UFC 153 emanates from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Anderson Silva meets Stephan Bonnar in a light heavyweight clash in the main event. The co-main event will feature the return of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Dave Herman.The l…
UFC 153 emanates from the HSBC Arena in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil.
Anderson Silva meets Stephan Bonnar in a light heavyweight clash in the main event. The co-main event will feature the return of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Dave Herman.
The live action kicks off on Facebook before moving to FX at 8 p.m. ET. The pay-per-view telecast gets underway at 10 p.m. ET.
Pay-Per-View, 10 p.m. ET
— Main Event: Anderson Silva (202 lbs) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205 lbs) — Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (243 lbs) vs. Dave Herman (244 lbs) — Glover Teixeira (204 lbs) vs. Fabio Maldonado (203 lbs) — Jon Fitch (170 lbs) vs. Erick Silva (169 lbs) — Phil Davis (206 lbs) vs. Wagner Prado (204 lbs) — Demian Maia (170 lbs) vs. Rick Story (170 lbs)
FX Preliminary Card, 8 p.m. ET
— Rony Jason (145 lbs) vs. Sam Sicilia (146 lbs) — GleisonTibau (155 lbs) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (154 lbs) — Diego Brandao (146 lbs) vs. Joey Gambino (144 lbs) — Sergio Moraes (169 lbs) vs. Renee Forte (169 lbs)
Facebook Preliminary Card
— Luiz Cane (184 lbs) vs. Chris Camozzi (185 lbs) — Cristiano Marcello (155 lbs) vs. RezaMadadi (155 lbs)
Anderson Silva is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time and the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion.At UFC 153 he steps back up to light heavyweight for a featured bout against Stephan Bonnar, and “The Spider” simply cannot take him lightly. Bon…
Anderson Silva is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time and the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion.
At UFC 153 he steps back up to light heavyweight for a featured bout against Stephan Bonnar, and “The Spider” simply cannot take him lightly.
Bonnar poses a unique set of challenges for Silva, both physically and with his array of skills.
Silva has defended his title five times since his last trip to the 205-pound weight-class.
Back at light heavyweight, and without his precious title on the line, there is a chance Silva could get complacent. This is not a fight that was scheduled and sough after. Silva stepped up on short notice to bail out the UFC after an injury to UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.
Bonnar is 6’4” and will be well over 205 pounds by the time the fight begins. He will be giving up the speed advantage to Silva, but with only a month’s worth of preparation, his size advantage could be an issue of concern for the middleweight champion.
“The American Psycho” has the tools to make this a rough fight for Silva. A bigger, stronger man who has decent takedowns, good ground and pound, and an excellent jiu-jitsu game.
Chael Sonnen got Silva down to the mat but was unable to exert a great deal of damage or force a submission, but if Silva finds himself on the mat during this fight, Bonnar could very well punish the champion.
This is only a three round main event. The shortened affair will give Bonnar an excellent chance to steal two rounds on the judges’ scorecards if the fight goes the distance. If he can take Silva down and stay in top position it will be a big feather in his cap.
Bonnar is a tough fighter. He’s stood toe-to-toe with some of the best fighters in his division. Each of his two TKO losses were by virtue of a cut. Silva has the ability to stop Bonnar, but that is a huge task for anyone.
Bonnar knows he can take a shot, and knows he will need to eat a few of Silva’s blows in order to get inside. He will try to make this an ugly fight.
Silva has to take Bonnar seriously, as Bonnar is a serious threat. In spite of all the betting odds and media predictions, Bonnar is a dangerous, live dog in this fight.
Unfortunately for Bonnar, Silva does not have a tendency to overlook anyone. Just ask James Irvin.
Implementing his game plan against Silva will be tough, but if Bonnar is able to make this a nasty fight then he stands an excellent chance of knocking off Silva.
If Silva takes Bonnar lightly, the world could be in store for one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
But Anderson Silva has yet to have any lapse in focus during his UFC tenure, and he’s unlikely to start now.
