UFC 153 | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

UFC 153: Stephan Bonnar Talks Preparing for Anderson Silva

Stephan Bonnar has no clue how best to prepare to face arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history on three weeks’ notice. But he’ll find out soon enough when he steps into the cage against Anderson Silva in the main event at UFC 153 in Br…

The match, which is due to take place on October 13, was hastily put together when the title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar collapsed due to an injury to Aldo.

Silva stepped in to fight at light heavyweight against an unlikely opponent—Bonnar.

The latter spoke to MMA Junkie about his final weeks of preparation.

“I’ve been on the shelf since my fight 10 months ago,” said Bonnar. “I haven’t put the big gloves on and sparred in that whole time, until last week. It’s quite a challenge. What a challenge I have in front of me… I put in a good week last week. I didn’t get injured. (During) your first hard week, you always worry about that more than anything. So yeah, I made it through that and didn’t get injured, but I’m sore as hell.”

Bonnar was all but retired since his fight against Kyle Kingsbury in November last year. Until the announcement of the Silva match, Bonnar said he had no desire to get back into the cage unless he was given a big-name opponent.

But, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Silva is the reigning UFC middleweight champion with a record 10 title defences. He’s stepped up to 205 lbs twice in his UFC career and both times finished his opponents in the first round without breaking a sweat.

To pit Bonnar against a man who’s just come off the biggest fight in his career—against Chael Sonnen in July—seems hardly fair and few bookmakers or fans are giving the “American Psycho” much of a chance. And Bonnar knows this.

He told MMA Junkie that all he can do is “fight my ass off.”

“I can’t help but just give it everything I’ve got. If I’m not sleeping, I’m going to keep coming. I know no other way.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

[VIDEO] The UFC’s Totally Honest Hype Trailer for UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar

I just watched the first official trailer for UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar and I’m stoked, Nation. Not because the brief montage of fight film, music and narration fooled me into thinking that Stephan Bonnar somehow isn’t a gigantic underdog against Anderson Silva, but rather because the trailer is so honest about his chances and what we’re likely to see. It’s a nice change of pace.

Check it out above and see what I mean. After injuries jacked up UFC 153’s main event twice as well as the originally scheduled co-main, the UFC did the best they could by getting the world’s best fighter on the card and throwing a fearless, aggressive, entertaining fighter at him. The trailer serves as a reflection of this, as it basically tell fans, “Look, Anderson Silva is probably going to knock Bonnar out and we all know whenever ‘The Spider’ does that it’s hella exciting. But if somehow that doesn’t happen, and Bonnar wins, well that would be as big of an upset as we’ve ever seen, and dang, wouldn’t that be exciting, too? Please watch us. It’s been a rough year.”

Check it out above and see what I mean. After injuries jacked up UFC 153′s main event twice as well as the originally scheduled co-main, the UFC did the best they could by getting the world’s best fighter on the card and throwing a fearless, aggressive, entertaining fighter at him. The trailer serves as a reflection of this, as it basically tell fans, “Look, Anderson Silva is probably going to knock Bonnar out and we all know whenever ‘The Spider’ does that it’s hella exciting. But if somehow that doesn’t happen, and Bonnar wins, well that would be as big of an upset as we’ve ever seen, and dang, wouldn’t that be exciting, too? Please watch us. It’s been a rough year.”

Listen, I’m a Pride FC head, so I don’t need much convincing to get into crazy cool freak show match ups. In fact, I spend hours every Sunday morning scouring the Interwebs for tapes of Fedor fighting Zulu Jr., Cro Cop kicking Dos Caras’ mask off, and things of that nature, so you’re darn tooting I’ll watch Silva challenge himself at a higher weight class against a guy who’s beaten, barely lost to, or at least survived against the best the light heavyweight division has offered him over the last seven years.

I know “The American Pyscho” is just a nick name, but there really is something off about that Stephan Bonnar character. He’s a smart, educated guy that doesn’t mind throwing both of those things out the window in an instant for the sake of a good scrap. Blood doesn’t faze him and he may think that he’s a Samurai. Put it this way, here in Chicago we’re pretty certain that the Honey Badger stopped giving a fuck after rooming with Bonnar at Purdue University freshman year.

