Yeah physically I think Fedor has enough left to beat him, but he doesn't have the chin to weave in and take big punches from guys like him anymore. If he stayed tight while standing and looked to trip Mitrione to the mat then he would have an excellent chance at winning, that said Fedor doesn't appear to be able to stick to any sort of gameplan these days.
It baffles my mind, the guy is a multiple time world sambo champion but won't ever think of doing anything else but slug it out anymore. The Maldonaldo fight would have been a piece of cake instead of a knockdown dragout war if he took him down. I think the Arlovski and Rogers 1 punch KOs made him fall in love with his power.
Anyone hoping to see that clown Sonnen knocked out this weekend? Silva has pulled some shenanigans in the later part of his career, but at the end of the day he has ALWAYS shown up to fight instead of just running his mouth.
The more I think about this card... The more I like it. Most of these fights are pretty competitive. Sonnen/Silva? Either Sonnen wrestles his way to a decision or gets KTFO. Either or is fairly likely. Mitrione/Emelianenko - Fedors decline and regression into a wild brawler who throws caution to the wind plays right into Mitriones hand and will probably result in his being KO'd, that said he's still a live dog who can definitely win if he lands with something hard first. Chandler/Primus - This is actually the least competitive of the fights here... Don't see anything Primus will have. He's lacking experience, at disadvantages in terms of wrestling, striking and power. Chandler KO. Davis/Bader II - Bader won the 1st fight clearly but rather narrowly at that by winning the stand up, not much as changed in either of their careers but Bader has more damage since their last meeting and Davis has made subtle but noticeable improvements in his striking to have a better chance at taking this one. Pretty much 50/50... Larkin/Lima - Absolutely cracking fight between two of the best Welterweights of the world.. Both are excellent and lethal strikers who excel as kickboxers in MMA, I'm fairly unsure about this one but Larkin was able to outstrike and outsmart Tumenov who brings everything Lima does minus maybe ground skills only to be robbed on the cards. For that reason I favor Larkin ever so slightly. Still one that could go either way. Machida/Gallagher - Machida is an excellent prospect who fights much like his younger and more well known brother but with a smaller frame, unfortunately he's battling father time and has a hyped prospect in front of him. Gallagher secures the sub inside two rounds but he'll have to be weary of the crafty older Machida, or else he could find himself on his back looking up at the rafters wondering what happened.
Sonnen will have to be flawless for 3 rounds... And he hasn't truly won a fight since Shogun back in 2012(I thought Bisping beat him) Then again Wanderlei hasn't fought in 4 years himself. I think it's going to come down to who's less shot or whether or not Sonnen mentally folds. Either way I can't stand that clown at this point and hope he gets knocked out of the sport.
Silva KO, Fedor KO, Lima KO, Chandler KO, Vader Dec, Gallagher Sub, Chiesa Dec, Hendricks Dec, Siver KO, Herrig Dec, Guida KO, Stansbury Dec, Esparza Sub, Miranda KO, Case Dec, Powell KO, Means Sub, Gordon Dec, Reyes KO.
Sonnen has a style to outwrestle Silva definitely. Especially with age, physical aggression fades but technical know-how does not. Silva showed that whilst he's very hard to take down, once you take him down you can keep him down because he reverts to a close guard but doesn't have the BJJ experience to make it a dangerous situation and more of a stalling tactic. Probably down in part to how Pride scoring worked, land big blows, stall if taken down and you'll win the round. However I don't think Sonnen has anything left whatsoever and whilst Silva won't be as ferocious as he once was, he'll still be as strong and give him a solid meaty combo and Sonnen will fold like cheap paper.
And again to reiterate July 6th is such a stacked card, one of the most in recent times. We all know UFCs biggest strength is the competition it breeds but look at the names involved in these matchups. Werdum Vs Overeem is the best two HWs not named Miocic. Lawler was destroyed against Woodley but that could have been a one off, he's two wins away from a shot at revenge. Nunes Vs Shevchenko is as even as it gets in women's UFC. Romero Vs Whittaker is probably the best two MW fighters against each other. Quality card. Absolutely amazing.
Sonnen KO Mitrione KO Larkin KO Chandler KO Bader KO Gallagher KO Chiesa KO Hendricks KO Penn KO Herrig KO Koch KO Kimball KO Esparza KO Vettori KO Case KO Horcher KO Means KO Gordon KO Reyes KO
