UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva returns to the Octago on Saturday, April 18th to defend his crown against the number one contender Thales Leites in the main event of UFC 97. The pound for pound king has already defended his title more times than anyone in UFC middleweight history and will battle Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Leites, winner of five in a row. UFC oddsmakers at SBGglobal.com have Anderson Silva as -500 moneyline fav over Thales Leites who is listed as a +350 underdog. Be sure to get your UFC 97 vAnderson Silva vs Thales Leites Prediction in now at SBGglobal.com
Anderson “The Spider” Silva has put his belt on the line five times and he’s been five times successful in keeping it. He’s 8-0 overall record say’s it all. His last fight, at UFC 90 against Patrick Cote, was his only fight to go into the third round; he has two wins by KO, four by TKO and two by submission. But his win didn’t come in dominating fashion; he was highly criticized for seemingly avoiding contact during the bout with Cote. Dana White criticized Silva, saying: "I didn't understand Silva's tactics… It wasn't the Anderson Silva I've been watching the last two years." Silva said in the post-fight news conference: "There are many people saying I was disrespecting Cote, but this is absolutely not true. My game plan since the beginning was fight five rounds, inducing him to commit mistakes and capitalize on that during the first three rounds and look for the knockout during the fourth and fifth rounds. It was working, and the biggest proof of that is that I almost didn’t waste any blows. I connected with a couple of good punches and knees, but unfortunately he got hurt and the fight was over. This is not my fault." Silva is STILL pound for pound the best fighter in the UFC and maybe the world.
His opponent Thales Leites has an overall MMA record of 14-1-0 and is 5-0 in his last five fights. He has two wins by KO and eight wins by submission. He hasn’t had any fights against fighters of Silva’s caliber. His most recent fight was at UFC 90. On the undercard of UFC 90 Leites was able to earn a rear naked choke submission victory over dangerous striker Drew McFedries. This win would prove to be valuable as Leites was able to earn number one contendership to the UFC middleweight title against current champion Anderson Silva. Leites is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who has a world class ground game.
UFC 97 Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites
When: Sat, April 18, 2009 10:00 PM ET
Line: SBGglobal.com
Pick: Silva -500
Point-Spreads.com UFC 97 Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites Prediction
The Bottom Line: Silva has a tremendous work ethic and his limbs can be registered as deadly weapons. He’ll take out Leites in two. Go Silva! Be sure to get your UFC 97 Anderson Silva vs Thales Leites SBGglobal.com and receive a 60% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit!
