IT MAY NOT be the super fight that everyone has been calling for in recent months but any fight involving Anderson Silva is special and Saturday’s bout against Chris Weidman should be no different.
Las Vegas is the setting for “The Spider’s” record smashing eleventh title defence as he looks to overcome arguably the biggest threat to his throne to date, the undefeated New Yorker Weidman.
Elsewhere on a card that matches up to the pull of the main event Frankie Edgar takes on Charles Oliveira while Mark Munoz faces Tim Boetsch. Tim Kennedy faces Roger Gracie and the Cub Swanson-Dennis Siver bout tops off a stacked main card.
The prelims are every bit as stacked as the feature event with the likes of Chris Leben, Gabriel Gonzaga and Edson Barboza all in action while Antrim’s Norman Parke finally gets to taste some UFC action after winning the “TUF-The Smashes” series back in December 2012.
Is Silva’s time finally up?
Never before has there been so much uncertainty surrounding the outcome of an Anderson Silva bout. A lot of people inside the UFC have stated their belief that the challenger can upset the odds this weekend with the likes of Rashad Evans and GSP proclaiming that Weidman has all the tools to oust Silva as the middleweight champ.
Weidman, a former two-time NCAA National Champion, is a stronger, better, faster version of Chael Sonnen and possesses the same style that caused Silva such much trouble in the past. It is generally thought that a strong wrestling background and ability to close the space quickly are the best ways to try and unlock the defence of the elusive long-serving champion.
This may be the case but Weidman is coming into this off the back of a pretty serious injury, one that his coaches admitted a lesser man may not have been able to handle and he hasn’t fought in almost a year. These two factors are massive negatives when you are coming up against the greatest MMA fighter of all time.
Although Weidman remains unbeaten in his MMA career, Uriah Hall aside, his previous opponents have been nowhere near the calibre of Anderson Silva and this fight is undoubtedly a massive step-up in class for the highly-rated American.
He may be 38-years-old and he isn’t going to be champion forever but the way Silva has been written off this week has been slightly disrespectful. Weidman does pose a serious threat to the legacy of the champion but Silva has more than enough tricks up his sleeve to see off the challenger.
YouTube credit: NickTheFace
The Norman invasion
County Antrim’s Norman Parke has endured a frustrating wait for more UFC action but finally gets the chance to show he belongs in the big time as he faces Kazuki Tokudome in the prelims. Parke impressed on his way to winning “The Smashes” and is looking to be the next UK fighter to make waves in the UFC.
“Stormin’” has won his last seven fights on the bounce and will be looking to continue that streak; if he does, a main event slot in a future show would not be out of the question. The Ulsterman has a solid, well rounded game and as he and Tokudome both hail from Judo backgrounds this fight seems destined to end up on the mat.
If that is the case, Parke will be the overwhelming favourite to win the fight as 12 of his 17 victories have come via submission. The only real danger Parke faces is looking past this fight and if he can channel the expected adrenaline rush appropriately, he should be fit to win it.
YouTube credit: Ryan Johnson
Best of the rest
Frankie Edgar still harbours dreams of becoming a UFC champ once more and his resilient display against Jose Aldo proved that it was the right decision to drop down a division. He must work his way back up the divisional ladder and the first rung on that ladder is Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira has looked a mixed bag of sorts in his UFC career to date but his losses have come against top opposition such as Donald Cerrone and Cub Swanson. Unfortunately for him, Edgar is of the same pedigree as those who have defeated him already so it doesn’t look promising for the Brazilian.
Mark Munoz has worked really hard to overcome his defeat at the hands of Chris Weidman last time out and returns to the Octagon in the best shape of his life which seems ominous for Tim Boetsch. Cub Swanson and Denis Siver’s matchup looks to have a KO for either written all over it while Tim Kennedy should win the battle of the UFC debutants over Roger Gracie.
