UFC Heavyweight Bout: Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva
Odds: ( +125 Hunt / -155 Silva )
Betting Pick: Hunt
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In the main event of UFC Fight Night 33, two of the Heavyweight division’s most effective sluggers will go toe to toe as former Strikeforce champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva squares off against against former K1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt. These are two huge, powerful men who are more than willing to let their hands go and more than capable of absorbing punishment, so this has all the makings of an exciting main event.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite losing three of his last five fights, is nonetheless one of the most formidable Heavyweights in the world. What makes Bigfoot unique in the Heavyweight division is that he hits way harder than most grapples and grapples far better than most strikers. He isn’t the best in the Heavyweight division at either, but very few Heavyweights have the same versatility and ability to end fights standing and on the ground. Against Hunt, though, he is going to have to be careful. Hunt has a chin of granite and is shockingly difficult to take down for a kickboxer, so Silva is going to have to be careful to make sure he doesn’t leave himself open to Hunt’s strikes while trying to set up his offense.
Mark Hunt is a former K1 World Grand Prix champion and one of the most decorated Heavyweight kickboxers ever to compete in MMA. While Hunt was always a force to be reckoned with, he spent much of his career getting decidedly mixed results. Since debuting in the UFC, though, Hunt has shown that he is a long way from over, having won four of his last five fights with the only loss coming to former Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. Silva is a good matchup for Hunt in a lot of ways, in that he is not a particularly quick fighter and he is usually willing to engage in slugfests. Hunt just has to keep Silva from taking him down, because he is neither mobile nor accomplished enough to do much off his back with Silva on top of him.
Ultimately, I think this matchup favors Hunt. He’s hard to take down and Silva is a lumbering opponent. On the feet, Hunt hits harder and has a better chin. I don’t think it will take long for this to devolve into a slugfest, and Hunt is better equipped to survive and finish than Silva. Hunt by T/KO.
Prediction: Mark Hunt by second round T/KO.
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