Tag: Chris Leben (Page 2 of 2)

      UFC 132 Preview: Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva

      June 29, 2011 /

      nullThe idea of Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva fighting each other is enough to get any fight fan excited.

      However, a fight that gets this kind of hype rarely lives up to expectations.

      Still, this contest should be a slugfest and has me excited for Saturday.

      Here is a breakdown of the fight.

      Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) – Silva hasn’t fought in over a year since he won a decision over Michael Bisping. He is one of the top strikers of all time as he has some pretty notorious KO victories. Over recent year, Silva has struggled with a weaker chin, as he was KO’d in three of his last five losses. Silva is also just 2-5 in his last seven fights, but he is still one of the most feared men in all of MMA.

      Chris Leben (25-7) – Leben is coming off a TKO loss to Brian Stann at UFC 125, which derailed a nice train of momentum he had going for him. Leben has some big hands, but tends to struggle with grapplers and crisp technical strikers. Stann, Michael Bisping, and Anderson Silva each picked Leben apart in the octagon.

      Who Will Win: When I talk about technical striking, Wanderlei Silva isn’t necessarily in that discussion. He loops big punches that take a long time to deliver. Leben isn’t necessarily real technical either. This basically comes down to which fighter will land the big punch first. I think Leben has a real good shot to win, but my gut just won’t let me pick him. I will take Silva by TKO in the second round.

      Events, Fighters, UFC

      Your weekly MMA TV schedule update

      June 27, 2011 /

      nullA Sunday UFC event threw off our weekly TV update, so here it is on Monday night.

      This week, the TV focus is solely on UFC 132, as the premiere MMA organization puts on a pretty strong card on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

      – On Wednesday, the Countdown to UFC 132 premiers on SpikeTV at 1:12 p.m. ET. The UFC lists the time, which seems like an odd time to begin a show. The show will go in depth about the key bouts of UFC 132. It will re-air on SpikeTV on Thursday at 11 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. It will also re-air on Versus on Thursday at 7 p.m.

      – Prior to the UFC PPV on Saturday, SpikeTV will air UFC 132 Prelims Live at 8 p.m. The two free prelims on SpikeTV are expected to be a pair of lightweight showdowns as Melvin Guillard faces off with Shane Roller and George Sotiropoulos takes on Rafael Dos Anjos.

      – At 9 p.m. ET, UFC 132 airs live on PPV. The main event of the card features a bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. In the co-main event, strikers Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva meet in a middleweight clash. Light Heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader will also face off in a featured bout.

      Events, Fighters, UFC

      Early UFC 132 Betting Odds: Cruz Favored over Faber

      June 27, 2011 /

      nullUFC 132 takes place this Saturday night from Las Vegas and our friends at BetOnFighting.com have released their odds for six of the bouts on the card.

      In the main event, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz is a slight favorite to beat challenger Urijah Faber. Cruz has odds of -130 while Faber has a money line of +100.

      Faber is the only blemish on Cruz’ record, but Cruz is a much different fighter now and Faber has somewhat underwhelmed in his short time at bantamweight.

      In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva (-185) is favored to beat Chris Leben (+155) in what should be a slugfest in the middleweight division. Both men are standup fighters that like to trade punches. You would expect someone to get KO’d in this one.

      Silva has the more impressive wins list, but his chin is not nearly as strong as it once was. Leben isn’t a great technical striker, but when he hits you, it does a lot of damage.

      In what could be Tito Ortiz’ final bout with the UFC, he is a heavy underdog (+365) in his contest with wrestling standout Ryan Bader (-465).

      Bader has just one loss in his career, to current champion Jon Jones. Ortiz hasn’t won a fight since beating Ken Shamrock in October of 2006. He hasn’t beaten anyone currently relevant since he beat Forrest Griffin in a close decision in April of 2006.

      Check out all the current odds for UFC 132 after the jump.

      Continue reading »

      Betting Odds, Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      UFC 130 Preview: Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago

      May 26, 2011 /

      nullSomething has to give.

      Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago are both on the rise in the middleweight division. But, at UFC 130, one fighter will continue to make the climb up the ladder, while the other will fall back.

      Here is a look at both fighters heading into this key contest for Saturday’s PPV.

      Brian Stann (10-3) – Not much was known or expected of Brian Stann when it was announced that he was moving from light heavyweight to middleweight after a loss to Phil Davis at UFC 109. But, Stann has won his first two bouts at 185 pounds, both by finish. He really broke onto the scene with his first round KO of Chris Leben at UFC 125 and is now being considered a legitimate threat in the division. Stann has big power in his hands and is under rated on the ground. As a former member of the Naval Academy and Marine Corps, Stann is a fighter that won’t panic, as he has faced much greater danger in his life than being inside the octagon. Stann is still developing his style in MMA and has not really faced a fighter with the muay thai ability that Santiago has. Stann’s grappling and clinch game will be very important in this contest if he hopes to win.

      Jorge Santiago (23-8) – Santiago had a stint in the UFC back in 2006, but he went 1-2 with losses to Leben and Alan Belcher, both by KO. Since that time he has went 11-0 with five knockouts and five submissions. Santiago is slick on the ground as he is a great jiu-jitsu fighter, but he also has a lot of power with his hands, knees, and kicks. Santiago likes to throw some crazy knees and has the ability to be very explosive. Where Santiago will have to be careful is to not sit in the pocket and trade punches with Stann. It is things like that that caused him to go 1-2 in the UFC before. Santiago will also have to keep Stann from putting his weight on him and slowing him down.

      Who Will Win: I like Stann in this fight. Santiago is a skilled and exciting fighter, but I like the poise and focus that Stann has. I look for Stann to weather an early storm from Santiago before hitting a big right hand in the second round that will lead to a TKO finish for the “All American”.

      Events, Fighters, UFC

      Silva vs. Leben set for UFC 132, can it live up to the hype?

      April 5, 2011 /

      nullIf you were going to have a blue print for an exciting slugfest, you would probably put down Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben to participate.

      Well, that dream fight appears to be a reality as UFC President Dana White made the announcement on UFC.com on Monday.

      “Two fan favorites will go to war as Chris ‘The Crippler’ Leben has verbally agreed to face Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva in Las Vegas July 2nd.”

      This fight has been rumored since Leben stepped in for Silva to submit Yoshihiro Akiyama back at UFC 116. This clash has all the makings for a classic. Both guys are strikers who aren’t afraid to stand up with any opponent.

      However, there have been plenty of fights in the past that were billed as “fight of the decade” in terms of two guys expected to slug it out and the end result was anything but. Need I remind you of the recent Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson wrestle-fest?

      I don’t think that will be the case in this bout as both fighters are more concerned about putting on a show than winning. I expect plenty of leather to fly and likely a knockout finish for one of the two.

      Leben is coming off a loss and is in need of an impressive victory. Silva has now been off for well over a year and has to be hungry to have an exciting fight.

      This bout is a great addition to an already impressive UFC 132 card as Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will meet for the bantamweight title while Tito Ortiz will put his career on the line against Ryan Bader.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

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