It's time to head back to the home of the UFC for this one and we most certainly have a stacked card ahead of us. It's undefeated vs undisputed in this battle for the middleweight championship as Anderson Silva puts his unrivaled UFC legacy on the line to battle someone a man who's just as eager to make a splash as the greatest middleweight in UFC history - Chris Weidman. Speaking of making a splash Frankie Edgar will look to finally get back to his winning ways as he steps into his first 3 round fight in more than 3 years as he takes on skilled submission artist Charles Oliveira. Strikeforce standouts Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie finally make their debuts inside the octagon, Mark Munoz and Tim Boetsch will both be looking to rebound from TKO defeats to Serra/Longo team mates Costa Phillippou and Chris Weidman, and top 10 featherweights Cub Swanson and Denis Siver look to finally do battle to see who's closer to a shot at the UFC Featherweight Championship. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your UFC 162 prediction thread!
Hello everyone, Red Alex here to share with you my predictions for this Saturday's huge upcoming event. Anderson Silva is without a doubt the most interesting characters to watch inside the octagon, his ability to win fights decisively is only unrivaled by his legacy that he prominently carries with him and defends every single time he steps into the octagon. He is no less than the pound for pound best fighter in the world and this Saturday he looks to extend that claim at the expense of Chris Weidman. A former NCAA champion at Hofstra University who has yet to taste defeat in any mixed martial arts competition. It's undisputed vs undefeated in this highly anticipated, highly touted middleweight championship match. In the co main event former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar makes his first appearance in a non championship fight in 3 years in his new weight class as a featherweight and in doing so he'll take on a slick submission specialist in Charles Oliveira. Also on the main card Tim Kennedy will look to take on Roger Gracie who has been expected to come to the octagon for quite some time in his new weight class at 185 pounds. Mark Munoz will look to finally get back on the wrecking track when he takes on Tim Boetsch, and Cub Swanson and Denis Siver will look to do battle inching each of them closer to their goal of one day being a UFC champion. It's live, it's on pay per view, it's UFC 162 live on Pay Per View.. let's see what this Saturday has in store for us.
Middleweight (185 lbs) Championship: Anderson Silva(c) Vs Chris Weidman
It's undisputed vs undefeated in this epic clash of middleweight contenders, Chris Weidman who came to the UFC two years ago on a 4-0 winning streak has run through everyone that has been put in front of him including top contenders Demian Maia and Mark Munoz. Weidman is a stylistic nightmare for the defending champion and a lot of people believe that he is perhaps his toughest challenge yet. As much as I love the spider, I also find it very hard to disagree with the concurring statements I just mentioned.. that being said, I also don't believe that Weidman will defeat him. In nearly every predicament that the champion has been placed in, he's found a way to come out on top and even toppled some fighters that said that they would be his toughest challenges yet. Let's not forget that both Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen were both bad stylistic matchups for Anderson and he overcame those challenges as well... mind you none of them were as fresh or young as Weidman is but Silva was still able to use his skills to silence both of these competitors on the ground. I believe the same is to be said for Weidman, even though I expect Weidman to consistantly take down Silva throughout the fight and attempt to submit him.. I don't see that happening, as a matter of fact I say that Silva will be the one to pull off a very narrow submission victory furthermore cementing his legacy... it's just in his blood.
