Anderson Silva is the headliner for UFC 117 betting on Saturday night as he defends his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen. Silva is a -450 favorite in UFC 117 odds. That bout is just one of 11 on what should be an exciting UFC card from Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Saturday.
UFC 117 betting odds list Silva as more than a 4-1 favorite over Sonnen and those odds may be a bargain. Silva is one of the best fighters in the UFC when he is motivated and UFC President Dana White has warned Silva about dancing around with overmatched opponents so Silva should be highly motivated to destroy Sonnen. It doesn’t hurt Silva’s cause that Sonnen has been running his mouth for weeks. The only chance for Sonnen would seem to be to somehow catch Silva in a hold but that seems unlikely considering Silva’s talent.
The other feature bout should be more competitive as Jon Fitch takes on Thiago Alves. The UFC 117 odds on this bout list Alves as a very slight -130 favorite. With Fitch trying to overpower Alves this bout should at least last longer than the Silva-Sonnen fight. The winner of this bout will take over the number two spot in the welterweight division not that it matters since neither of the two seems likely to beat champion Georges St. Pierre. They were both dominated by GSP in past bouts and there is not much interesting in seeing either getting destroyed again. That doesn’t mean this bout between Fitch and Alves won’t be exciting. They are two very evenly matched fighters who should really go at it on Saturday night.
Another competitive fight is expected to be the one between Rafael dos Anjose and Clay Guida. The odds on this fight are basically a pick. Also on the main card it is Ricardo Almedia a -175 favorite vs. Matt Hughes and Junior dos Santos a -360 favorite vs. Roy Nelson.
There are six bouts on the preliminary card in UFC 117. It will be Tim Boetsch taking on Todd Brown. It was supposed to be Thiago Silva in this bout but Silva is injured so Brown is filling in. Ben Saunders is a -210 favorite against Dennis Hallman, the fight between Rick Story and Dustin Hazelett is a pick, Johny Hendricks is -400 against Charlie Brenneman, Stefan Struve is -200 vs. Christian Morecraft and Phil Davis is a big -700 favorite vs. Rodney Wallace.