Nearly two years after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen first stepped into the Octagon in Oakland to battle for the UFC Middleweight Championship, they'll do it again on Saturday night in Las Vegas, as the UFC 148 fight card is mere hours away. Sports World Report has your preview, so here's what to expect on Saturday night.
Main Event, UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
This is the most anticipated fight of the year, and with good reason: Sonnen pushed "the Spider" further than he's ever been pushed two years ago at UFC 117, using better-than-expected striking and his All-American wrestling skills to come within two minutes of dethroning the UFC Middleweight Champion. Now, he gets another shot, and after two years of relentless trash talk from the "Gangster From America" - apparently playing a pro-wrestling-style "heel" to build interest in the fight - Silva has threatened to break all four of Sonnen's limbs and his teeth.
Here's the thing: while Silva is usually content to hang back and pick his spots, using constant motion to set up his strikes, we've already seen what it looks like when Silva attacks with guns blazing. He did it early in a round or two against Sonnen two years ago, and he wound up opening himself up to Sonnen's takedowns. While Steven Seagal may be boasting of secret techniques he taught the champion that were previously thought to be illegal, the reality is there's nothing that Silva can throw at Sonnen that he hasn't already seen. Will a healthier Silva make a difference two years later (he was said to be fighting with a broken rib at UFC 117)? It is possible, but the Spider really didn't look that bad at UFC 117. Sonnen looked that good.
It's certainly possible that Silva will use his legendary striking skills to put away his talkative foe and silence any doubts about his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world (and perhaps of all time), SWR's official prediction is that Sonnen employs the same game plan he used two years ago, smothers Silva on the ground, and keeps going all the way to the final bell before walking out as the new UFC Middleweight Champion. Sonnen by decision.
Light Heavyweights: Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
This is the retirement fight for Ortiz, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Friday at the UFC Fan Expo, and the conclusion of a trilogy with Griffin, a fellow former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Ortiz won the first fight by split decision at UFC 59, while Griffin avenged the loss with a split decision victory of his own at UFC 106. Don't expect the conclusion to go the distance, though.
Ortiz delivered intense action during his mini-resurgence last year, stunning Ryan Bader with a hard punch before locking in a guillotine choke at UFC 132 and throwing everything in his arsenal at Rashad Evans on short notice a month later at UFC 133. In his final fight, he'll certainly go for it, and against Griffin, he'll either feast or famine.
SWR says "feast." The last couple of years haven't exactly been kind to Grififn, with an injury taking him out of one fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114, and with a pair of less-than-convincing performances against Rich Franklin at UFC 126 and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 134. Griffin is looking more motivated this week, but he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt. He'll have to earn it. Look for Ortiz to go out on top via TKO in the second round.
Middleweights: Cung Le vs. Patrick Côté
This was originally supposed to be Le vs. Rich Franklin, but "Ace" was called on to replace Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147, so instead, it's "The Predator" getting called back to the UFC after a four-fight win streak on the independent circuit. Côté, a former No. 1 contender for Silva's title, hasn't tried to train with any Sanshou fighters, figuring there was no one who could give him a good idea of what to expect from Le, whose mastery of the Chinese kickboxing art makes him one of MMA's most unique fighters.
That will go down as a mistake. Le, a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, will attack from different angles and put Côté off his game, eventually moving in for the kill with a third-round knockout.
Welterweights: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia
After losing to a gassed-out Chris Weidman (who fought on short notice) in January, former No. 1 middleweight contender Maia makes his move to welterweight, where he faces the "Stun Gun," a 15-1 fighter who suffered the first loss of his career last summer against current interim titleholder Carlos Condit. Kim is a tough, tough matchup for Maia. A black belt in judo, Kim isn't likely to be susceptible to Maia's jiu-jitsu attacks, and his striking has produced six career knockouts.
Only one of those knockouts has come in the UFC, though, so SWR won't predict Kim to make it two. He will, however, give Maia a rough welcome to the 170-pound division by winning via unanimous decision.
Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
Here's how McKenzie wins this fight. Former top contender Mendes shoots for a takedown, McKenzie locks on his trademark guillotine choke ("the McKenzietine"), and Mendes is forced to tap. Here's the problem: Mendes is too good a wrestler and too good a fighter to allow that to happen.
McKenzie's motor is suspect, and after a round or two with "Money," Cody's going to be ripe for the picking. SWR picks Mendes to get his first knockout win in three years, early in the third round.
Bantamweights: Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
Menjivar is 3-0 in the UFC at Bantamweight (including a catchweight bout when he missed weight at UFC 133), and he's scored a pair of highlight reel finishes along the way. He has his work cut out for him, though, against Easton, a 12-1 fighter who owns victories over John Dodson and Chase Beebe.
That said, count on Menjivar to be up to the task. Firas Zahabi and the coaching staff at Tristar Gym will have the right game plan, and Menjivar will put it into action. When Menjivar is on his game, he finishes fights, so look for him to finish this one standing, possibly as early as the first round.
