I’m going to call Belfort on this one. Silva showed that he was very human and beatable against Sonnen. Granted Belfort is not the gp expert that Sonnen is, but he has far greater stand-up skill and his BJJ is also great. If the right Belfort shows up for the fight (we all know there are two of them) I think he wins.
What do the T Nation regulars have to say about this one?
I pick Silva. Watching the fight with Sonnen a few times, I think it’s true he didn’t look like himself, at least on the feet. It could have been Sonnen’s style as well, since I can’t remember a fight after Leben where his opponent went at him like that.
Nevertheless, correct me if I’m wrong, but Belfort is a counter puncher, a good one, but I feel Silva is better. I don’t think the fight will hit the ground.
Im giving belfort a better shot than any of Silva’s previous opponents but im still picking Silva. He looked off in the Sonnen fight, anyone knows he is capable of a much better performance than that, and he had broken rib(s) going into that fight, so that would explain a lot. After that i wouldnt expect anything less than a prime conditioned Silva. If Belfort can shock Silva early, he can win the fight but if that fight goes out of the first round, i see Silva taking it. The longer the fight goes, the more Silva is gonna find his range, gauge Belfort’s timing and add in more diverse strikes. While Belfort has amazing hands, Silva has the bigger arsenal; superb hands, knees, kicks and elbows. I see him winning in pretty dominant fashion in the third or fourth
Agree with Audio - Belfort has better hands but Silva has a bigger Arsenal. He won’t let him get in to punching range and keep him on the outside with his kicks. Also Vitor comes straight forward, Silva is a counter-fighter and it plays right in to his strength.
Silva by TKO in the first half of the fight.
I do not know. Hopefully Belfort gives him a hell of a fight and stays calm. If he does not get overconfident and tries to hunt him down it could be a good fight .
On the other hand if he stays too relaxed and waits for silva to punch absolutely nothing will happen. silva will just stand in front of him .
I think silva never had this bad odds. this is a good fight to place your money on.
And i am really excited for the Bader-Jones fight. Although i felt something bad coming up when bader said he will stop the jones hype… i heared that in all of joneses last fights.
Awesome card IMO, Torre’s and Ellenberg’s matches I can’t say much about since I don’t really know their oponents or them all too well, but the rest of the card is going to be some great fights.
Silva - Belfort, I see Silva taking it for all the same reasons as said above. Belfort probably has better hands than Silva, but Silva just has so much bigger of an arsenal, that unless Belfort has suddenly made a change into a superior wrestling machine I see Silva taking it by a TKO in the first two rounds.
Still, Belfort is the kind of an guy who can just change the whole script of the fight by landing a good shot, so its going to be exciting and a great display of standup fighting. I’d like to see Silva get KO’d though, but then again, if he wins we are probably going to get GSP - Silva and who wouldn’t like to see that?
Griffin - Franklin, for the ones interested in betting I see some great value on Forrest with odds ranging from +140 to +160. I think they are pretty equally matched, both will look to bring in a good fight. Rich may have the edge in the technique, but I think Forrest’s size advantage is enough to even it up. Hard to say who will take it, but I see Forrest getting his hand raised after a 3 round war.
Bader - Jones is going to be another fuck of an awesome match. I’m really suprised how big underdog Bader is considered in this match, and there is some value there too in my opinion. Bones hasn’t really faced anyone even close to the top so far, whereas Bader atleast had a test in diet-Nog some time ago. Whatever happens, I hope this won’t be another display of Greg Jackson’s snore fighting system that would include a lot of hopping around and lay and pray, so hopefully Bones can come out and play his own game and Bader can play his, that would make for a great fight.
Considering Bader big overhand right, I don’t think it would be all that big of an suprise is Greg just decided Bones better not get the crowd too excited but play it as safe and boring as possible without any of the flashy Bones stuff…
[quote]Fistiecuffs wrote:
…
Bader - Jones is going to be another fuck of an awesome match. I’m really suprised how big underdog Bader is considered in this match, and there is some value there too in my opinion. Bones hasn’t really faced anyone even close to the top so far, whereas Bader atleast had a test in diet-Nog some time ago. Whatever happens, I hope this won’t be another display of Greg Jackson’s snore fighting system that would include a lot of hopping around and lay and pray, so hopefully Bones can come out and play his own game and Bader can play his, that would make for a great fight.
