UFC 101 Preview: Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin

Sports Betting News - August 4th, 2009 - Written by Bruce

The upcoming UFC 101 this Saturday is poised to be yet another exciting night of MMA action. One of the main fights of the card pits Anderson "The Spider" Silva (24-4) against Forrest Griffin (16-5) in a much anticipated fight. Silva is widely regarded as the top pound for pound fighter in the UFC. Forrest is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and is known for being an incredibly tough fighter. What makes this fight so intriguing is that Silva is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, and he is going to fight the heavier Griffin who is in the light heavyweight division. This fight will likely come down to whether the faster more overall skilled Anderson Silva can find success against the bigger and stronger Forrest Griffin. Oddsmakers seem to think that Silva will likely prevail as he is the betting favorite listed at -365. Forrest has the size advantage yet he is the underdog for the fight listed at +285.

Anderson Silva has become the most feared fighter in the UFC. He currently has the longest winning streak in the history of the UFC with his nine consecutive victories. Silva, who currently holds the UFC Middleweight title, also is tied for the record of the most successful title defenses with his current streak of five. Along the way he has beat some incredibly tough fighters such as Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, and Thales Leites. Silva, who is a native of Brazil, is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who has made beating most of his opponents look easy. He is a feared striker and seems to have the ability to take control of every fight he is in. This will not be the first time that Silva has moved up to the light heavyweight division. Last July, Silva fought at the 205 lb weight class and knocked out the hard punching James Irvin in 61 seconds. Now that he has proven that nobody in the middleweight division can beat him, Silva will once again move up in weight to find his next challenge.

Forrest Griffin made a big statement when he won the original Ultimate Fighter show on Spike. Griffin defeated Stephen Bonner in the finals of the show to earn him a six figure UFC contract. That fight was later voted the number one fight in the history of the UFC. Griffin has definitely made the most of his opportunity as he went on to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Over the course of his career Griffin has proven that he is one of the toughest fighters to ever enter the octagon. He seems to able to take an unbelievable amount of punishment in his fights yet he almost always seems to come out on top. With impressive wins over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Griffin has shown that he is very capable of beating the world's top fighters. This Saturday will be the biggest test of Griffin's career as he will square off against the always dangerous Anderson Silva.

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