The UFC 153 main event will feature a light heavyweight bout between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and TUF 1 Finalist Stephan Bonnar. Anderson Silva volunteered to fight on this card since the original main event between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar was canceled, and Stephan Bonnar agreed to face Silva as he has always asked to fight a big name in MMA before retiring. This fight has no real implications other than Bonnar trying to pull off a huge upset, and Silva adding to his already impressive highlight reel. Let’s see if Bonnar can get it done.
Stephan Bonnar (14-7) has won three consecutive fights with his last outing being a unanimous decision win over Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139. Bonnar has won three fights via TKO/KO and seven fights via submission. He’s a durable fighter that’s never been knocked out or submitted in his career. He also likes to pressure his opponents and often welcomes taking punishment to inflict damage on his opponents. He will have a size and reach advantage in this fight, but will certainly not have the speed advantage.
Anderson Silva (32-4) has never lost inside the UFC and is coming off the TKO win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. Silva is regarded by many as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. He has won 19 fights via TKO/KO and seven fights via submission, and has not legitimately tasted defeat since a nupset highlight reel submission loss against Ryo Chonan in December 2004. Silva is an excellent striker with pinpoint accuracy while also being very good, if not underrated with his ground game. He has never been knocked out in his career, and his biggest weakness is his takedown defense.
Top Bet has Anderson Silva as the huge betting favorite as he should be.
There’s a reason why Stephan Bonnar is a huge underdog in this fight. He has never beaten fighters that are near the top of the food chain. The good fighters like (Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, and Jon Jones) that Bonnar lost to all happened before they were top level fighters. The only thing Bonnar has going for him in this fight is his size and toughness. He may be able to rough house Silva and take him down, but he would have to do that for five consecutive rounds to win this one. That’s something that world classes wrestler Chael Sonnen couldn’t do without getting knocked out or submitted. Also, all of the rounds start on the feet where Silva is the most dangerous. Bonnar is not a heavy hitter in regards to punching power as evident by the number of fights he has won via TKO.
I think this fight will be eerily similar to Silva’s fight with Forrest Griffin. He’ll be fighting a guy that’s much slower with very little punching power, but this time it’ll be in front of his home crowd in Brazil. Also, I anticipate Bonnar being overly aggressive in this fight to try to assert himself which will not bode well from him. It should be exciting while it lasts, but Silva takes Bonnar out via TKO to add to his legacy and highlight reel.
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