presto
20th October 2007, 18:02
MAIN CARD
Anderson Silva (-220) vs. Rich Franklin (+180)
The main event sees rich franklin take on anderson silva with franklin looking to get his belt back from the man who utterly demolished him in there previous title fight. However that is no easy task, silva has been on a roll in the UFC taking out all who oppose him.
Silva is a well rounded fighter, with his strength deffinately being in the stand up, especially in the clinch. he has shown a good ground game, yet i feel that this is a weeker aspect of his game when he is on his back - despite taking out travis luter when he was on his back with a triangle choke / elbows.
Franklin also has a good stand up and heavy hands, he also has good wrestling skills. If franklin is going to win this fight then he cannot go toe to toe with silva, dispite his heavy hand's he just cannot afford to stand with him. Franklins best chance i would have thaught would be to get silva on his back and apply a bit of GnP.
This is going to be a great fight, but not one i am particulary keen to bet much on, i do feel that anderson silva has the edge in the fight. However the odd's on silva are very short - i can't help but think that the first fight between the pair has shortened the odd's a little too much. This makes the odd's on franklin look the value choice. So i won't be betting here.
Tim Sylvia (+150) vs. Brandon Vera (-180)
A big bout for the heavyweight division here and will go some way in deciding the next HW champ. Two very contrasting fighters here, a 6'8" tim sylvia who weighs in right at the top of the 265lbs division who actually needs to cut to make the weight. and brandon vera a much smaller HW who could easily make the 205lbs LHW division.
Vera has looked good in the UFC in a quick rise to the top before contractual issues put a stop to that and he hasn't fought in almost a year. He is great in the standup and quick too, but there has also been the question of how would he compete with a tougher opposition.
Sylvia was shocked when he lost his belt to randy coture, not just because of the upset, but the fact that randy (former 205lbs er) dominated him, he looked the better in the stand up and controled him in the wrestling / ground fight. Silva did drop the 'injury excuse' after the fight - something that i and many other fans found very annoying if not disrespectfull to randy coture. yet it does seem a valid injury in which he needed surgery to his back. Tim may not be the most loved HW yet nobody can deny his pedegree here. He is a big puncher who has shown glimpses of of ground adaptability - most noticably against jeff monson.
As for the fight it's a very intriguing one, i beleive Sylvia will be much leaner for this fight and will hold the strength advantage in the stand up. It will be interesing to see how the quick vera deals with this - as both are stand up fighters. Vera may land more kicks / punches with his muay-thai but a sylvia punch carries the more power and he can cope with getting hit (hard).
Theres also the 'ring rust' for vera and sylvias injury to consider - nearly a year out of the ring is a long time for the young vera. Sylvia should also be a lot better than his fight against randy aswell. One of the main reasons that randy dominated silva was his wrestling abilities, which i don't think vera has.
I think this fight will be a lot closer than the odd's sugguest in this stand up fight of contrasting styles. As i reckon it's pretty 50/50 the odd's on Tim Sylvia look attractive.
VERDICT - Tim Sylvia
Stephan Bonnar (-345) vs. Eric Schafer (+275)
Well rounded fighter bonnar takes on the submission specialist schafer.
Eric Schafer is a tough fighter with great submissions, however he is seeriously lacking in the standup. Bonner is much more well rounded, good in the stand up and should have enough on the ground to avoid a submission.
Bonnar will look to keep the fight standing where he holds a big stand up advantage, Schafers only chance in this fight will be in the submissions, something that won't be easy to get. So i am pretty confident with picking Bonnar to win this fight.
VERDICT - Stephan Bonnar
Alan Belcher (-110) vs. Kalib Starnes (-120)
Stand up fighter Belcher vs ground specialist Starnes in a classic clash of styles will be on display in this fight.
Belcher will have great difficulty keeping this fight standing whilst landing some big shots. Starnes is a tricky opposition, hard to hit and hard to keep standing. He has a good ground game and always improving.
As for the fight - i just think that Starnes has the ability to take belcher to the ground, whilst avoiding the big punches of belcher, The odd's look close but i make starnes a bigger favourite than the odd's sugguest.
