UFC 126 Silva vs Belfort

[NHS BIG DADDY]

Main Card:

 

Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort (for UFC Middleweight Belt)

Rich Franklin vs Forest Griffin

Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader

Jake Ellenberger vs Carlos Eduardo Rocha

Miguel Torres vs Antonio Banuelos

 

Preliminary fights on Spike TV:

 

Donald Cerrone vs Paul Kelly

Chad Mendes vs Michihiro Omigawa

 

Also the UFC debut of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs Demetrious Johnson will be shown live on Facebook.

 

 

Im really pumped for the card on Saturday, 3 big fights and some very nice lighter weight fights mixed in. Lot of WEC guys making their debuts in the UFC.

[dolamite]

Really pumped for the Silva/Belfort fight. I want Anderson to win but I know that is going to be easier said than done. If he comes out like he did against Sonnen he will not leave with the belt.

 

 

Also really excited to see the continued growth of Jon Jones, I think he shows the world just how good he is with an impressive win over Bader.

[CBDV]

Really pumped for the Silva/Belfort fight. I want Anderson to win but I know that is going to be easier said than done. If he comes out like he did against Sonnen he will not leave with the belt.

 

 

Also really excited to see the continued growth of Jon Jones, I think he shows the world just how good he is with an impressive win over Bader.

 

I cannot stand Anderson Silva.

 

With that said, Vitor does not pose near the threat than Sonnen does/did. Vitor is not a wrestler and has had trouble with them in the past, unless he KO's them early. He has a punchers chance, nothing more. Okami has a better chance than Vitor.

 

Its a good good, borderline great card, on paper. I am ver disappointed that Kid Yamamoto is not on the prelims or main card, other than the Cerrone fight, I would rather see him than the others under the main 3.

[5wide]

I agree with CBDV. Belfort is a completely different fighter stylistically than Sonnen. He won't come out with a game plan to be relentless with the takedown attempts and ground and pound. He's definitely the most dangerous striker Silva has faced in the UFC. Puncher's chance makes it sound like it would take luck for him to win...I think he's good enough to capitalize on an opportunity and finish anyone he faces. The problem is, as explosive and great as Belfort can be, he's not as good as Silva. And, Silva has looked that great against a consistently higher level of competition. He's a better and more versatile striker. I think this fight is a better matchup for Silva. He'd much rather face a guy who wants to strike. I think the Spider will end this fight in the first two rounds.

 

I think Franklin will beat Griffin because he's a better fighter.

 

I think Bader takes Jones down and grinds out a decision victory.

[CBDV]

Punchers chance was a bad choice of words, as Vitor is a great striker for MMA, but I just don't see him better at any part of the stand-up than Silva is.

[NHS BIG DADDY]

This is the type of opponent that Silva usually dominates in spectacular fashion. Guys who are strikers that will attack and keep the fight on the feet. Forest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Chris Leben, James Irvin and Nate Marquardt all come to mind. Vitor fits that bill and while he will be a game opponent for sure, this is usually the type of fighter that Anderson just smashes.

 

Franklin/Griffin will be a fun fight. Both are very similar fighters, Forest has a size advantage but Franklin has KO power in his hands. Other than that they are pretty equal imo.

 

Really looking forward to Jones vs Bader. Bones is a bad dude with the biggest reach in the UFC at 84in. Think Bader is going to have to counter some of Jones unorthodox moves with a big right hand or takedowns. Jones has never really been on his back before so Bader needs to get him down and see what he has there.

[5wide]

Punchers chance was a bad choice of words, as Vitor is a great striker for MMA, but I just don't see him better at any part of the stand-up than Silva is.

 

Me either. If Silva is on his game, he'll dominate the fight, IMO.

[5wide]

This is the type of opponent that Silva usually dominates in spectacular fashion. Guys who are strikers that will attack and keep the fight on the feet. Forest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Chris Leben, James Irvin and Nate Marquardt all come to mind. Vitor fits that bill and while he will be a game opponent for sure, this is usually the type of fighter that Anderson just smashes.

 

Franklin/Griffin will be a fun fight. Both are very similar fighters, Forest has a size advantage but Franklin has KO power in his hands. Other than that they are pretty equal imo.

 

Really looking forward to Jones vs Bader. Bones is a bad dude with the biggest reach in the UFC at 84in. Think Bader is going to have to counter some of Jones unorthodox moves with a big right hand or takedowns. Jones has never really been on his back before so Bader needs to get him down and see what he has there.

 

I'm always skeptical of explosive guys like Jones who have never been on their back. It often ends bad for them when it happens. Bader is a strong dude with good wrestling. I think he'll take the fight to the ground and control the action.

 

I agree on Silva. The thing that makes it more interesting is that Belfort is easily the best striker he's faced in the UFC. He's better, more explosive and more dangerous, IMO, than any of the other guys listed. Still, he's not better, more explosive or more dangerous than Silva. That's the problem. I've heard several people say a guy like Sonnen is the type of fighter who would beat Silva and Belfort is certainly not that type of fighter.

 

I think Rich Franklin is just better than Griffin. I think he can outpoint him if nothing else.

[hoopboy]

The difference between Vitor and Griffin/Franklin, is that Vitor is about 20 X the speed of either of those clowns and I would think he has much more power. To my knowledge he's only been TKO'd once. With that being said, I expect Silva to TKO Belfort within three rounds because Belfort simply doesn't come to fight against big name opponenets, i.e. the Dan Henderson fight, Belfort was content to lay on his back and take a beating. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised at all to see Belfort win as Silva is getting older, but my prediction is Silva, TKO, within 3. Boo yow.

 

I'm picking Bader over Jones and Griffin over Franklin. I'm actually really looking forward to the Griffin/Franklin fight for some reason.

[uk#1fan]

Silvia will crush Belfort! Jones will crush Vader!

[hrcarrier]

I look for Belfort to have a lot more of a chance than many are thinking and wouldn't be surprised if he pulls it off. I definitely believe Jones will beat Bader and the fight between Franklin and Griffin could go either way and is likely the best fight on the whole card.

[NHS BIG DADDY]

The Silva/Belfort staredown at the weigh ins was intense. Cant wait for this fight.

[hrcarrier]

The Silva/Belfort staredown at the weigh ins was intense. Cant wait for this fight.

 

Me too; I think many have been looking forward to this one.

[5wide]

I'm looking forward to this UFC more than the Super Bowl to be honest.

[dolamite]

I'm looking forward to this UFC more than the Super Bowl to be honest.

 

I am...