The UFC has bid adieu to UFC Fight Island (at least for now) and are back in the U.S. of A for this weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Hall vs Silva. It’ll take place back at their home gym in Las Vegas – the UFC APEX. And, speaking of adieus, someone will (allegedly) be saying goodbye to the octagon on Saturday night.
The someone in question is much more than just a someone – he is the legendary Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva, the UFC Middleweight Champion from 2006 to 2013, and one of the names on the shortlist of Greatest of All-Time. He claims that Saturday will ‘probably’ be his last fight ‘in the UFC’ (meaning he’ll probably go to another organization with older fighters and weaker competition and keep fighting). At 45 years old, and only one official win in the past 8 years(!!), this announcement probably comes a bit too late. But no one gets out of the fight game early enough.
UFC Legend Takes on Mercurial Uriah Hall
His opponent on Saturday will be the mercurial Uriah Hall. Since entering the UFC seven years ago via The Ultimate Fighter reality show, the Jamaican-American has been an unpredictable, mixed bag of a fighter, capable of stunning knockouts – both delivered and received. His pedestrian 8-7 record in the UFC speaks to this, as does the fact he’s knocked out six of those eight vanquished foes, while also being knocked out three times himself.
So, what to make of this matchup? The MansionBet bookmakers have a very definite vision of it, installing Hall as a strong 5/13 favourite as of this writing. When you look at the actual stats that predict a winner heading into a fight, however, it paints a less clear picture. The most important factor – striking stats – is very much in Silva’s advantage. In fact, Hall gets outstruck in fights on average, landing 3.31 strikes per minute while absorbing 3.57 from his opponent. The Spider also has the superior grappling stats.
But can you really bet on a 45-year-old fighter who is at least eight years out of his prime? Can you bet on a fighter who will be nine years older than his opponent on Saturday, while also giving up two inches of reach? But can you bet against someone named ‘Spider’ who is fighting on Halloween night? Hall must be my choice here, stats be damned. Sayonara, Supaida. Thanks for the memories.
No Stars But Lots of Action Ahead
As for “star power”, that’s all you’re getting on Saturday night, unfortunately. There are still plenty of potential exciting fights, just no boldface, big name fighters. The co-main event should be an intriguing grappling matchup between jiu-jitsu whizzes, Andre ‘Touchy’ Fili and ‘Thug Nasty’ Bryce Mitchell, he of the custom made Reebok camouflage fight shorts that he’ll be sporting in the cage for the first time this weekend.
Mitchell comes into the fight a perfect 13-0 (although some outlets have him listed as 13-1) and has won his first four UFC fights. Fili has been in the big show since 2013, has gone 9-6, but has won three of his last four. The oddsmaker have the upstart as a 20/31 favorite and I agree – his insanely good grappling should be too much for Fili. Fili has also been submitted a few times in his pro career, so ‘Thug Nasty’ by submission, once that prop line gets posted, is worth a look. No underdogs really jump out at me this weekend. However, I just read an expert weigh in on why Cole Williams should beat Jason Witt on Saturday, so Williams at 23/20 might be the one to go with. The stats say three or four fights per card will be won by the underdog, (check out my betting guide for more ways to pick a winner), so there are surely some here worth betting on.
*All odds correct at time of writing.