I don’t know whether Anderson Silva is the best pound for pound fighter on the planet, but his resume is unmatched. At 14-0 in the UFC, with an unprecedented eight title defenses, Silva is the most accomplished fighter in UFC history. Everyone on paper is a horrible stylistic matchup for him, however with a few exceptions, Silva has dispatched them all with relative ease in spectacular finishes. Except Chael Sonnen.
Current UFC 148 Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen Odds;
Silva – (-300) @ Bovada.Lv (Up To $100 In Free UFC 148 Bets)
Sonnen – (+240) @ Bovada.Lv (Up To $100 In Free UFC 148 Bets)
For a long time Chael Sonnen was viewed as a middle of the pack guy, but nobody really considered him a serious contender. It wasn’t until he dominated Yushin Okami that people started paying attention, and it wasn’t until after he beat Nate Marquardt that people actually recognized him as a title threat. Going into his first fight with Silva, he talked a ton of trash, and backed every word of it up in the ring, dominating Silva for 23 minutes, until Silva caught him in a triangle choke. An immediate rematch was planned, however due to a failed drug test, Sonnen was forced to fight Stann and Bisping first, and with wins in those fights, Sonnen has earned the title shot once again.
As previously mentioned, everyone on paper is a bad matchup for Silva. His wrestling isn’t that great, and anyone who employs a wrestling oriented strategy has a decent shot of beating him. The problem is nobody so far has been able to do that in the UFC, except Chael Sonnen. Sonnen took Silva down at will for five rounds, and even got the better of the standing exchanges in the first round. The question for analysis is, is there any reason to believe this time will be any different? There has been talk of a Silva rib injury in the first fight, but rib injury or not, I’m not persuaded. Sonnen is an elite level wrestler who knows how to take guys down, and Silva’s wrestling just isn’t up to par. Therefore, I strongly expect Sonnen to score takedowns each he manages to clinch.
Interestingly enough, despite the fact that a good 50% of what Sonnen says is nonsense, he called his first fight perfectly. He said Silva has five chances to catch him standing, or find a way to submit him on the ground. And the reality is, it’s the same fight this time.
The Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen prediction is that Sonnen grinds Silva away early, only for Silva to catch him with a strike midway that turns the tide, allowing Silva to finish the fight late. Would I play it at -300? Absolutely not. We all saw the first fight, and to say Sonnen doesn’t have a legitimate chance of winning this is ridiculous. At +240, I would gladly play Sonnen small. He has all the tools to do what he did last time for 25 minutes, and a finish isn’t even out of the question.
Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen Betting Odds Conclusion: Silva’s aura makes him the pick, as he’s one kick away from ending this fight, but Sonnen has to be played small at the current price of +240 ($100 wins $240!)
Grab Sonnen at +240 while it lasts at Bovada.Lv
