Top five questions going into UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman

[ads1]
[ads2]The UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman event is set to take place on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will feature the middleweight title fight between champion Anderson Silva and up and coming challenger Chris Weidman. The co-main event will feature a featherweight bout between former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and up and comer Charles Oliveira.

The preliminary bouts will begin on Facebook at 6:30 p.m. ET with more preliminary bouts airing on FX at 8 p.m. ET. The PPV portion of the event will air in the usual 10 p.m. ET time slot.

Let’s take a look at the top five questions going into the UFC 162 event below.

Will UFC 162 hit the 500,000 PPV mark?

Anderson Silva has finally become a legitimate PPV draw over the past couple of years. Much of it due in part to his rivalry with Chael Sonnen, and the consistent(and truthful) marketing of Silva as the best fighter on the planet. However, this fight against Chris Weidman will certainly test his drawing power as Weidman is relatively unknown to casual fans. He does have a decent supporting cast with a former champion in the co-main event in Frankie Edgar. There has been about a three week gap since the last UFC event, so fans may be more willing to shell out money to buy the PPV.

Can Frankie Edgar get back on the winning side of things after losing three very close decisions in a row?

Frankie Edgar lost his UFC lightweight title against Ben Henderson and then lost the immediate rematch in a extremely close fight. He then dropped down to the UFC featherweight division  to challenge Jose Aldo for his title and lost another decision. He’ll be taking on Charles Oliveira who is coming off a KO loss against Cub Swanson in his last outing. However, Oliveira had won back-to-back fights as a featherweight prior to the loss after competing as a lightweight beforehand. It’s a winnable fight for Edgar, but Oliveira is certainly a threat in certain situations. A loss here would be devastating for Edgar so it’ll be interesting to see how he fights on Saturday night.

Does Cub Swanson get in title contention with an impressive win over Dennis Siver?

Swanson has won four consecutive fights since his last loss in 2011. Swanson has finished three of those opponents either via KO/TKO or submission. Siver has won back-to-back fights since debuting as a featherweight in April 2012. Swanson’s last loss was against Ricardo Lamas who was thought to be the number one contender earlier this year. However, Swanson does have a highlight reel KO loss against the current champion Jose Aldo back in their WEC days which could be a factor in how fast he gets in the mix if Aldo retains the title later this year.

Can Mark Munoz get back on the winning side of things after a year away from the cage and a bout with depression?

Munoz hasn’t fought since a TKO loss at the hands (and elbow) of Chris Weidman in July 2o12. Munoz also battled a bout with depression and obesity since the loss to Weidman. Munoz had ballooned up to 260 pounds in January of this year before getting back in control and in shape. He’ll be taking on Tim Boetsch who is also coming off a TKO loss in his last bout against Constantinos Philippou at UFC 155. Munoz only has two losses as a middleweight and a win here could put him back on the map. Both he and Boetsch were college wrestlers with Munoz being much more decorated, but Boetsch is the larger of the two fighters.

Will Edson Barboza establish himself as a contender with a win over Rafaello Oliveira?

 Barboza was on the fast track to being a contender with many impressive wins prior to his huge upset loss against Jamie Varner at UFC 146. However, Barboza rebounded nicely with a first round TKO win over relatively unknown Lucas Martins in January. He’ll be taking on MMA/UFC veteran Rafaello Oliveira who hasn’t fought in over a year. A win over Oliveira will make it two wins in a row and probably put Barboza in a position to fight a top 10 featherweight.