Five huge questions going into UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II

The UFC 148 event that’s set for Saturday, July 7th, will be a huge event PPV wise and features some very interesting storylines that we want to look at. This event will be carried by the main event that features Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen. However, we have questions about Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia, and Melvin Guillard to look forward to as well. Let’s get right to it.

Will UFC 148 surpass UFC 100 PPV buys of 1.6 million?

UFC President Dana White has gone on record that he thinks the event will surpass UFC 100. However, I’m not sold on the idea as 1.6 million is a tremendous number to overcome. UFC 100 had the two biggest MMA PPV draws of all time on the same card in Brock Lesnar and Georges St. Pierre, with both being involved in title fights. The event was also hyped because of it being ‘UFC 100’. The UFC 148 card features the biggest and most anticipated rematch of all time, but that’s about it in regards to getting the casual fan to buy in. I think it’s certainly possibly that this event will surpass the one million mark, but I think it’ll settle around the 900,000 mark. The first fight that was highly anticipated did around 600,000 PPV buys. What numbers do you think we’ll see PPV wise?

Should Forrest Griffin retire should he lose to Tito Ortiz?

We all know that Ortiz has said this will be his last fight and will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this weekend. I asked this question a while back and I still reach the same conclusion. I think Tito will give a valiant effort and come up short, but should Griffin lose to Ortiz he should hang up the gloves. I think it’s safe to say that Griffin doesn’t have the same drive and fire that he had a few years ago. He got married, became a father, and has simply gotten older as a person and as a fighter. I don’t think he has another run in him to become a champion again in the light heavyweight division, nor do I think he has the skillset to accomplish it. He turned 33 years old yesterday and has a taken quite a bit of damage during his career(he has tons of scar tissue and has been TKO’ed five times). UFC President has essentially assured him(and Stephan Bonnar) that they will always have a role in the UFC. If he loses, it would be a good time to bow out.

Will Demian Maia’s drop to the welterweight division be a fruitful decision?

I thought Maia’s move to the welterweight division was a smart one because he wasn’t a big middleweight nor does his game rely on brute power. He’ll be facing a fighter in Dong Hyun Kim that he can have success against because he likes to grapple and doesn’t possess big knockout power with his strikes. I think Maia can beat a lot of welterweights out there and a win against Kim would be a good start as his only loss came against UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. How would Maia matchup with the top welterweights in the UFC?

Can Melvin Guillard overcome his demons against Fabricio Camoes?

Melvin Guillard has a skillset and physical attributes that most fighters would kill for, but it’s the mental part of the game that has held him back in his career. He beats most of the competition, but always seems to fall prey to tough fighters with good ground game. That’s exactly what he’s facing this weekend in Fabricio Camoes. What’s crazy is that Camoes went 25 minutes with Anderson Silva in his SECOND professional fight back in 1997 before taking the “L”. Yes, the same Anderson Silva that’s fighting in the main event against Chael Sonnen. Guillard has all the talent in the world, but this is definitely a sort of ‘trap fight’ for him that he must overcome if he ever wants to reach the top of the division.

What happens to Chael Sonnen if he loses to Anderson Silva again?

Man. I can’t wait for this fight. I suppose it depends on how he lost(if he loses). Let’s say he goes out there and goes hard for two rounds and gets finished in the second or third round via TKO or submission. It should be noted that Sonnen has only lost via TKO once in his career(he’s been TKO’ed twice but one was due to a cut). However, he’s been submitted eight times and of course he lost via submission the first go round with Silva. If he lost in some similar fashion as described, I can’t help but think that Sonnen would be thought of as a journeyman fighter that pushed Silva to the brink of defeat only to only to squander the opportunity. Would he make good on his promise to leave the UFC? Maybe, but that’s probably wishful thinking with Silva near the end of his career. Sonnen would certainly be a favorite to take the belt should Silva retire in the next year or so. Should Sonnen win would we see an immediate rematch? Probably. I guess we’ll just have to see how it all unfolds on Saturday night.

Be sure to make ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) your home for UFC 148 coverage. We’ll be in Vegas covering the UFC Fan Expo and will be on the scene at UFC 148 providing top notch coverage as usual.

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