– Elias Cepeda

UFC 153: Why the Fans Should Be Cheering for Stephen Bonnar

The injury bug decided to bite once again at UFC 153, and this time it ruined a super fight. Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar were set to battle for the featherweight title, when Aldo had to pull out of the bout due to injury.MMA fans around the world were …

MMA fans around the world were rightly upset that this fight was off the books. But out of the turmoil an unlikely saviour emerged to save the event.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. But this announcement didn’t come without some confusion as fans found out his unlikely opponent. Silva would be moving up to 205 pounds to fight the always game Stephen “The American Psycho” Bonnar.

It’s hard to root against Bonnar, even if he is fighting Anderson Silva. Bonnar is a brawler, who seemingly never gives up. Out of all the fights that he’s lost, he’s never been submitted. The only way he has been stopped is a couple TKO’s due to cuts. That means he’s never been knocked out either.

Bonnar only has six losses in the UFC. Almost all of those are top talent fighters including Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and current champion Jon Jones. In every one of his fights, Bonnar has been competitive and willing to put on a show.

Fans have many reasons to cheer for Bonnar at UFC 153. Bonnar always aims to put on entertaining fights. He has a true brawling style, which bodes well for the fans. Bonnar has a well known name, especially from his first fight with Forrest Griffin, which will help the event attract some fans.

Last but not least Bonnar stepped up to face arguably the best fighter in the world right now.

If not for that act, who knows what would have happened to another UFC pay-per-view card without a main event? Bonnar did the UFC and the fans a great service by stepping up and taking this fight.

In my books that’s a solid reason to root for him. If you don’t root for him for any other reason, at least give him some props for helping to save this event.

Tweet me @FuscoNation16.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153 Trailer Thankfully Admits the Truth About Silva vs. Bonnar

During the promotion for UFC 152, nothing was more infuriating than seeing Vitor Belfort falsely billed as the former heavyweight champion.Sadly, that’s the kind of advertising the UFC clearly felt they had to resort to in order to drum up interest for…

During the promotion for UFC 152, nothing was more infuriating than seeing Vitor Belfort falsely billed as the former heavyweight champion.

Sadly, that’s the kind of advertising the UFC clearly felt they had to resort to in order to drum up interest for the fight—a light heavyweight title bout where betting odds universally favored Jon Jones against an overmatched middleweight contender.

Suggesting that Belfort had been a two-division champion was an ugly move, and even worse, the UFC barely acknowledged the fact that he was a massive underdog.

Thankfully, the marketing department isn’t repeating that dishonesty with Stephan Bonnar.

In the first official trailer for UFC 153, Bonnar’s underdog status is a prominent bullet point, with the video teasing that he could pull a “historic upset” against Anderson Silva.

It’s unexpected, but at least the UFC is playing this one straight.

For this match, the story behind the main event should be wrapped around the ridiculously long odds against Silva losing to Bonnar. It’s a modern day Rocky story that’s been gift-wrapped for the promotion, and they would be foolish if they didn’t run with it all the way to fight night.

Sure, most MMA fans know that this is a bout Bonnar likely won’t come close to winning. It’s nothing more than an obvious Hail Mary match made to pander to the 14,000 Brazilians who will pack the HSBC Arena to see the world’s greatest fighter at work.

If the UFC wants to continuing selling this correctly, they won’t shy away from acknowledging that Bonnar is a lunatic for taking the fight.

But at the same time, they need to remind people that in MMA, anything can happen.

Even the biggest underdogs get lucky. Matt Serra made Georges St. Pierre quit. Frankie Edgar out-hustled B.J. Penn. Fabricio Werdum submitted Fedor Emelianenko in one round. Just this past weekend, Vitor Belfort came within a few inches of destroying Jon Jones’ arm.

Whether by cut, doctor’s stoppage, a controversial referee decision, divine intervention or a flying scissors heel hook, it’s possible that “The Spider” can lose.

Dana White and the UFC don’t have to pretend that Bonnar is some elite striker or grappler who can easily expose one of Silva’s minor weaknesses, but they can still promote the fight on one of the oldest adages in the sport.

“Everyone gets caught.” Everyone. At UFC 153, it might happen to Anderson Silva.

[McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld, & PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.]

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Cards: Does It Ever Make Sense to Scrap an Entire Show?

The cancellation of UFC 151 proved that the show needn’t necessarily go on. But it raises an important question: under what circumstances could it be deemed acceptable to abort an entire show? These are some harrowing times for the UFC and its fa…

The cancellation of UFC 151 proved that the show needn’t necessarily go on. But it raises an important question: under what circumstances could it be deemed acceptable to abort an entire show?

These are some harrowing times for the UFC and its fans. No longer can we argue that this is simply a passing storm. Instead, we must accept that MMA has some deep-rooted issues that must be addressed.

Until the sport’s problems are remedied, the potential for future event cancellations looms overhead. Indeed, some fans recently questioned the sense in going through with UFC 153 after it had been decimated by injuries.

I briefly considered listing all of the changes forced upon the card, but soon realized that it would be tedious and boring, both for you to read and for me to write. Suffice to say, the changes were so significant that even a portion of the MMA fanbase wanted Dana White to take the event out back and shoot it.

With a reaction so seemingly at odds with the furore surrounding the decision to cancel UFC 151, one must ask whether the UFC really should have just cut their losses.

Instinctively, it is tempting to suggest that the show must always go on unless it absolutely cannot be salvaged. People underestimate the kind of collateral damage caused by the cancellation of an entire fight card. We are not just talking about the fighters missing out on a much-needed paycheck.

One must also consider the loss of earnings for employees in general, the millions in marketing and revenue the UFC must forego, the potential economic impact that the chosen city will lose out on, not to mention disappointing the thousands of fans who have committed to attending the show.

Now, let’s weigh all that with the fans’ bellyaching over the decision to go forward with what they perceive to be a substandard fight card. They get to watch Anderson Silva take on Stephan Bonnar instead of Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar.

It’s not ideal, but who can really complain when they are offered the opportunity to watch the sport’s greatest ever exponent? Knowing that I would get to witness a bonus performance from Anderson Silva went some way to alleviating my disappointment.

That aside, I have recently wondered what it would take for me to actually agree with any decision to cancel a fight card.

First of all, the event would have to undergo some major changes. And even then, a refund may be the best option.

Secondly, and more importantly, there must be problems with the venue. Think UFC 147: the United Nations came to town, leaving organizers with only one or two weeks’ notice to find a suitable substitute venue.

Thirdly, the anticipation of safety issues would be sufficient cause to cancel or postpone an event. Think this year’s US Open at Flushing Meadows.

I’m sure there are more obscure reasons I could list, but the above circumstances—perhaps in combination with each other— would be sufficient to cancel an event.

Put simply, cancelling an entire show is not something that should be taken lightly. The least of the UFC’s concerns should be whether the main event is underwhelming. That is why they deserve the lion’s share of the blame for the preposterous decision to euthanize UFC 151.

If you really think that Dana White and Co. should have taken similarly drastic action in the case of UFC 153, you either haven’t given the issue enough thought or you are too narcissistic to care about the consequences of such a decision.

Either way, in three weeks’ time I will enjoy watching Anderson Silva do what he does best.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC: The Top 10 Middleweights

The 185-pound weight class has basically come full circle for the UFC. It was ruled by legend Evan Tanner for a while, until Rich Franklin bumped him off and then held the belt for a time. Then he ran into the greatest unarmed killing machine ever…

The 185-pound weight class has basically come full circle for the UFC.

It was ruled by legend Evan Tanner for a while, until Rich Franklin bumped him off and then held the belt for a time.

Then he ran into the greatest unarmed killing machine ever conceived in Anderson Silva, who took that belt and has had it ever since.

There have been ups and downs, contenders and pretenders and a division with potential and a division cleaned out during Silva’s six-year reign.

But now, perhaps as much as at any time in history, the top 10 of the division is full of new faces and interesting styles to mix in with (and probably lose to, if we’re being honest) The Spider.

Coming off of UFC 152, here are the top 10 middleweights in the UFC.

Note: With his announced move to 205 pounds, Chael Sonnen is removed from the rankings. Having most recently fought at 205 pounds, Vitor Belfort is removed from rankings.

Begin Slideshow