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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In all likelihood, there were two No. 1 contenders crowned on Saturday night at UFC 131.Obviously, in the main event, Junior dos Santos confirmed his status as the No. 1 contender to Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, as the injured c…
In all likelihood, there were two No. 1 contenders crowned on Saturday night at UFC 131.
Obviously, in the main event, Junior dos Santos confirmed his status as the No. 1 contender to Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, as the injured champion was brought into the Octagon to congratulate the TUF 13 coach on his win and set the matchup for later this year.
Also, with Kenny Florian’s success in his featherweight debut with a unanimous decision victory over Diego Nunes, all signs are pointing to a matchup with Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship.
Mark Munoz didn’t earn a No. 1 contender spot for his middleweight victory over former top contender Demian Maia, but the former NCAA Champion wrestler sent a strong signal that he’s heading in that direction in one of the night’s best fights. Furthermore, a quick survey of the UFC landscape at 185 pounds shows that Munoz’s time as a contender could be coming sooner rather than later.
The most recent middleweight rankings published at Sherdog.com naturally listed UFC titleholder Anderson Silva as No. 1. Following “The Spider,” the remainder of the top 10 doesn’t include much in the way of fighters that Silva hasn’t beaten.
Chael Sonnen came in at No. 2, and while there’s undoubtedly interest for a return engagement between Sonnen and Silva after the Spider escaped at UFC 117, that remains on hold while Sonnen’s fighting future remains up in the air. Yushin Okami is No. 3, and will have his chance to take the title on August 27 in Rio de Janeiro. After Okami, it goes like this:
The No. 4 man on the list is Nate Marquardt, who lost to Silva at UFC 73, and is making his welterweight debut later this month against Rick Story. Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is No. 5 on the list, and while the UFC has brought over one Strikeforce titleholder to challenge its champion in the form of Nick Diaz, the MMA world isn’t necessarily screaming for a battle between Souza and Silva.
Maia, of course, was beaten and shown up by Silva at UFC 112, and has been pushed further back in the line than his No. 6 spot by his loss to Munoz on Saturday night. The No. 7 man, Jorge Santiago, fell a bit with his loss to Brian Stann two weeks ago at UFC 130, and No. 8 Vitor Belfort is coming off his loss to Silva at UFC 126. No. 9 Michael Bisping is nowhere near a title shot, and the No. 10 man is Bellator champ Hector Lombard, the only one of the bunch not under Zuffa contract.
This doesn’t mean that Munoz should necessarily be next in line for a title shot if Silva retains against Okami at UFC 134, but if a rematch with Sonnen or the much-talked-about super fight with Georges St-Pierre isn’t up next, Munoz might be the most attractive option, possibly with one more win under his belt. And one more fight could be perfect for some of the UFC’s business plans.
Earlier this year Dana White spoke of bringing The Ultimate Fighter to foreign countries, and said that a Philippines edition of the show would be first later on this year. We haven’t heard much about those plans since then, but there’s certainly been plenty else to talk about, and when the UFC does bring its hit reality show to the Philippines, is there any doubt that the “Filipino Wrecking Machine” would be a natural choice as one of the coaches?
As for the other coach, that would need to be determined. Sherdog is recommending Brian Stann as Munoz’s next opponent, but if TUF is going to the Philippines, Stann wouldn’t be the right foil for Munoz, and even if the reality show isn’t in the picture, a title eliminator between Stann and Munoz might not be the right way to go. The winner of the Chris Leben-Wanderlei Silva bout at UFC 132 could be the right way to go, or the winner of UFC 133’s battle between Belfort and Yoshihiro Akiyama.
These are the sorts of decisions that Joe Silva gets paid to make, and he’s certainly got his work cut out for him. In the meantime, it’s clear that in Mark Munoz, the UFC has a bona fide star on the rise.
*Props to Around the Octagon. Chael Sonnen‘s fight career is on hold indefinitely in the states of California and Nevada due to his felony conviction from that infamous money laundering scheme but of course, that.
Chael Sonnen‘s fight career is on hold indefinitely in the states of California and Nevada due to his felony conviction from that infamous money laundering scheme but of course, that hasn’t stopped him from being a douchebag dedicated instigator who probably realizes at this point, his best bet to make any money off Zuffa is to make a go for those Twitter incentives.
Usually, fighters wait until after their next fight to call out an opponent. But since, his next opponent who was supposed to be Yoshihiro Akiyama was given to Vitor Belfort at UFC 133 and Sonnen has no Octagon or UFC Press Conference to use as his platform, he decided to tweet out a few days ago, his desires to fight Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva and even Lil’ Nog, all in one epic night:
“Machida is a gentleman. MMA is very cutthroat, and it’s sweet that Lyoto promised to never fight his girlfriend Anderson. That’s devotion…
I’d beat up Machida on the way to the ring to beat up Anderson, and I’ll kick Nogeria’s ass in the parking lot on the way to my after party…”
Sonnen, who is in Brazil according to his Twitter updates, continues to bash the Black House team:
“I would never bash karate.Karate produced many MMA champions, most notably..um..Then of course, there’s..Wow, I thought this would be easier”
“Machida is not a bad guy; he’s a victim of the Brazilian education system. There are better ways to get electrolytes than drinking piss.”
