This fight could be close if Leites gets Silva to the ground, but I do think Silva's ground game is good enough to beat Leites if he makes a mistake, and Silva's standup will be too good for Leites. my prediction........ Silva will win via KO in the second round. how does everyone else see this fight going? What fights are waiting for Silva after this fight? I would like him to fight Belfort, that fight would be epic.
Pretty much like you said if Leites can get it to the ground he defiantly has a chance. Anderson is a very good offensive grappler but has some deficiencies when it comes to grappling defense. That said I agree on a round 2 KO/TKO as Silva is not the fastest starter. As to who's next, probably Demian Maia or Yushin Okami if he beats Dan Miller in anything approaching an exciting fight, then the winner of Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping.
I say a flawless victory. Silva wont get hit, thats a gimme, and he may not miss either. After the Cote debacle this ain't going to be good for Thales' career.
I would like to see Leites bring the fight to the ground. He has a great chin so he could catch up something big trying to bring Silva down but he won't get sparked out. But yes, an upset could very well happen. But Silva TKO 2 lol
Silva KOs him in the first. Leites doesn't deserve the title shot for starters. Plus Silva has something to prove after the Cote fight. This ain't gonna be pretty.
Stop spreading your hate Grievesy. You are just jealous because Cote isnt breakable and that Cote would KO Bisping.
Hate? Come on, You think Leites deserves a shot? He has a bull**** win over Marquardt, that's about it. Marquardt, Okami and even Maia deserve a shot over him. I don't think Leites' chin will be a factor either. Leben has a granite chin. It took Silva 49 seconds to destroy Leben. It doesn't matter how good your chin is if you take too many powerful, accutate shots you're going down eventually. Cote isn't breakable you say? Errr didn't he KO himself? Seems pretty breakable to me. And Bisping dominates him in a UD similar to the Leben fight.:yep
Yeah, but Leben sprinted like a madman trying to KO Silva lol. Leites wont try this, he will probably be very defensive. And yes your right that he dont deserve a shot, but MW is so thin. ahaha cheap shot for Cote ! And no, Leben is a stupid fighter. Cote is intelligent and is better at each fight. I don't buy the BS that Silva was borred so he was playing with him..
Most agree Leites doesn't deserve the Shot, Okami should have this shot as he had the shot before he got hurt and he came back and won another fight after that. Thales got beat up by Marquardt even got tombstoned which was an mma first but won because of 2 points deducted....and still almost lost. His groundgame isn't that dominant that Silva will be screwed if the fight goes to the ground. I don't see Thales being too much of a threat.
Thales has a slightly better ground game but he has to close the distance to get Silva on the ground and Leites has no threat of striking at all. Thales only chance is to try pulling guard if Silva clinches with him.
Leites certainly doesnt deserve this shot. And really as mentioned earlier his only shot is if he can get the fight to the ground without taking any shots in the process. Silvas ground game is vastly overrated and his takedown defense is not exactly excellent either. Silva can be taken down. And people need to remember, Silvas 2 submission wins over Lutter and Hendo were a result of strikes. I believe Lutter was hit with an upkick, as a result Silva sunk in the sub, and Hendo was sent into a ***** street due to strikes and Silva applied the easy RNC. However, Silva still takes this. God, I cant wait until Maia fights Silva. Thats a fight id like to see and thats a fight I see Maia winning.
Thales will threaten early on the ground; probably getting past Silvas guard, but Silva will protect himself, escape, and end it with strikes in the second.
