tune up match for him that UFC expected him to use to get back on his feet after losing the belt to Rampage. Well, that sure back fired. He lost a decision and that sets him back, way back in the rankings! Lucky for him he is likely the most famous UFC fighter around and after 2 straight losses he still gets a co-main event for his third fight. I am not sure there are many fighters that would get that chance from the UFC. Correction, there are none.

The name Quinton Jackson comes up again when you look at Wandy’s record. Except it’s the other way around, Silva has KO’d Rampage 2 times! Like they say, it’s all about styles. This by no way, shape, or form confirms he can beat Chuck, but it is an interesting stat! Silva is 10 – 4 since 2003 with quite a list of opponents. Most notable wins over Sakuraba, Jackson, Arona, & Fujita. I saw Fujita beat Bob Sapp (google him and look at how immense Sapp is at 350lbs of muscle) and impressed how he just manhandled a complete monster in SAPP. I was even more impressed when Silva got the TKO over him. A big difference in the Pride world is they end up fighting guys who are way bigger in the open weight tourneys. When Wanderlei fought Mark Hunt he was at an 80lb weight disadvantage but he went the distance in the fight but lost the decision. Was felt by many he deserved the win given the huge size difference. His four losses come from Hunt, Arona, Henderson, and Cro Cop. If your going to lose 4 fights, those are the guys to help you do it.

As much as I want to say Silva had better competition to face it is a bold statement given Chuck put down Couture two times. I will say that Couture’s stand up is not as good as Silva and that Chuck has an edge over the wrestlers as he is very good at standing when he is taken down. I have yet to see him be held down. That alone is impressive. Silva is not a wrestler but a BJJ black belt and a gifted stand up fighter with awesome knees. Take the BJJ out of the equation though, they want to slug it out, no way it’ll be a ground fight. The cage comes into play as Silva is used to a ring, sounds like a small thing, but it is a mental barrier for guys to over come. Silva has moved to Florida and trains at Extreme Couture (trained there with Ray!) so I am sure he is ready for the adjustment. Both guys want to redeem themselves after 2 losses.

Silva – 2nd round.

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Technorati Tags: chuck, Liddell, Silva, Wanderlei

UFC 78 is quickly approaching and it’s main event match-up between Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping made me think about fighters who could cut weight to drop to a lower weight class. In that spirit I am going to discuss four UFC fighters who might be well served by dropping weight and fighting below their current class.

Let me start at the top, the UFC heavyweight division. There are a couple of UFC heavyweights who could make 205lbs, remember Randy Couture fought as a light heavyweight for a while, he even held the light heavyweight title. There is really only one UFC heavyweight who I want to talk about dropping weight. Brandon “The Truth” Vera just dropped a three round decision to former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Brandon didn’t loose this match because of his skill-set. He lost because of Tim’s size. Tim pushed Vera up against the fence and used his weight to close the distance, essentially negating Vera’s superior kicking game. If Brandon Vera dropped down to 205lbs I feel he would be competing on an even playing field and would likely quickly move into title contention.

The UFC light heavyweight division has the majority of guys who should consider dropping weight. There are three that I’d like to discuss, they are Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson. You’ll note that Bisping and Evans are the main event fighters at UFC 78. Both of these fighters are undefeated at light heavyweight.

Michael Bisping is an outstanding fighter, a good striker with an adequate ground game. However, his recent fight with Matt Hamill shows that he can be manhandled by a stronger opponent. Bisping mostly stayed on the outside in this fight and let Hamill control the action. I believe that this is because he was staying away from Hamill’s strength…with is wrestling, and physical strength. We all remember on the Ultimate Fighter when Hamill was overwhelming the other fighters with his physical strength, a move to 185lbs would not only put him into title contention, but would allow Bisping to be stronger than other opponents in that weight class.

Rashad Evans has already dropped a weight class. Rashad competed at heavyweight on the Ultimate Fighter TV series and did very well, winning his division, but his recent bout with Tito Ortiz showed that Rashad, despite his superior wrestling skills is a small light heavyweight. Rashad will have no problems matching strength with Bisping at UFC 78, but when fighting the larger light heavyweights like Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva and Tito Ortiz he will get manhandled, essentially negating his wrestling advantage. A move to 185lbs would likely make Rashad an immediate title contender.

Dan Henderson has already fought at 185lbs and is the current, and likely last, PrideFC 185lb champion. Dan is strong, even for a 205lb fighter and Dan probably has the best wrestling in the UFC. Dan’s last fight with Quinton Jackson showed that he can have trouble with a guy who is a good wrestler, a good striker and is as physically strong as he is. There simply isn’t a fighter at 185lbs with Dan’s strength. With a decisive strength advantage, Dan’s heavy hands and fantastic wrestling would take him not only into title contention, but in my eyes he would defeat Anderson Silva.

The UFC 185lb division is probably it’s weakest. With a dominant champion and everyone else way below there are seemingly no challengers, but just above at 205lbs there are a bunch of small light heavyweight fighters who might want to consider transitioning to 185lbs.

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I wrote an article a few days back entitled 10 Things MMA Could Live Without in 2010 and one of my gripes was friends or teammates not fighting each other. Shizio Machida, Lyoto’s Father, did an interview with PVT Mag in which he agrees that Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida need to go at it at some point.

There is only one champion, so I believe this fight must happen. It’s a professional issue, and I believe they can fight. Deep down, everyone wants to know who is strongest. Friendship is friendship, but they’re not amateurs. The eventual winner isn’t my concern. What matters to me is how they win, and their strategy. This would be a mental battle…I really like Anderson. He didn’t train Karate, but knew it instinctively. Standing switches, stances, how to use his waist, moving with purpose as he advances and backs away, dancing without getting hit. The future of MMA isn’t who can take more punishment, but the one who leaves with a clean face. Many fights are pure slugfests, but people don’t see things ten years into the future.

I think Shizio sums it pretty well when he says its a professional issue and they’re not amateurs. Of course it’s ultimately not up to him, but the 2 fighters themselves and even if Shizio convinces Lyoto, Anderson still must agree. So it’s still far fetched in my opinion, but we can dream.
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Demian Maia Says Anderson Silva “Begged My Forgiveness” After UFC 112
Although UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva may have stated he wasn’t remorseful about his antics at UFC 112 , Demian Maia—the man he dissed directly—claims the champion not only apologized to him, but “begged” for forgiveness. “I just thought it was disrespectful for him to swear at me during the fight,” Maia told GracieMag.com . “Saying things like, ‘You (expletive) momma’s boy, show me your …

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