Winner: Anderson Silva by Submission in Rd. 3
Featherweight (145 lbs) Bout: Frankie Edgar Vs Charles Oliveira
3 and a half years have past since Frankie Edgar stepped into the octagon for a 3 round fight, and after losing to champions Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson twice he's more than desparate for a win. Charles Oliveira presents a unique challenge for him with his constant level changes and ability to finish a submission on just about any limb, so needless to say for his first non title fight in a while the New Jersey native certainly has his work cut out for him. One thing we can't let escape our minds though is the fact that this is the first 3 round fight he's had in a while, so that means the game plan will change drastically. After watching his last fight against Gray Maynard it seems like Edgar is very relaxed and composed and picks his shots early while other people blow their energy.. but I don't see that happening here. We've all seen the way Oliveira responds when people get in his face early, and considering Edgar likes to explode in the 3rd and 4th rounds in championship fights, he'll need to get off early and put Oliveira away in order to show everyone that he's back at a playing level.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Tim Kennedy Vs Roger Gracie
At the mid way point of the card we will see the debut of two well seasoned competitors. One is a veteran who has earned his stripes in promotions around the world, while the other is a prospect hell bent on carrying his family's legacy into today's center stage of the sport. Both Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie made names for themsevles in Strikeforce but Roger was expected to come over much sooner than Kennedy was. Regardless, both men are finally where they want to be - at the centre stage of the sport. I imagine experience will probably play a factor in which goes to Tim Kennedy, Roger has looked good at 185 lbs with wins over Keith Jardine and Anthony Smith but Tim Kennedy has hung in there with some of the best and more importantly he knows how to finish from just about every angle. I definitely see Kennedy coming out on top but I don't see a finish in this one.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Mark Munoz Vs Tim Boestch
We have two top names in the middleweight division trying to get back on the pedistal on this one as Tim Boestch and Mark Munoz are both looking to come back after being TKO'd by Serra/Longo standouts Costa Philippou and Chris Weidman so for this match makes a lot of sense to see who will go up the ladder and who will descend. It's been a while since Mark Munoz has stepped in after nursing a foot injury however I don't think that'll be much of a problem for the "phillipino wrecking machine". Boestch however has been looking phenomenal at 185 and could present some problems for Munoz in the later rounds of the fight. However knowing the way this is going I see Munoz winning the first two rounds before gassing and leaving an awesome showing in the judges hands.
Winner: Mark Munoz by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight (145 lbs) Bout: Cub Swanson Vs Denis Siver
These two top featherweights have been nothing short of impressive in their current ventures at 145 pounds. Swanson has been compiling a large list of first round knockouts including George Roop, Ross Pearson, and Charles Oliveira where as Denis Siver showed just how much of a beast he was by completely shutting Nam Phan out of the water both on the feet and on the ground. Although this fight was supposed to happen last February in London, Siver was forced to withdraw due to an injury and Swanson faced off against Dustin Poirier winning by unanimous decision. I imagine this one will be contested on the feet, although Cub Swanson is better at finishing people on the feet I also believe that he Siver's high variety of strikes will cause problems for Swanson leading to a unanimous decision.
Winner: Denis Siver by Unanimous Deicision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the read and as always.. feel free to leave your predicitons as well. I'm not asking for them to be as detailed as I have but a little bit of participation always helps. Until next time.. I'm Alex Cochrane.
Hello everyone, Red Alex here to share with you my predictions for this Saturday's huge upcoming event. Anderson Silva is without a doubt the most interesting characters to watch inside the octagon, his ability to win fights decisively is only unrivaled by his legacy that he prominently carries with him and defends every single time he steps into the octagon. He is no less than the pound for pound best fighter in the world and this Saturday he looks to extend that claim at the expense of Chris Weidman. A former NCAA champion at Hofstra University who has yet to taste defeat in any mixed martial arts competition. It's undisputed vs undefeated in this highly anticipated, highly touted middleweight championship match. In the co main event former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar makes his first appearance in a non championship fight in 3 years in his new weight class as a featherweight and in doing so he'll take on a slick submission specialist in Charles Oliveira. Also on the main card Tim Kennedy will look to take on Roger Gracie who has been expected to come to the octagon for quite some time in his new weight class at 185 pounds. Mark Munoz will look to finally get back on the wrecking track when he takes on Tim Boetsch, and Cub Swanson and Denis Siver will look to do battle inching each of them closer to their goal of one day being a UFC champion. It's live, it's on pay per view, it's UFC 162 live on Pay Per View.. let's see what this Saturday has in store for us.
