Despite the injuries and removed bouts scheduled for UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber, it is still an extremely exciting card. The entire event, from top to bottom, is stacked and perhaps the strongest of the year. The preliminary card alone could be its own ev…
Despite the injuries and removed bouts scheduled for UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber, it is still an extremely exciting card. The entire event, from top to bottom, is stacked and perhaps the strongest of the year. The preliminary card alone could be its own event on Spike TV or Versus.
There are some key matchups, particularly in the lightweight division, that could clear up some of the confusion and create some real contenders. There’s a few potential barnburners and a title on the line.
Let’s break down each bout and select likely winners, shall we?
Whenever two strikers meet each other, it is always bound to turn into an entertaining bout and there should be no exception for Wanderlei Silva or Chris Leben.It will be the first time both fighters meet each other at UFC 132 and Silva will be making …
Whenever two strikers meet each other, it is always bound to turn into an entertaining bout and there should be no exception for Wanderlei Silva or Chris Leben.
It will be the first time both fighters meet each other at UFC 132 and Silva will be making his return after a year layoff rehabbing an injury.
Silva spoke with FightersOny.co.uk and he believes his bout with Leben will remind fans just how dangerous the Brazilian can be.
“We fight toe to toe, we give show the fans like to watch,” Silva said.
“I am faster, I am faster than him. Who’s gonna hit first? My style is to go in there and [throw a lot of punches].”
Both strikers have knocked out several opponents throughout their respective careers and are known for their aggressive, brawling style. It is because of their styles that makes this fight more intriguing and it even has the former Pride FC Middleweight Champion claiming the bout to be a potential candidate for “Fight of the Year.”
After experimenting with different weight classes in previous fights, Silva made the transition to middleweight last year where he made his debut against British slugger Michael Bisping. Silva looked to be in much better condition and earned a victory over Bisping via unanimous decision.
Leben has been one of the more exciting, attracting fighters to compete in the middleweight division, as the former Ultimate Fighter season one alumni has recorded wins over Yoshihiro Akiyama, Aaron Simpson and Patrick Cote.
While both men are noted for their knockout ability, Silva has taken far more susceptible punishment to being knocked out in his career. But despite his vulnerability, Silva predicts the bout won’t make it past the first round and sees himself imposing his will early.
“I’m going to hit him a couple of times and after that he is going to go out. I’m going to beat him fast,” he said.
When we talk about mixed martial arts legends, often we measure greatness in terms of success. Living legends of this era of the sport like Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva have known very little more than pure success across their careers. They fou…
When we talk about mixed martial arts legends, often we measure greatness in terms of success. Living legends of this era of the sport like Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva have known very little more than pure success across their careers.
They found that success at the highest level of the sport and in championship form. Looking back fighters like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture also forged their legacies in UFC gold. These men are legends without question.
But they are not alone, their success may define their legacies, but unwavering success is not the only litmus test for greatness. Take Don Frye for example. Sure he held a title or two over his career, but his fans celebrated him for his war; for what he brought into the cage with him.
It was not just his titles that captivated an entire generation of die hard “Predator” fans. It was his gentle touch, and appreciation for small talk. No, no it was not. It was his warlike, beast mode, mustached weapons of mass destruction that lured the Frye-onians.
Like Frye, there are many other fighters who may not be perennial championship contenders but they hold a very special place in the heart of MMA fans in the know. Clay Guida comes to mind but there are many more.
But no fighter on the planet is more celebrated for his fight every but as much as his recent success, than Wanderlei Silva. Show me any fight fan who can’t pick Wand out of a line up and I’ll show you a Tapout fashion statement who showed up when Lesnar crossed over.
The MMA community has a very “what have you done for me lately” mentality. Just ask Fedor. You can go from one of the most talked about fighters in history to old news after one triangle choke, and one doctor stoppage. Then you become just another heavyweight looking to prove you still belong.
Wanderlei has somehow circumvented the idea that winning is the only thing that matters. When it comes to his career, there is plenty of success make no mistake about it. He is no stranger to being a champion looking at his days in Pride. But checkered across his record are scattered and lately some clustered losses.
What die hard Wanderlei fans already know and will be happy to explain to anyone who may not realize is this; Even in his losses Wanderlei has found a way to make almost every fight spectacular. His most devastating failures of course reflected a superior opponent but more often than not they also reflect the results of a war he imposed.
His fight with “The Iceman” will go down in MMA history right up with Griffin vs Bonnar. His loss to Rich Franklin was razor thin in an amazing bout. What fans remember is not just the loss reflected in the right side, they remember how hard he fought for them as he lost. It is not every fighter who can lose so impressively as Wanderlei.
The fighter in this world is a rare breed. Most will fight if challenged for life or limb. Few will seek out the competition and sacrifice that can be found preparing for and participating in MMA. Among that certain brand of human being there are even more elite individuals who stand out among the crowd.
Wanderlei Silva is a gleaming beacon of light that is undeniable. His archives of outright war, competing both in and outside the comfort zone of his ideal weight class, are stunning to put it gently.
Having built his modern legacy competing with some of the sports greats, Wanderlei has proven his own greatness win, lose, or draw. Often it has been the opponent that became the catalyst for the best Wanderlei we have ever seen. For example Michael Bisping opened the door for Wanderlei to fight his fight, an aggressive and reckless format of hand to hand combat.
And once again, “The Axe Murderer” shined over a man many consider a top UFC middleweight.
With that in mind Silva’s next opponent is very much the type of fighter who will leave the door wide open for him to really open up and make it a scrappy and dangerous fight. Chris Leben is one of those fighters who is not the most tactical, or the most analytical when he gets inside the cage.
