Silva win a certainty at UFC 153, but KO offers best value
Published:Upsets do happen in sport and upsets have previously happened in UFC, but Anderson Silva literally cannot lose the headline fight of UFC 153 to Stephan Bonnar.
It is 1/12 that Silva wins given the one-sided nature of the look of the fight, but bosses should be commended for getting a star attraction in the main event.
UFC 153 has had more than its fair share of build-up troubles, with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Junior pulling out of a battle with Glover Teixeira and Jose Aldo having to be removed from his featherweight title defence with Frankie Edgar.
Bonnar deserves his moment in the spotlight after helping spread the UFC word thanks to his battle with Forrest Griffin in the finals of The Ultimate Final 1.
He is 7/1 to beat Silva and clutching at straws he does have a slight size advantage, given that the fight is not at Silva’s typical middleweight.
Meanwhile, he is on a three-fight winning streak in the light-heavyweight ranks and is one of a handful of fighters that has taken Jon Jones the distance.
However, a victory would surely be the biggest in the history of UFC, bigger than any of Randy Couture’s upsets over Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell or Tim Sylvia and even bigger than Matt Serra’s stoppage of Georges St-Pierre in 2007.
Silva is 15-0 in the UFC and brings with him a significant speed and reflex advantage.
It is 4/11 that Silva wins the fight by stoppage and a potentially lucrative 1/1 that he knocks out Bonnar.
With the opportunity to beat the best fighter in UFC history, Bonnar must come out swinging and this type of approach is likely to leave him open to one of Silva’s array of finishing shots.
This has also been the method of victory in three of Silva’s last four fights in the UFC Octagon.
All odds and markets correct as of publication
