One of the most anticipated fights in UFC history takes place tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 148, a live Pay-Per-View event which has a scheduled start time of 10:00pm ET, will pit middleweight champion Anderson Silva against top ranked challenger and world class gum flapper Chael Sonnen. UFC 148 Silva vs. Sonnen II Fight Predictions and Odds at offshore odds maker Sportsbook.ag has Silva listed as a -290 moneyline favorite ($290 to win $100). Sonnen, who nearly ended Silva's UFC unbeaten streak when the pair clashed two years ago, is drawing +230 odds ($100 to win $230) to take Silva’s middleweight strap.
Never has a fighter talked as much trash as Chael Sonnen did prior to his UFC 117 meeting with Anderson Silva. Sonnen’s verbal barrage went unchecked for nearly 12 months as he disparaged the champion in almost every way imaginable. Most felt Sonnen’s talk was just that, though, figuring he stood little chance at upsetting Silva. However, for four rounds of their championship match, Sonnen dominated Silva, using his wrestling base as a catalyst for a brutal ground and pound assault.
Silva looked out of sorts the majority of the fight, but he maintained enough poise to exploit Sonnen’s fifth round carelessness. The champion slapped on a hybrid arm-bar/triangle and submitted the former Oregon wrestler at the 3:10 mark of the final frame to avoid his first career loss inside the Octagon.
Sonnen will, no doubt, employ a similar game plan this evening; he is a wrestler first and foremost and he always plays to his strength. Silva has seldom/never faced a fighter so willing to wade through his precision striking in order to get a take down, and it showed in his first meeting with Sonnen. While it seems odd to declare the champion, a man who is arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, needs to change his approach, that is indeed what Silva must do to avoid another battering.
Sure, Silva could end the fight by landing a front kick to Sonnen’s dome, much like he did to Vitor Belfort last February, but that seems unlikely unless his take down defense has improved. Sonnen has not been stopped via knockout or TKO since December of 2004 and the only way for Silva to end that run is to keep the fight standing. The probability of a Silva victory increases exponentially when the two fighters are on their feet.
If Silva learned nothing from his first encounter with Sonnen, he could still retain his belt in much the same fashion he did in August of 2010, but who really wants to endure that kind of beating?
UFC 148 Fight Prediction: Sonnen is tough as nails and his style is tailor made to give Silva fits; however, unless he goes for the finish, he will not win this fight. Sonnen often seems content to just ground and pound on guys, but he seldom delivers the devastating punch. Someone of Silva skill is capable of enduring Sonnen’s assault and then capitalizing in a moment of weakness. It is no coincidence that eight of Sonnen’s 11 career losses have come via submission. Here’s predicting the ninth submission loss comes tonight.
UFC 148 Silva vs. Sonnen II Odds:
Anderson Silva -290 vs. Chael Sonnen +230
Forrest Griffin -370 vs. Tito Ortiz +280
Dong Hyun Kim -160 vs. Demian Maia +130
Patrick Cote -200 vs. Cung Le +160
Chad Mendes -625 vs. Cody McKenzie +425
Mike Easton -120 vs. Ivan Menjivar -110
Gleison Tibau -220 vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov +170
Melvin Guillard -275 vs. Fabricio Camoes +215
Shane Roller -200 vs. John Alessio +160
Constantinos Philippou -200 vs. Riki Fukuda +160
Yoislandy Izquierdo -200 vs. Rafaello Oliveira +160
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
-Fan of sports betting? Enter the free $10,000 Match Marco MLB Contest and take a shot at winning anywhere from $500.00 all the way up to a Grand Prize of 10k!