UFC 97: Redemption Predictions & Betting Odds

Written April 17, 2009 by Jason Lowry

silva If you are a fan of the UFC, then you already know one of the biggest pay-per-view events of the year is about to go down this Saturday at UFC 97: Redemption. Not only do you get to see Anderson “The Spider” Silva take on Thales Leites for the UFC Middleweight Championship, you get “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell trying to prove he still has it when he takes on former No.1 contender at 205 pounds Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. This huge event is scheduled to go down at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Here is a closer look at the two big fights this weekend, plus my predictions on who will win all 5 main card bouts.

Main Event: Anderson Silva -800 vs. Thales Leites +500: Silva has the chance to make history this weekend, as a win over Leites would tie him with the longest UFC winning streak at nine straight wins and looks to tie the record for consecutive title defenses at five. Silva comes in with a 23-4 overall record, but has been simply unbeatable in his stint in the UFC. Silva has made some of the best fighters in the world look stupid. He has wins over Chris Leben, Rich Franklin(2), Travis Lutter, Nate Marquardt, Dan Henderson, James Irvin, and most recently Patrick Cote. Now the Cote fight brought up some rumbles from fans, as they were not pleased with Silva’s showing in the 3 round TKO. People simply expect this guy to go out and murder people every time he steps into the Octagon. That leaves a very tough task for Leites, as he will look to improve on his 14-1MMA record, and look for his 6th straight win in the UFC after losing to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut. Leites definitely has the potential to win this fight simply because he is a master of the ground game, and if he gets you down he will likely find a way to tap you out. Now doing that to Silva could be a whole different story, as Silva will look to keep this fight on their feet, as he is one of the best strikers in the world. I have a scary feeling that this one is going to be bad news for Leites, as I have a real hard time seeing this fight go past the first round. I think Silva dominates this fight from the start and uses his excellent striking ability to knock out Leites. My Prediction: Bet Anderson “The Spider” Silva -800 at Sportsbook.com.

Chuck Liddell -185 vs. Mauricio Rua +155: Liddell is a legend in the sport of MMA, and is the biggest star this sport has had to date. But all that won’t mean a thing this Saturday when he steps in the ring with Rua. Fans have been wanting this fight for years, and it could very well be the fight of the night, and thats saying something when Anderson Silva is fighting. There is no question that the Iceman has lost a step or two in the Octagon, as he has lost three of his last four fights, but to his credit he is fighting nothing but the best fighters the UFC has to offer. After beating Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79, it looked as though Liddell was back on his way to another title run, but in his most recent fight against Rashad Evans he got knocked out cold. Liddell has been known to be a counter fighter and let the other guy make the first moves, but for some reason he stepped away from his game plan against Evans, and it ended costing him. Not that long ago Rua was the top dog coming up at the 205 weight division, and many thought this guy was going to dominate this weight class on his way to the UFC title, but thanks to a couple knee injuries Rua has struggled to make his mark in the UFC. In his debut at UFC 76 back in 2007 Rua loss to Forrest Griffin and had to go through two knee surgeries before coming back to the UFC and fighting Mark Coleman at UFC 93. Rua beat Coleman by TKO, but it was an ugly win, as Rua was completely out of shape and struggled to finish the fight, something he won’t be able to do against Liddell. I think these two fighters are going to let loose on each other, and I am going to give the slight edge to Rua in this one. No way good he beat Liddell in his prime, but I think Rua will have what it takes to win this fight. My Prediction: Bet Mauricio “Shogun” Rua +155 at Sportsbook.com

Rest of the Field

Krzysztof Soszynski -150 vs. Brian Stann +120

Cheick Kongo -325 vs. Antoni Hardonk +250

Luis Crane -325 vs. Steve Cantwell +250

Nate Quarry -105 vs. Jason MacDonald -125

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