Tag: Anderson Silva (Page 5 of 8)

UFC 134 Betting Odds: Silva, Rua favored

August 21, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC 134 takes place on Saturday, and has one of the better cards the UFC has put on in a while.

Our friends on at BetOnFighting.com have released odds for four of the main card bouts.

In the main event, Anderson Silva is the favorite (-450) to retain his UFC Middleweight Championship over Yushin Okami (+350). Silva (28-4) is looking to avenge a DQ loss to Okami (27-5) from 2006. Silva threw an up kick to Okami, when he was on his knees, which ended the fight. Okami is a big, strong wrestler, but not as aggressive as the likes of Chael Sonnen. Still, if Okami can get his hands on Silva, he could find a way to win the fight.

In the co-main event, Maurico “Shogun” Rua will look to avenge a loss to Forrest Griffin from back at UFC 76 in 2007. Rua (19-5) is considered the favorite to win this time, with odds of -220. Griffin (18-6) comes in with odds of +180. It should be noted that Rua was a heavy favorite the first time these two met, but Griffin managed to push a pace that Rua couldn’t handle and went on to score a submission in the closing moments of the third round.

For the available odds for UFC 134, including Schaub vs. Nogueira and Barboza vs. Pearson, check out the jump.

Betting Odds, Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Brendan Schaub Edson Barboza Forrest Griffin Mauricio Rua Ross Pearson UFC 134

Anderson Silva lands deal with Nike

August 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The UFC has clearly been working its way up the sponsorship ladder over the years.

Bud Light has been very visible in the octagon for years and AMP Energy, a product of Pepsi, has been making a big sponsorship push as well.

Just this past year, Gatorade has gotten their hands on Georges St. Pierre, and Under Armor has been adding more UFC names to its roster.

Well, the biggest brand has finally put its mark on the UFC, Nike.

According to Sherdog.com, Anderson Silva has landed a sponsorship deal with Nike.

When Anderson Silva enters the cage to defend his UFC middleweight title Aug. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, he will do so as the first Brazilian mixed martial artist to be sponsored by Nike.
The 36-year-old Silva, who meets Japan’s Yushin Okami later this month in the main event of UFC 134, recently closed a sponsorship agreement with the sports apparel mega-brand. Nike Brazil Director of Sports Marketing Luis Alexandre confirmed the deal to UOL.com.br Tuesday; exact terms were not disclosed.

Nike is the big dog in the athletic sponsorship world and it is a big deal for all of MMA for Nike to be on board with the sport.

While it is not surprising that Silva was the one to break through, because of his talents, it is surprising that they would go the international route to start. But, hopefully Nike Brazil can market “The Spider” well and it will lead to more sponsorships for other UFC and MMA stars.

Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva Nike

Who is Chad Ochocinco kidding?

August 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Anyone who watches the NFL knows that Chad Ochocinco is a diva.

But, if you follow his Twitter you also know he has a propensity to call out members of the MMA world.

He has told Anderson Silva that he would destroy him and now, he has turned his attention to Georges St. Pierre in the video below.

I know Ochocinco was having some fun, but I pray that one day he steps into the octagon and gets the “James Toney” treatment. He seems like he could use a good a** kicking.

It is too bad his new Patriots teammate, Aaron Hernandez, let him have number 85 and didn’t make him look like an idiot with a name of Ochocinco and a number like 89.

Also, did you notice the narrator say the “2012-13 NFL season?” I guess he is able to travel through time.

Fighters, News, UFC, Videos

Anderson Silva Chad Ochocinco Georges St. Pierre

MMA Game Changers: Anderson Silva

July 25, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s not hard to figure out which UFC middleweight has changed the face of MMA.

The middleweight champion of nearly five years, Anderson Silva, quickly established himself as a game changer when he made his debut with the promotion back on June 28, 2006.

His opponent was current middleweight contender, Chris Leben. The fight didn’t last long as Silva seemingly landed every punch and kick he threw, knocking Leben out in just 49 seconds.

From there, Silva stamped his credibility by running through UFC champion, Rich Franklin, in just three minutes.

Since then, Silva has continued to be a dominant force in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

His striking was something unlike anything we’d ever seen. Chuck Liddell was considered a striker back then, but Silva was on another wavelength.

Silva uses all four of his appendages in a beautiful mix of strikes. His fists, feet, and knees are all deadly.

Since his arrival in the UFC, only Chael Sonnen has put up a fight against the champion, but that still wasn’t enough. Silva used his jiu-jitsu black belt to submit Sonnen and retain his title.

His highlight reel KO’s are stuff of legend as he has made Franklin, Leben, Vitor Belfort, and Forrest Griffin look like amateurs in the cage.

What also makes Silva so special is that you could see him being successful 10 years from now, even as MMA continues to evolve.

There may never be another Anderson Silva again.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Anderson Silva Chris Leben Forrest Griffin Rich Franklin Vitor Belfort

Top 10 MMA Pound-for-Pound Rankings

July 21, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It has been two months since my last pound-for-pound rankings list, and only one fighter on the list has competed in that time.

Bantamweight Champion, Dominick Cruz made his UFC debut, and successfully beat Urijah Faber, but his win wasn’t strong enough to move him ahead of Frankie Edgar. So, my top 10 is the same, but there could be some serious shakeups in the next few months with the UFC putting together a number of big fights in the fall and early winter.

1. Anderson Silva (28-4): Silva is still the most feared opponent of anyone in MMA due to his devastating and unique striking ability. Chael Sonnen is the only man to make him look beatable, but Silva still found a way to beat him by submission despite a serious rib injury. Yushin Okami is next up for “The Spider” at UFC 134, which will be a good test for Silva, who has an obvious weakness in wrestling.

2. Georges St. Pierre (22-2): GSP will return to action in October to take on Nick Diaz. The welterweight kingpin hasn’t been challenged much in his recent fights, but he also hasn’t been that impressive either. St. Pierre is in need of a dominant win with a finish to really be considered for the top spot.

3. Jose Aldo (19-1): Aldo is set to face off with Kenny Florian in early October, defending his featherweight title for the second time in the UFC. Aldo is similar to Silva in the fact that his striking is so strong that many opponents have a hard time coming up with a game plan that they can stick to when they face off with him. Florian will provide a good test for Aldo, but it may not be enough to beat “Junior.”

Fighters, News, Rankings, UFC

Anderson Silva Cain Velasquez Dominick Cruz Frankie Edgar Georges St. Pierre Gray Maynard Jon Fitch Jon Jones Jose Aldo Rashad Evans