UFC 162 Preview
It has become an old story in the past few years when Anderson Silva signs up to fight another opponent. The greatest fighter to ever step into the octagon is constantly doubted with almost every challenger that steps in to the octagon with him. With every challenger come the questions over whether or not this is the time Anderson Silva will fall. The UFC has thrown everything at Silva in an attempt to find a new champion in the middleweight division since 2006. Silva has only come close to losing once when he face Chael Sonnen and would lose every round except for the last where he would submit the challenger to retain the title. Now the UFC throws another great middleweight talent at the champion with many believing this could be the fight to change the face of the UFC. It has been a long time since anyone not named Anderson Silva held the middleweight belt but Chris Weidman is hoping he can end that streak. The thought in the UFC is that Weidman is the best challenger that Silva has ever faced. He very well could be as Silva did have issues with former Division-I wrestler Chael Sonnen the first time around and Weidman brings the same skill set into this matchup. As a D-I wrestler Weidman hopes that he can do what Sonnen did and finish it this time. With all of the hype surrounding Weidman it seems he has become a bit of a darkhorse favourite in this fight. When really looking at the fight though, Anderson Silva has faced these types of fighters before. Silva has faced wrestlers and won and he has faced fighters with heavy hands like Weidman. Silva has never lost in the UFC no matter who has stepped in to face him and judging by his second fight with Sonnen wrestlers may not faze him. Overall Weidman is a very talented fighter with a very good wrestling background that give him a great base. He does not only have a good ground game but his stand up is solid as well with a KO of Mark Munoz in his last fight. Weidman is on the rise and deserves this shot after winning five straight fights. It is just unfortunate that Weidman is in the Middleweight division where the best fighter in the UFC reigns. It doesn’t matter how good Weidman is in any aspect or how well-rounded he is Silva seems to always be better at every aspect of fighting. Silva has an uncanny ability to adjust to every fighter he goes up against. It is hard to believe the hype from the UFC anymore as they continue to put guys in front of Silva that many believe could be the guy to beat him. Yet every single time Silva steps into the octagon he wins. There has yet to be someone who can beat Anderson Silva and that does not bode well for Weidman. It is not a done deal though as Weidman could shock the world and pull out a win to become the first new middleweight champion since 2006. He has the ability to challenge Silva but Silva rarely comes into the octagon unprepared and through his 16 UFC fights there is not a lot that he has not seen and cannot overcome. Weidman might give Silva some issues at the very start of the fight but it is hard to believe that he will not overcome them to win this fight and remain the Middleweight champion.
Before one of the greatest champions steps into the octagon a former champion will try to get his career back on track. When Frankie Edgar won the lightweight title in 2010 from BJ Penn many believed that it was the start of a great era in the lightweight division. Edgar would face Penn again and then move into a three fight streak against Gray Maynard to hold the belt for almost two years. Then he would face Benson Henderson for the title and would lose both fights to definitively lose the lightweight belt. He would then move into the Featherweight Division where he would get a shot against Featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Edgar would lose this fight as well to make a three fight losing streak. Edgar would go from being considered the future of the lightweight division to losing three fights in a row and losing his title in the process. Now Edgar will be looking to regroup and try to make another run at the Featherweight title as he officially enters the division. He will take on Charles Oliveira who will try to add a massive name on this his win column after a strong start to his young career was wiped out by three losses including some controversial decisions. Now Oliveira is trying to get back into the top 10 by beating #3 Edgar and beginning a run to the title. It’s a fight that for both fighters is very important as they both try to get back into the win column as they eye a title shot against Jose Aldo with a win at UFC 162 going a long way to achieving that.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs. Chris “The All-American” Weidman [Middleweight Title] (PPV)
Main Card:
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs. Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira (PPV)
Tim Kennedy vs. Roger Gracie (PPV)
Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz vs. Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch (PPV)
Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver (PPV)
Undercard:
Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Andrew “Highlight” Craig (Sportsnet/FX)
“Stormin” Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Takudome (Sportsnet/FX)
Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman (Sportsnet/FX)
Edson “Junior” Barboza vs. Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira (Sportsnet/FX)
Seth “Polish Pistola” Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon (Facebook)
Mike Pierce vs. David “Daudi” Mitchell (Facebook)
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