Many people believe Anderson Silva is getting a cookie when he fights Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153. While most agree that Silva is obviously the better fighter and should win the fight, Bonnar will not be an easy opponent.In that right, Silva cannot take …
Many people believe Anderson Silva is getting a cookie when he fights Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153. While most agree that Silva is obviously the better fighter and should win the fight, Bonnar will not be an easy opponent.
In that right, Silva cannot take Bonnar lightly one bit.
Yes, Silva is the best fighter in the world. Yes, Bonnar has tooled a ton of tough guys. And yes, Silva can clown most light heavyweights in the UFC.
However, Bonnar is a fighter that always fights with a purpose. Bonnar has the never-die attitude and is always in the fight.
Fighting a guy that is 20 pounds heavier than fighters you normally fight at 185 is another story. If a guy like ChaelSonnen can manhandle Silva with takedowns, what makes you think a bigger guy like Bonnar couldn’t?
Okay, so Sonnen has a great wrestling pedigree and Bonnar doesn’t come from a powerhouse wrestling background. But Bonnar mixes up his striking well enough to put Silva on his back.
In that regard, Silva better be taking this training camp seriously. Bonnar has always been the underdog, but this is the type of situation where these Rudy-like figures realize what these opportunities mean and do everything they can to capitalize on it.
So, come fight night, Anderson Silva takes a big risk in fighting Bonnar. Many don’t see it as a risk because he is supposed to dominate, but a loss would be huge for Silva.
Both Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar entered the UFC with a bang. But since then, both of their careers have went down totally different paths. Silva became the king of the middleweight division after wrecking Chris Leben in his UFC debut. He’s yet t…
Both Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar entered the UFC with a bang. But since then, both of their careers have went down totally different paths.
Silva became the king of the middleweight division after wrecking Chris Leben in his UFC debut. He’s yet to taste defeat in the Octagon and hasn’t been challenged outside of his two fights with ChaelSonnen.
“The Spider” has grown so bored of defending his belt at times that he’s stepped up a weight class. Despite fighting at a weight class 20 pounds heavier, Silva didn’t miss a beat.
He’ll jump up a weight class to meet Bonnar, who has made a career off his exciting fight with Forrest Griffin on the finale of The Ultimate Fighter season one. Since then, Bonnar has had an up and down career and appeared to be on the chopping block but has since won three-straight bouts.
Although the two men have taken separate paths to get to this point, both have had a moment in their MMA careers that has defined them forever.
Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva will meet in an unexpected main event.Bonnar enters as a steep underdog against the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet.With four-ounce gloves anything can happen, and Bonnar certainly has the skills to pull off…
Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva will meet in an unexpected main event.
Bonnar enters as a steep underdog against the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet.
With four-ounce gloves anything can happen, and Bonnar certainly has the skills to pull off the incredible upset in Silva’s backyard. Odds go out the window when the cage door shuts.
This could be the capstone of Bonnar‘s long career, and possibly send him off to retirement on an all-time high. If he is the man to defeat Silva in the UFC he will go down in the history books much the same as Matt Serra did for defeating GSP.
Here are three keys to one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
UFC 153 gets underway from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday evening.The oddsmakers are putting their final touches on the lines as money continues to trickle in.Anderson Silva meets Stephan Bonnar in the evening’s main event in a li…
UFC 153 gets underway from the HSBC Arena in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil on Saturday evening.
The oddsmakers are putting their final touches on the lines as money continues to trickle in.
Anderson Silva meets Stephan Bonnar in the evening’s main event in a light heavyweight special attraction. The co-main event of the evening pits Dave Herman against the returning Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
The rest of the main card has some exciting matchups as well. Demian Maia squares off against Rick Story, Jon Fitch meets rising star Erick Silva and Glover Teixeira will try to make his claim for a title shot against Fabio Maldonado.
Here is a look at the updated main card odds just hours before the event.