Like Silva, Leben is an all out in your face type of fighter with a granite chin and hands of stone. He loves to fight, not simply to win, but to fight and his own resume reflects some amazing bouts, some wins, some losses.
See when Leben (25-7) and Silva (33-10-1-1) enter the cage together the only people in the entire arena concerned with scoring will be the cageside judges. When Dana White says “Never leave it in the hands of the judges”, these two listen.
Just for fun, how about we do some MMATH. At UFC 132 Silva and Leben bring into the Octagon with them a combined seventy seven professional MMA bouts. The experience they bring to the table alone is astonishing.
Of Silva’s thirty three wins, he finished 80% of his victims, twenty three by KO, three by submission. Of Leben’s twenty five wins, he finished 76% of his victims, thirteen by KO, and six by submission. Face it fight fans, the boys come to bang.
What it really amounts to is pure matchmaking genius, and a clash of styles between top middleweights that rarely happens. At the end of the day, the run Anderson Silva is on is not of this world and will long be recognized as the bar of measurement for all time greatness but few can challenge him.
Wanderlei and Leben are not the most elite fighters in the division. They are not the most hyped fighters at middleweight. But damn it they pose a challenge for one another. There is a chemistry in their styles that is guaranteed to prove volatile when they mix.
So while Anderson Silva continues to consume contenders, these two will prove the be the meat and potatoes of the division. These two will remind fight fans what it is they really love about the fight game and quite simply they love the fight.
They may enjoy taking in the undeniable greatness of an Anderson Silva, but they will not be able to stop talking about the battle of the ages that is about to take place between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben.
The facts are simple here fight fans. Two of the sports most notorious brawlers, both needing something different from this fight, but both looking to find one answer to everything at UFC 132. The answer is open war, it is something both men are very well acquainted with, it is something their fans have grown to expect from them. Neither man has ever been in the business of letting their fans down. So simply put, don’t miss this fight.
The bad men are coming to town, and they have a few things to sort out. Things are about to get ugly.
After recuperating from an injury that kept him out of action for nearly a year, Wanderlei Silva will return to the Octagon at UFC 132 where he’ll compete against hard-hitting striker Chris Leben. Nicknamed “The Axe Murderer,” Silva is known for h…
After recuperating from an injury that kept him out of action for nearly a year, Wanderlei Silva will return to the Octagon at UFC 132 where he’ll compete against hard-hitting striker Chris Leben.
Nicknamed “The Axe Murderer,” Silva is known for his aggressive and relentless approach and will be taking on one of the tougher competitors in the UFC middleweight division in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year.
While conducting an interview with UFC Latino in Mexico (courtesy of FightersOnly.co.uk), Silva spoke highly of his opponent and said he expects nothing but an aggressive, entertaining fight.
“He is a fighter who comes at you,” Silva said. “He will not run away, he will try to catch me. I like exchanging hits so much and I am sure we will make a great spectacle.”
“If you like an aggressive match with much emotion, watch it because it will be a big show.”
Silva fought Michael Bisping at UFC 110 prior to suffering a knee injury that left him out of action for the remainder of 2010. It was during that time that speculation began to grow over Silva’s next opponent.
Rumors of competing against rival Vitor Belfort were circulating, but nothing materialized despite Belfort’s attempt of convincing both Silva and UFC president Dana White to schedule the bout.
Silva denied Belfort’s request but said he does intend to meet the fellow Brazilian in the near future.
“He won the first fight by luck [in 1998] but in the second one he will not have the same luck,” Silva said.
“I know how to beat him and he might be the next in line.”
For now, Silva’s intention is to meet Leben at UFC 132 next weekend in a bout he said he is motivated for.
“I have been training for four months for this bout and I still have two weeks and feel good,” he said.
UFC 132 is scheduled for July 2nd, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Betting lines are showing Wanderlei Silva as a clear favorite by as much as (-200) to the underdog, Chris Leben at (+160). Part of the reason the odds are cast so much in Silva’s favor.
Betting lines are showing Wanderlei Silva as a clear favorite by as much as (-200) to the underdog, Chris Leben at (+160). Part of the reason the odds are cast so much in Silva’s favor may be due to his immense popularity and another part may be from his clear Unanimous Decision win over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 in February of 2010. But Bisping has since gone on to a 3 fight win streak and is the current TUF 14 coach alongside Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Since that February 2010 fight, Silva has been sidelined with injuries including breaking three ribs during training camp and and knee surgery.
Chris Leben suffered a huge 1st round TKO loss to Brian Stann this past January at UFC 125, but prior to the Stann fight, Leben was on a bit of a tear with wins including a huge triangle choke victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama. It’s hard to believe Leben is this much of a dog going into this fight, but it could be to Leben fan’s advantage. Leben is a good bet as long as he isn’t under any influences.
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From here on out, the UFC is going to have some huge pay-per-views.Future fights fights include Rashad Evans battling Phil Davis, Anderson Silva fighting Yushin Okami for the second time, Jon Jones defending his belt against Rampage Jackson, the rubber…
From here on out, the UFC is going to have some huge pay-per-views.
Future fights fights include Rashad Evans battling Phil Davis, Anderson Silva fighting Yushin Okami for the second time, Jon Jones defending his belt against Rampage Jackson, the rubber match between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz and Junior dos Santos trying to dethrone Cain Velasquez.
With all those great pay-per-views lined up, UFC 132 could potentially be the best card of the year. Not from a huge PPV-buy standpoint, but these fights stylistically have the potential to make this a UFC event no fan will ever forget.
These are the top five most exciting fights of this stacked UFC 132 pay-per-view card on July 2.