Considering Bader big overhand right, I don’t think it would be all that big of an suprise is Greg just decided Bones better not get the crowd too excited but play it as safe and boring as possible without any of the flashy Bones stuff…[/quote]
Bones fought extremely exciting. why should he change his fighting style just because he is a greg jackson fighter…
can’t wait for the fights and i think i will place some money on the fights
[quote]Big_Boss wrote:
The criticism of Greg Jackson’s “fighting system” intriques me. Nevertheless…I have Silva by sub…Franklin by decision…Jones by decision. [/quote]
I have the fights going the same way as you, except im expecting Silva to win via TKO. If he does sub i think its similar to the Henderson fight, where he rocks him first. I think Franklin wins a split and Bones wins a 1 sided unanimous where Bader has his moments but ultimately gets worked over for 3 rounds.
If you look at Belfort’s history he’s an up and down fighter. If he comes in “on” he’s one of the best. If he’s “off” he looks like a different person. I’m betting that him bringing his family over from Brazil will cause him to be on.
As for Silva, after the beating that he took from Sonnen there is no question that he will be trying his best. But, did he lose at least some confidence because of that beating, or did it make him sharper?
I’ll stick with Belfort, and I have to admit it’s probably as much a heart bet as a head bet. After watching Silva’s antics against Demian Maia I just can’t stand the man.
Oh shit!!! the weigh ins haven’t even happened yet. WE STILL HAVE 2 MORE STARE DOWNS!!!
Does anyone have any idea what Vitor and Anderson’s history is? I know they have trained together, but I’ve heard all kinds of things about it. “Vitor is scared of Anderson,” “something happened in their sparring.”
[quote]Xen Nova wrote:
It’s like people haven’t been watching anderson fight the last couple years
“You come at the King, you best not miss…”
– Omar, the Wire.
[/quote]
Nah, we’ve been watching him dance and run around and thigh punch for the last couple years. And getting beat up for 20-odd minutes by a canadian cartoon.
In all seriousness, I’m betting Silva by spectacular counter elbow KO, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Belfort takes it simply by beating Silva to the punch. And there’s no way this goes 5 rounds, so it should make for a good spectacle regardless.
Also, Jones by UD in FoN
Ellenberger by brutality
Hopefully Forrest by bloody carnage
first off…i like Vitor, been through a lot, amazing hands, seems to be a hell of a family man, he’s hard not to root for. that much said, i hope Silva demonstrates such a performance that no one questions what he is capable of. i hope he runs through Vitor. he gets lots of hate recently but i can’t help but be in awe of him. thai plum against the cage, a big knee gets through and then either a ko, tko or a quick sub after the damage. that would be an ideal finish for me.
all that said and a straight left from Vitor might be all it takes…we’ll see.
franklin forrest fight, i like rich much better, think he’s a better fighter, i like forrest outside the cage. if forrest doesn’t win he might need to be put on suicide watch. rich could lose and remain happy so for the sake of forrest i hope he wins.
bader vs jones, i just can’t see bader being hurt as most others are by jones…we’ll see, jones is a beast.
awesome that 135 and 145 class are getting action in the ufc. those are some tiny little dudes, scary that they could put a hurt my 215lb self.
I watched Chael Sonnen slap him around for 4 1/2. I watched Travis Lutter mount him. I watched Dan Henderson almost choke him out. I’ve watched him taken down many times. And I watched Silva act like a 3rd grader against Demian Maia. He’s very beatable. Maybe Belfort will do it, maybe he won’t. Either way Silva is beatable it’s just a matter of who and when.
He got beat by 3 Japanese fighters who only one has since gone on to have any real MMA career.
The main way to beat Silva is not to play his game, Forrest Griffin’s dumbass did that, albeit he was totally out classed. You’re going to see Belfort exploiting all the elements that Silva is uncomfortable with.
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I watched Chael Sonnen slap him around for 4 1/2. I watched Travis Lutter mount him. I watched Dan Henderson almost choke him out. I’ve watched him taken down many times. And I watched Silva act like a 3rd grader against Demian Maia. He’s very beatable. Maybe Belfort will do it, maybe he won’t. Either way Silva is beatable it’s just a matter of who and when. [/quote]