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Anderson Silva (20-4) vs Dan Henderson (22-6)

The Battle of the Middleweights gets underway Saturday night when current UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva takes on Pride FC Champion Dan “Hendo” Henderson. BetUS.com has made Anderson Silva -145 odds to beat Dan Henderson who is listed at +125 underdog.

Anderson Silva continues working through other MMA fighters like there’s no tomorrow.  His last five fights have all been wins by Knockout, Technical Knockout or Submission and none of his last five has gone past 2 ½ rounds. He’s a very well rounded fighter who’s got an excellent background in Muay-Thai, Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling and he has superb striking capabilities. He demolished Rich Franklin in UFC 77, by TKO Stoppage, in the 2nd round. Rich made it into the 2nd round this time, last time they fought in UFC 64 Silva rearranged Franklins’ face for him. Every limb on Silvas’ body is a weapon.

When Silva was asked about his opponent, Silva replied “I’m excited about unifying the belts, but to me it’s just another day at the office. I don’t think Dan Henderson is my biggest challenge.  I’m gonna keep fighting, so there might be guys that are more experienced or less experienced than him.  I don’t feel that he’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced.”

His opponent Dan Henderson lost his last fight, by Unanimous Decision, to Rampage Jackson after a five round battle. Henderson was a big underdog for the fight, but still managed to go the distance with the big brawling Rampage. Henderson is mostly recognized on the Pride FC circuit where he is the only MMA fighter to hold two different titles in two different classes (current PRIDE Middleweight and Welterweight Champion). He has beaten some of the most talented fighters in MMA, such as Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renato Sobral. But this was all back in the day, when he was a much younger fighter and he had the advantage of the Pride FC rules.

When Henderson was asked about his opponent, he replied “He’s very tough and dangerous, and I think it’s an interesting fight for the fans to watch.  It’s kind of a hard one to call for the fans, but for me it’s an easy one to call.  It’s not gonna be an easy fight, but I know I’m gonna beat him.”

UFC 82: Pride of a Champion

Fight Night: Sat, Mar 1, 2008 10:00 PM ET

Line: BetUS.com

Pick: Silva -145

Bottom Line: Henderson is going to have to watch out for every limb that Silva has because Silva loves to throw punches, knees, kicks and take downs, not to mention submissions. Henderson doesn’t stand a chance. Get your UFC Pick in now!

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