VERDICT - Kalib Starnes
Anderson Silva (-220) vs. Rich Franklin (+180)
The main event sees rich franklin take on anderson silva with franklin looking to get his belt back from the man who utterly demolished him in there previous title fight. However that is no easy task, silva has been on a roll in the UFC taking out all who oppose him.
Silva is a well rounded fighter, with his strength deffinately being in the stand up, especially in the clinch. he has shown a good ground game, yet i feel that this is a weeker aspect of his game when he is on his back - despite taking out travis luter when he was on his back with a triangle choke / elbows.
Franklin also has a good stand up and heavy hands, he also has good wrestling skills. If franklin is going to win this fight then he cannot go toe to toe with silva, dispite his heavy hand's he just cannot afford to stand with him. Franklins best chance i would have thaught would be to get silva on his back and apply a bit of GnP.
This is going to be a great fight, but not one i am particulary keen to bet much on, i do feel that anderson silva has the edge in the fight. However the odd's on silva are very short - i can't help but think that the first fight between the pair has shortened the odd's a little too much. This makes the odd's on franklin look the value choice. So i won't be betting here.
Tim Sylvia (+150) vs. Brandon Vera (-180)
A big bout for the heavyweight division here and will go some way in deciding the next HW champ. Two very contrasting fighters here, a 6'8" tim sylvia who weighs in right at the top of the 265lbs division who actually needs to cut to make the weight. and brandon vera a much smaller HW who could easily make the 205lbs LHW division.
Vera has looked good in the UFC in a quick rise to the top before contractual issues put a stop to that and he hasn't fought in almost a year. He is great in the standup and quick too, but there has also been the question of how would he compete with a tougher opposition.
Sylvia was shocked when he lost his belt to randy coture, not just because of the upset, but the fact that randy (former 205lbs er) dominated him, he looked the better in the stand up and controled him in the wrestling / ground fight. Silva did drop the 'injury excuse' after the fight - something that i and many other fans found very annoying if not disrespectfull to randy coture. yet it does seem a valid injury in which he needed surgery to his back. Tim may not be the most loved HW yet nobody can deny his pedegree here. He is a big puncher who has shown glimpses of of ground adaptability - most noticably against jeff monson.
As for the fight it's a very intriguing one, i beleive Sylvia will be much leaner for this fight and will hold the strength advantage in the stand up. It will be interesing to see how the quick vera deals with this - as both are stand up fighters. Vera may land more kicks / punches with his muay-thai but a sylvia punch carries the more power and he can cope with getting hit (hard).
Theres also the 'ring rust' for vera and sylvias injury to consider - nearly a year out of the ring is a long time for the young vera. Sylvia should also be a lot better than his fight against randy aswell. One of the main reasons that randy dominated silva was his wrestling abilities, which i don't think vera has.
I think this fight will be a lot closer than the odd's sugguest in this stand up fight of contrasting styles. As i reckon it's pretty 50/50 the odd's on Tim Sylvia look attractive.
VERDICT - Tim Sylvia
Stephan Bonnar (-345) vs. Eric Schafer (+275)
Well rounded fighter bonnar takes on the submission specialist schafer.
Eric Schafer is a tough fighter with great submissions, however he is seeriously lacking in the standup. Bonner is much more well rounded, good in the stand up and should have enough on the ground to avoid a submission.
Bonnar will look to keep the fight standing where he holds a big stand up advantage, Schafers only chance in this fight will be in the submissions, something that won't be easy to get. So i am pretty confident with picking Bonnar to win this fight.
VERDICT - Stephan Bonnar
Alan Belcher (-110) vs. Kalib Starnes (-120)
Stand up fighter Belcher vs ground specialist Starnes in a classic clash of styles will be on display in this fight.
Belcher will have great difficulty keeping this fight standing whilst landing some big shots. Starnes is a tricky opposition, hard to hit and hard to keep standing. He has a good ground game and always improving.
As for the fight - i just think that Starnes has the ability to take belcher to the ground, whilst avoiding the big punches of belcher, The odd's look close but i make starnes a bigger favourite than the odd's sugguest.
VERDICT - Kalib Starnes