UFC 117 Bettors Backing Chael Sonnen

It will be hard for the UFC to top the excitement of last month’s UFC 116 when Brock Lesnar defended his heavyweight belt against the heavy hitting Shane Carwin. But taking a quick glance at the UFC 117 betting card, this Saturday’s fights could be every bit as exciting.

Broburysports.com is expecting UFC 117 to be one of the top MMA betting events of the year. How can you not be interested in a card that includes the middleweight title bout between arguably the best MMA fighter in the world Anderson “The Spider” Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen.

In a fight that is also worthy of main event status, welterweight contender Thiago Alves (-115) returns to the octagon to avenge an earlier loss against fellow contender Jon Fitch (-115). The winner will likely get a title shot against the winner of December’s Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koschek bout.

Also in action is UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes (+130) as he takes on favored Ricardo Almeida (-160).

In a battle of the big men, Junior dos Santos (-325) looks to keep climbing the ranks of the crowded UFC heavyweight division; in his way is the rotund, yet dangerous Roy “Big Country” Nelson (+250).

Now, let’s take a look at the main event…

Anderson Silva (-500) vs. Chael Sonnen (+300)

Silva is often considered the pound-for-pound best mixed martial artist in the world. Since exploding onto the UFC scene just over four years ago, Silva has racked up a flawless 11-0 record; including six straight successful middleweight title defenses.

His opponent this Saturday will be trash talking extraordinaire Chael Sonnen. A former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler, Sonnen became the #1 contender for Silva’s belt after his dominating unanimous decision victory over Nate Marquardt last February.

Sonnen’s mouth has been busy hyping up this fight and the bettors are believers. If Sonnen backs his words up with his performance in the octagon, the betting public will score a profit on this bout as the majority of the betting money at Broburysports.com is backing Sonnen. But Siva bettors shouldn’t be deterred by this; in fights where there is a heavy favorite, the casual bettor is usually attracted to the generous odds of the underdog.

Why Sonnen will win:

As touched on earlier, Sonnen has perhaps the best wrestling skills in the UFC middleweight division. He has a non-stop motor and will be intent on setting the pace for this fight; something Silva’s previous opponents have failed miserably at doing.

His opponent, Silva, was at one time the most exciting fighter on the planet. Silva routinely showcased some of the best striking skills in all of MMA. However, somewhere along the way Silva seems to have gotten bored. His fights have gone from “must watch” to “laughingstocks”. This was never more apparent then his last fight against Demian Maia in which Silva won the bout by unanimous decision despite dancing around and mocking Maia for most of the five rounds.

If Silva approaches this fight in a similar manner, Sonnen could be the least of his worries. UFC President Dana White already mentioned that he would cut Silva if he ever acted like he did against Maia again.

If Sonnen can get Silva on the mat and keep from getting subbed, he could outwork Silva to a victory. Due to Silva’s recent antics, if this fight is close, the judges could favor the challenger.

Why Silva will win:

First off, despite his recent antics, Silva is still the best mixed martial artist in the world…when he wants to be.

For those that watched the Silva vs. Maia debacle in April, it was amazing to see the damage Silva imposed on Maia’s face despite hardly even fighting the entire five rounds. It is scary to think what Maia’s face would have looked like if Silva actually took the fight seriously; a testament of just how talented Silva is.

Even though Sonnen is a fantastic wrestler, Silva has defeated better. In his third title defense at UFC 82, the champ defeated former Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson by rear naked choke in the second round.

Although everyone identifies Silva as a Muay Thai practitioner and striker first, you can’t discount his ground skills. With a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Silva has proved his effectiveness on the mat numerous times; namely Henderson and Marquardt – another BJJ beast.

Sonnen has had recent problems with BJJ guys. His last loss was via triangle choke at the hands of Maia. In 2007 Sonnen was submitted (armbar) by another BJJ fighter Paulo Fiho. Even in his impressive performance versus Marquardt, Sonnen almost got choked out a couple of times.

If you believe Sonnen’s recent trash talk, he claims he doesn’t mid standing with Silva. If Sonnen is actually crazy enough to back this talk up with actions, Silva will mop the mat with him and Sonnen will be lucky enough to make it to the second round.

Finally, although Sonnen has been impressive, posting a 3-1 record since returning to the UFC octagon, he hasn’t been able to finish anyone. Even though each of his three victories has been impressive, none of them ended by knockout or submission; each was a unanimous decision victory. As a matter of fact, the last time Sonnen won by TKO/KO was back in October of 2007. And the last time he submitted an opponent was in February of 2007.

Broburysports.com UFC 117 Betting Odds:

Anderson Silva -500 vs. Chael Sonnen +300

Thiago Alves -115 vs. Jon Fitch -115

Clay Guida -130 vs. Rafael Dos Anjos even

Ricardo Almeida -160 vs. Matt Hughes +130

Junior dos Santos -325 vs. Roy Nelson +250