The Odds: Can Stephan Bonnar win at UFC 153?
If you’re an MMA fan who’s been alive and on the internet these past few weeks, you’d have been witness to the ever changing landscape that is the UFC, which continues to provide us with enough drama to make Desperate House Wives look like a poetry reading. Dana White hit the nail on the head and said it best when he stated that life itself is exciting enough, and that he couldn’t possibly write a better script to make this business more interesting.
With that said, after a two week period of rollercoaster headlines in the MMA universe, we are yet again provided with controversial yet entertaining changes. Stephan Bonnar, the proverbial ying to the yang of the first ever TUF Finale and the ultimate launching point for the UFC’s popularity, has been given… No utterly BLESSED with an opportunity to lose to fight Anderson Silva.
Now you may be asking two questions “Why should I watch a Light-heavyweight not even remotely ranked in the top 10, fight the number one p4p fighter on the planet earth?” And “Why is this fight even happening?” Well the answers are simple… #1 Cause it’ll be fun (At this point I think I’d enjoy watching Anderson Silva fight a giraffe) and #2 because it can.
As most of these articles usually go, I’ll now semi-pointlessly proceed to breakdown the elements of this fight, and hopefully we can find a reason to give Bonnar something better than a punchers chance to win this fight…
Striking
Silva by a (insert catastrophic natural disaster here). No shot in hell Bonnar is successful on the feet, he’s got loads of Kickboxing experience, a black belt in Taekwondo and he’s constantly training in Muay Thai, but at the end of the day, his rhythm is jerky, his timing is mediocre, he’s semi-lethargic in his movements and he telegraphs everything he throws. He’s basically a slightly slower and less skilled Forrest Griffin. Yet in a strange way, he seems to be mentally/psychologically tougher. Hmmmmm.
Wrestling
Bonnar by the leg of a centipede. Only because I have yet to see Anderson Silva attempt to take any of his opponents down. But does it really make any difference?
Submissions
Silva, but Bonnar is a surprisingly good Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. I’d never put him in the “elite” category, but I will say that his submission skills are proficient and underrated, just nowhere near those of Silva.
Toughness
Bonnar. Silva is the best in the world, a UFC Champion, and is no doubt very tough. But something tells me Bonnar has enough screws loose and a tolerance for pain high enough to take a bigger beating than Silva could. Just picture zapping them both with electric gum, I envision Silva flinching, fleeing like a little girl and then moon-walking all the way home, while I picture Bonnar gripping the gum tighter, staring past my eyes and deep into my soul, while shrieking in psychotically evil laughter. Now THAT scares me.
Conclusion
In all fairness, I don’t even give Bonnar a punchers chance at this one. He’s basically going into a gun fight, with the equivalent of the flower you can find on the Joker’s lapel in the very first Batman film, only instead of squirting acid, it shoots formal invitations to punch him in the face repeatedly. Yet, in all seriousness, his toughness and durability lead me to believe that he has a better chance at lasting five rounds than any of Silva’s previous opponents. Luckily for Bonnar, this one is only three rounds. But I seriously think he can and most likely will make it the distance. Why? Because he’s never been finished. Don’t believe me? Look it up, I’ll give you a second…
See?? I almost couldn’t believe it myself. But aside from a few Doctor’s stoppages, Bonnar has NEVER been finished in his career, which leads me to believe that this will be an entertaining fight regardless of the outcome. Besides, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. And hell, how crazy would it be if Bonnar pulled off the upset in Brazil? Now THAT would be interesting.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