“Brazil likes to boast that it’s the power seat of MMA, yet it’s so-called champions bow to the man behind “Under Siege 2.”…….. Classy.”
“I still admire Steven Seagal. Anyone that can be that self-possessed without doing a damn thing to earn it, knows something that I don’t.”
“Yushin and I are in Brazil to follow in Andy’s ways. Got ballet shoes, a team of has-beens, even brought a fat talentless celeb for trainer.”
“I could write a dissertation on this experience:”The Tragic Interplay of Delusion, Insecurity, and Incompetence: the Nog Brothers’ Story”.”
Stay tuned for the sequel, “Help, an Asian Judako is Beating My Ass: The Anderson Silva Story”.
Sounds great to call everyone out, buddy but it’s really sad when it’s from the sidelines and you have no forseeable chance of fighting any of these guys anytime soon. Guess that’s why now he’s taken to calling out his haters in Sao Paulo to come meet him.
Sonnen is expected to reapply for a fight license before CSAC after his current license expires this June 29th, 2011.
Dana White tweets: GSP vs. Nick Diaz is on for UFC 137. UFC 133 fight card to include: Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Rich Franklin vs. Antonio “Lil’ Nog”.
UFC 133 fight card to include: Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Rich Franklin vs. Antonio “Lil’ Nog” Rogerio Nogueira set for August 6th.
Due to his recent success Vitor Belfort has his coach, Jayme Sandall, to credit.In preparation for Vitor Belfort’s bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama UFC 133, Sandall has been helping the former UFC light heavyweight champion perfect a game plan for his oppon…
Due to his recent success Vitor Belfort has his coach, Jayme Sandall, to credit.
In preparation for Vitor Belfort’s bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama UFC 133, Sandall has been helping the former UFC light heavyweight champion perfect a game plan for his opponent.
A Brazilian karate champion, Sandall has helped Belfort implement karate into his arsenal since returning to the organization three years ago. Sandall said he is confident that his teachings of karate will help Belfort pick up a victory.
“He’s a tough opponent, but they all are,” Sandall told TATAME on Belfort’s opponent, Akiyama.
“But I honestly can’t Picture Vitor losing this fight. In all ways I can picture it, I don’t see any way that Vitor would lose this one. It’s really unlikely.”
Belfort suffered his first knockout loss to UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, at UFC 127. Silva ended the bout with a highlight reel front kick that instantly dropped the Brazilian. Sandall said he helped Belfort train and prepare for a variety of kicks Silva utilizes, but he said the front kick was unexpected.
Sandall also commented on Silva’s teammate, Lyoto Machida, who landed a similar kick that knocked out his opponent, Randy Couture, at UFC 129. Sandall praised the technique Machida used and said it’s a common technique used in karate.
“I used to give the guys that kick a lot, a frontal flying kick,” he said. “You give one extra step to bring your leg and kick harder. I use to knock people down with kicks on their stomach. I actually got a few knockdowns with a kick on my stomach, but not on the face.
However while it has proven to be effective for both Silva and Machida, Sandall said to not believe the mystique surrounding their friend, actor and martial artist, Steven Seagal.
“I was surprised, and even Lyoto said all that Steven Seagal stuff, but people have to know that it’s all propaganda, because it was not Steven Seagal the one who taught him that kick, he knows it from Karate,” he said.
“I talked to Lyoto’s father the day after the fight and he told me: ‘I told Lyoto to train a lot’.”
In spite of Seagal’s alleged teachings, Sandall said the use of karate has helped mixed martial arts grow as a sport and vice versa.
“It was up and rise from it’s beginning. It was good for me, all of it is good to me, and to Karate too. I’m having the chance to introduce people to Karate, I had the chance to explain a little bit about its rules,” he said.
Filed under: UFCThe UFC 133 fight card, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis and marking the return of the UFC to Philadelphia after a two-year absence, takes place Aug. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center.
The UFC 133 fight card, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis and marking the return of the UFC to Philadelphia after a two-year absence, takes place Aug. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Former light heavyweight champion Evans (15-1-1) was supposed to challenge champion Jon Jones, but when Jones withdrew due to injury, Davis (9-0) stepped in. Evans will need to win in order to hold onto his No. 1 contender status. Meanwhile, although Davis won’t be guaranteed a title shot with a win, he’ll be “in the mix.”
The