Middleweight (185 lbs) Championship: Anderson Silva(c) Vs Chris Weidman
It's undisputed vs undefeated in this epic clash of middleweight contenders, Chris Weidman who came to the UFC two years ago on a 4-0 winning streak has run through everyone that has been put in front of him including top contenders Demian Maia and Mark Munoz. Weidman is a stylistic nightmare for the defending champion and a lot of people believe that he is perhaps his toughest challenge yet. As much as I love the spider, I also find it very hard to disagree with the concurring statements I just mentioned.. that being said, I also don't believe that Weidman will defeat him. In nearly every predicament that the champion has been placed in, he's found a way to come out on top and even toppled some fighters that said that they would be his toughest challenges yet. Let's not forget that both Dan Henderson and Chael Sonnen were both bad stylistic matchups for Anderson and he overcame those challenges as well... mind you none of them were as fresh or young as Weidman is but Silva was still able to use his skills to silence both of these competitors on the ground. I believe the same is to be said for Weidman, even though I expect Weidman to consistantly take down Silva throughout the fight and attempt to submit him.. I don't see that happening, as a matter of fact I say that Silva will be the one to pull off a very narrow submission victory furthermore cementing his legacy... it's just in his blood.
Winner: Anderson Silva by Submission in Rd. 3
Featherweight (145 lbs) Bout: Frankie Edgar Vs Charles Oliveira
3 and a half years have past since Frankie Edgar stepped into the octagon for a 3 round fight, and after losing to champions Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson twice he's more than desparate for a win. Charles Oliveira presents a unique challenge for him with his constant level changes and ability to finish a submission on just about any limb, so needless to say for his first non title fight in a while the New Jersey native certainly has his work cut out for him. One thing we can't let escape our minds though is the fact that this is the first 3 round fight he's had in a while, so that means the game plan will change drastically. After watching his last fight against Gray Maynard it seems like Edgar is very relaxed and composed and picks his shots early while other people blow their energy.. but I don't see that happening here. We've all seen the way Oliveira responds when people get in his face early, and considering Edgar likes to explode in the 3rd and 4th rounds in championship fights, he'll need to get off early and put Oliveira away in order to show everyone that he's back at a playing level.
Winner: Frankie Edgar by KO/TKO in Rd. 1
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Tim Kennedy Vs Roger Gracie
At the mid way point of the card we will see the debut of two well seasoned competitors. One is a veteran who has earned his stripes in promotions around the world, while the other is a prospect hell bent on carrying his family's legacy into today's center stage of the sport. Both Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie made names for themsevles in Strikeforce but Roger was expected to come over much sooner than Kennedy was. Regardless, both men are finally where they want to be - at the centre stage of the sport. I imagine experience will probably play a factor in which goes to Tim Kennedy, Roger has looked good at 185 lbs with wins over Keith Jardine and Anthony Smith but Tim Kennedy has hung in there with some of the best and more importantly he knows how to finish from just about every angle. I definitely see Kennedy coming out on top but I don't see a finish in this one.
Winner: Tim Kennedy by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight (185 lbs) Bout: Mark Munoz Vs Tim Boestch
We have two top names in the middleweight division trying to get back on the pedistal on this one as Tim Boestch and Mark Munoz are both looking to come back after being TKO'd by Serra/Longo standouts Costa Philippou and Chris Weidman so for this match makes a lot of sense to see who will go up the ladder and who will descend. It's been a while since Mark Munoz has stepped in after nursing a foot injury however I don't think that'll be much of a problem for the "phillipino wrecking machine". Boestch however has been looking phenomenal at 185 and could present some problems for Munoz in the later rounds of the fight. However knowing the way this is going I see Munoz winning the first two rounds before gassing and leaving an awesome showing in the judges hands.
Winner: Mark Munoz by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight (145 lbs) Bout: Cub Swanson Vs Denis Siver
These two top featherweights have been nothing short of impressive in their current ventures at 145 pounds. Swanson has been compiling a large list of first round knockouts including George Roop, Ross Pearson, and Charles Oliveira where as Denis Siver showed just how much of a beast he was by completely shutting Nam Phan out of the water both on the feet and on the ground. Although this fight was supposed to happen last February in London, Siver was forced to withdraw due to an injury and Swanson faced off against Dustin Poirier winning by unanimous decision. I imagine this one will be contested on the feet, although Cub Swanson is better at finishing people on the feet I also believe that he Siver's high variety of strikes will cause problems for Swanson leading to a unanimous decision.
Winner: Denis Siver by Unanimous Deicision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the read and as always.. feel free to leave your predicitons as well. I'm not asking for them to be as detailed as I have but a little bit of participation always helps. Until next time.. I'm Alex Cochrane.