UFC Betting: The Best There Is?
Anderson "Spider" Silva looks to maintain his standing as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world
July 17, 2008
By Mike Halford
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer
For the UFC uninitiated, let's get it out of the way: Anderson Silva is probably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world already.
Reputable MMA publications like Sherdog and Yahoo! Sports already have Silva atop their best "P4P" (shorthand for pound for pound - c'mon, try and keep up) lists; given his outright domination since coming to the UFC in 2006, it's hard to argue against his top billing.
So when Silva steps into the ring against former World Extreme Cagefighting heavyweight champ James "The Sandman" Irvin this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 14, he won't be looking to establish his position. He'll be looking to solidify it.
Not that he'll be admitting any of this - at least not on record, anyway.
"I don't think I am the best of the pound-for-pound like Dana White said. I don't think I am the best in my division. I will only be able to say that to you when I quit fighting," Silva told Sherdog's Gleidson Venga. "Then I will be able to say that I was good at that, that in my time I was in my best form, in my weight and in my division. It's just that nowadays, I'm not. I still have many things to do."
Will Irvin upset Silva? (AP Images)Tops on Silva's to-do list is take care of Irvin at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Irvin - perhaps best known for his record-setting knockout (eight seconds!) of Houston Alexander at the last UFC Fight Night - has a puncher's chance against Silva (-500) and the odds to prove it. Currently listed as a +350 underdog in the Bodog Sportsbook, Irvin comes in having won four of his last five fights, the lone blemish a TKO due to knee injury against Thiago Silva.
Taking on the "Spider" is the biggest test of Irvin's career. He's got the good fortune of having the fight at light heavyweight (185 pounds), forcing Silva to move up from his preferred middleweight division. Scale-tipping aside, though, there's not much else going for Irvin. While he hasn't fought tomato cans in the past, nobody on his resume can match Silva's pedigree. Irvin has also been stagnant since his KO of Alexander back in April. He suffered a foot injury in June that postponed his fight against Rashad Evans at UFC 85, and the Silva fight will be his first ring action almost four months.
Despite this, Irvin is focused on maintaining his rep in the light heavyweight division.
"I'm going to show everyone there's a reason we have weight divisions," he told USA Today. "I'm going to try to keep him at 185 to stay out of my division."
As for the other notable fights on the card:
Frank Edgar (-165) vs. Hermes Franca (+135)
Hermes Franca has seen and done all MMA has to offer. He made his UFC debut back in 2003, but crucial losses to Josh Thomson and Yves Edwards sent him back to the drawing board. After achieving success in WEC (winning the lightweight championship), he was once again picked up by the UFC. He won three straight matches for a title shot against Sean Sherk, only to lose via unanimous decision... and then test positive for drostanolone afterwards. So yes, you could say that there's been a lot of ups and downs for Franca.
Franca returns after time spent serving his drug suspension. (AP Images)Edgar was one of the hottest lightweight prospects prior to his Fight Night 13 loss to Gray Maynard. While the defeat was a setback, one cannot ignore who he's defeated en route to an impressive 8-1 record: Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek and Spencer Fisher.
Edgar has a decided advantage against Franca, who has just finished serving his banned substance suspension and hasn't fought in the octagon for over a year.
Brandon Vera (-600) vs. Reese Andy (+400)
This will be Andy's debut UFC fight, which usually means one of two things: He either bursts onto the scene with a flurry of punches or rolls around for 15 minutes looking to get to the scorecards. For those praying for the former, it doesn't bode well that Andy is an accomplished wrestler and Abu Dhabi veteran.
Vera is the heavy favorite despite coming off consecutive losses. (Courtesy of LeeBrimelow at Flickr.com)Vera is coming off consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum, meaning it's likely he'll look to stand and throw in the hopes of a big KO, because there's no better way to get back into Dana White's good graces than with a dramatic flooring, right?
Other Notes
- Former Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg participant Cain Velasquez will take on Jake O'Brien in a matchup of decorated collegiate wrestlers. Velasquez was an All-American at Arizona State University and O'Brien had a solid career as a Purdue Boilermaker.
- The Ultimate Fighter 7 was made notable by the exploits of Jesse Taylor, the gomer who got booted out of the season finale after a drunken rampage through Las Vegas. Taylor gets his shot at redemption against C.B. Dollaway, the guy who replaced him in the TUF championship.
TOP PHOTO: Anderson Silva has dominated the UFC since his debut in 2006 and will look to solidify his position when he fights James Irvin at UFC Fight Night 14. (AP Images)
