On the eve of the "biggest fight of the year" of the moment perhaps some discussion on where the blogosphere sees this going tomorrow night. The matchup is interesting and the subplots varied: Muay Thai/BJJ/Striking (Silva) vs. Good ol' American Wrestling (Sonnen); Silva's ego vs. Sonnen's mouth.
Current betting odds
Silva -280
Sonnen +255
I expect to see a lot of late money to come in on Sonnen such that the +255, presently, represents a reasonable value.
Prediction: Day before the fight...I'll take Sonnen via decision perceiving that he closes the distance, continues to enjoy success in takedowns and grinds out five rounds.
Hoping for the intelligent mma discussion versus the Sherdog fighter nut hugging/screaming...
Both's weaknesses I believe are the other's strengths - Sonnen's submission defense (duh) and Silva's problems vs. wrestlers. What did surprise me was the striking success that Sonnen had vs Silva, considering Silva is one of the most feared strikers in all of MMA.
I *want* to believe that Silva has adequately prepared to counter that same tactic (and I definitely am assuming that Sonnen will try the same thing; hell, it worked for 4 3/4 rounds). Yet...precisely how much did SIlva's injury affect him and how much did Sonnen's, ahm, testosterone replacement therapy affect HIM?
As usual, I want to see an exciting match. But definitely pulling for Silva FTW.