UFC Middleweight Championship bout:  Anderson Silva  vs. Vitor Belfort

Odds:  (-240 Silva /+190 Belfort )

Betting Pick:  SILVA

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In the main event of the evening, Middleweight champion and world pound for pound number 1 Anderson “The Spider” Silva will defend his crown against resurgent slugger Vitor Belfort. Silva is clearly one of the most dominant fighters in the sport’s history, but some of his recent performances
have been underwhelming to put it mildly. Belfort, his part, seems to be back to his old form after a troubled career. At his best, Belfort is one of the most devastating strikers in the world. Silva tends to prefer opponents who will move toward him with punches, but Belfort might have what it takes to make him rethink that strategy.

Vitor Belfort was one of the bigger stars in the early days of the UFC. A series of personal tragedies kept him away from the sport for long periods of time, though, and his career suffered as a result. Now, though, he looks to be back to his old form, if not better. He is one of the most devastating and dynamic boxers in the sport, and he has a very good jiu-jitsu game to go along with his power punching. He is not a dominant wrestler, but he does have decent takedowns and defense. Clearly, though, his best chance against anyone is going to be connecting with those huge power punches.

Silva, the concensus pound for pound best in the world, strikes fear into the hearts of opponents with his striking. At range or from the clinch, Silva is capable of destroying people with hands, elbows, legs, or knees. He has also shown that he has a great offensive guard on the ground. There are only two holes in Anderson’s game, being takedown defense and the fact that he sometimes loses interests in fights when his opponents won’t come toward him. Luckily for him, Belfort is not the kind of guy where either of those things matters.

Belfort is a great boxer with a huge surplus of punching power, but Silva is the most effective counter-puncher in the sport’s history. Belfort does have a good ground game, but I don’t think he can work the same kind of game plan Chael Sonnen did. This is going to be a standup fight, and that always favors Silva. Belfort will be aggressive as always, and Silva will make him pay on the way in, tie him up in the clinch, and brutalize him.

Prediction:  Anderson “The Spider” Silva via third round TKO.

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UFC Light Heavyweight bout:  Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin

Odds:  (+135 Griffin /-165 Franklin )

Betting Pick:  GRIFFIN

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In the semi-main event, two of the UFC’s most popular and likable stars will go at it as former Middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin squares off with former Light Heavyweight champion and Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin. Both of these guys have exciting, versatile skill sets and seem fairly evenly matched, so this should be an entertaining and competitive fight.

Rich Franklin once held the Middleweight division in a lock, until the arrival of current champion Anderson Silva. Since his two crushing losses to Silva, Franklin has bounced back and forth between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight and having success at both weights. He will probably never be a champion again, but he is tough and well-rounded and can hang with the best in the world. His best tool is his boxing, which is crisp, accurate, technical, and powerful. He also has solid wrestling and good submission defense, which makes him a tough nut to crack.

Forrest Griffin, who parlayed a win on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter into a run all the way to the Light Heavyweight title, is one of the most well-liked fighters in the UFC. He is not one of the best in the world at anything, but his well-rounded skills, great chin, aggressive style, and ability to fight anyone in the world and make it competitive have made him one of the UFC’s biggest stars. Griffin can hold his own in any range of fighting. His biggest problem has always been that he is a slow starter and tends to get reckless early in fights.

I think that this is a good fight for Griffin. All he has to worry about from Franklin is his standup, whereas Griffin is the superior wrestler and grappler. Griffin has a great chin and, while Franklin is a powerful striker, he isn’t devastating with his power punches. I think both guys will land solid shots on the ground, but Griffin’s ability to control the clinch and maybe secure takedowns should be enough to earn him the decision victory.

Prediction:  Forrest Griffin via Unanimous Decision.

• Bet on the UnderDog Griffin @ +135 for the Win.

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UFC Light Heavyweight bout:   Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones

Odds:  (-275 Jones /+215 Bader )

Betting Pick:  JONES 

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In what promises to be one of the most competitive Light Heavyweight matchups in recent memory, top young prospect Ryan Bader and Jon “Bones” Jones will clash in a fight that has definite future title shot implications. These are two of the most athletic and promising up and coming Light Heavyweights, so this could be a fight for the ages.

Bader, a recent Ultimate Fighter winner, is one of the most promising reality show winners since the very early seasons. He has extremely dominant wrestling and a heavy-handed and effective striking game to go along with it. Bader likes to let his hands go, both standing and in top position, and he packs a lot of power both ways. This is a great fight for him in that Jones, while also a top Light Heavyweight, won’t have a substantial experience advantage over him.

Jon Jones is a freakishly talented prospect whose only loss as a professional came via DQ in a fight where he was annihilating Matt Hamill. Jones is one of the most offensively devastating fighters in the sport, with insane physical strength that he uses to ragdoll his opponents and lights-out punching power. Jones has not only handled every step up in competition extremely well, he has completely dominated everyone he has ever faced.

I think this is going to be a tough fight for Bader. Both guys have similar styles in that they have effective striking and wrestling, but Jones has a substantial reach advantage, more dynamic and powerful striking, and is probably the stronger of the two. I think Bader is going to find it impossible to impose his will on Jones, and is going to get bloodied up trying to force takedowns and eventually put away. Jones by T/KO.

Prediction:  Jon “Bones” Jones via second round T/KO. 

To add a little more excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds.   Check out my review of Sportsbook here…