Two Things To Look For From UFC 117

As we approach UFC 117 this Saturday it is shaping up to be one the more interesting events of the year. We have the main event between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for the Middleweight Championship. No doubt the MVP of this event, win or lose, has got to be Chael Sonnen. If you have followed any of the pre-event interviews or read anything about it Sonnen has done more to sell this event than anyone. He has taken the pro wrestling shoot style interviews to a different level with his talk about this fight and his thoughts on Anderson Silva. Here are a couple things to look for on Saturday night:

            Can Sonnen’s wrestling and grapple style get the best of Silva in a five round fight?

Chael Sonnen is a fantastic fighter and if he can manage to avoid Silva’s quick strikes and get him to the ground there is a chance that Sonnen could pull off the upset. However, Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and he is so fast that he can make Sonnen’s wrestling style moot by having him exert too much energy in the early rounds making it easier for Silva to attack in the later rounds. There is also the chance that Silva’s ego gets the best of him (as it did in his previous fight with Demian Maia) and he lets his guard down enough for Sonnen to take him down and get him to submit or land a knockout shot. I look for Silva to win, but if Sonnen were able to pull off the upset I wouldn’t be completely surprised.

            Who will be the next contender for the Heavyweight Championship?

Dana White has already said that the winner of the Roy Nelson/Junior dos Santos fight will be the number one contender for the title taking on the winner of the Lesnar/Velasquez fight that happens in October. The fight is pretty even with both guys expertise being in martial arts. For me, one thing to keep an eye on would be how long this fight goes on. Junior dos Santos has only had one fight go longer than one round. As we saw in the Lesnar/Carwin fight, stamina is a huge factor and Junior dos Santos fights don’t usually go too long so if Nelson can hang around after the first round I would look to see how much energy dos Santos is able to come out with in the subsequent rounds. I will take dos Santos for a win but look out for Nelson if it goes three rounds.