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The UFC returns home to Las Vegas this Sunday with the stacked UFC 162: Silva vs Weidman card.
The main event features Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva defending his UFC middleweight crown against number-one contender Chris Weidman.
The champion will be looking to notch his 11th title defence since he won the title in 2006.
In his last fight at UFC 153, he bested Stephan Bonnar in a light-heavyweight bout that sent the TUF 1 runner-up into permanent retirement.
Weidman enters this fight as an undefeated contender, garnering nine wins in as many outings since beginning his career in 2009.
The former Division 1 wrestler from Hofstra University has been picked by several big-name fighters to pull off the upset against the number-one pound-for-pound fighter.
So who takes it?
Striking
Not much to be said here. As one of the greatest strikers in MMA history, Silva holds a considerable advantage in this department.
The Muay Thai stylist combines all eight weapons with pinpoint accuracy and is difficult to hit clean.
While Weidman’s striking has improved under Ray Longo’s tutelage, his short MMA career and wrestling background dictate that he is not on the level of ‘The Spider’.
Advantage: Silva
Wrestling
Similar to Silva’s advantage in striking, this area of the game is Weidman’s greatest strength.
As a high-level collegiate wrestler, Weidman has the ability to dictate where the fight goes.
In his last fight, he outwrestled one of the best wrestlers in the game when he took Mark Muñoz down at will. As Chael Sonnen proved, wrestling is Silva’s biggest weakness.
Advantage: Weidman
Submissions
This is potentially where the fight’s momentum can turn quickly.
Combined with his wrestling, Weidman is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under John Donaher and has recently been training with Renzo Gracie. He has a few submission tournament victories and held his own on the ground against BJJ legend Demian Maia.
Silva is a long-time BJJ black belt under the Noguiera brothers and has submitted the likes of Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson.
We don’t see it often because of his striking prowess but Silva’s submission skills are not to be underestimated.
Advantage: Even/slight edge to Silva
Strength/conditioning
While Weidman is likely the physically stronger of the two, this is his first five-round fight.
He has gone the three-round distance three times in his career.
Meanwhile, Silva is a veteran of championship fights and can go the full-distance if needed. Silva’s counter-attacking style usually means that his opponent dictates how long the fight will go.
Advantage: Silva
Prediction
Weidman presents an interesting stylistic match-up for the champion. He will likely take advantage of Silva’s tendency to start slow and get points for takedowns and top position.
His best chance will come in pinning down Silva en route to a ground-and-pound decision. As we saw with Chael Sonnen however, Silva is difficult to pin down.
Inevitably, inexperience and main event jitters will get the better of Weidman as Silva takes over in the championship rounds.
Result: Silva by UD/late TKO
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