UFC 77: Preview and Predictions

UFC is still reeling from the retirement of Randy Couture, its best and most popular fighter. But whoever wins the main event at UFC 77 may be in a position to fill, at least in part, the void created by Couture's departure.

Middleweight champion Anderson Silva may be UFC's most impressive fighter, and his opponent in the main event, Rich Franklin, is a fan favorite. You can bet that the winner of this fight will be heavily promoted as UFC attempts to move beyond the loss of Couture

Here are the details of Saturday's event:

What: UFC 77: Hostile Territory

Who: In addition to the Silva-Franklin main event, other fights on the main card are heavyweights Brandon Vera vs. Tim Sylvia, light heavyweights Eric Schafer vs. Stephan Bonnar and middleweights Kalib Starnes vs. Alan Belcher.

When: Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

Where: U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati

How: $39.95 on pay-per-view ($49.95 in HD).

Predictions after the jump.

Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin
The crowd will go nuts for Franklin, a Cincinnati native, against the Brazilian Silva. But the first time these two fought, Silva won with a first-round TKO, and I expect the same result this time.
Predicted winner: Silva

Brandon Vera vs. Tim Sylvia
The undefeated Vera is favored to beat Sylvia, who's fighting for the first time since losing his heavyweight title to Couture. But Sylvia has about a 40-pound weight advantage, and I like him to win rather easily.
Predicted winner: Sylvia

Eric Schafer vs. Stephan Bonnar
Schafer is fighting for the first time this year after losing at UFC 66 on New Year's Eve. I think he'll beat Bonnar, who's had a checkered career since first making a name for himself on The Ultimate Fighter.
Predicted winner: Schafer

Kalib Starnes vs. Alan Belcher
Belcher last fought at UFC 71, beating Sean Salmon with a guillotine choke less than a minute into the fight. But Starnes represents a step up that I don't think Belcher is ready for.
Predicted winner: Starnes

More information:
Official web site
UFC 77 at Wikipedia
UFC 77 at UFC Mania
UFC 77 at MMA Junkie
Full betting odds

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-19-2007 @ 12:29AM

ramon fermin said...

the spider should fight rampage after he dismantles ace for the 2nd time or fight hollywood henderson. there is nobody below this 2 fighters that can possibly defeat silva. perhaps wanderlei can.

10-19-2007 @ 6:55PM

roadwarrior357 said...

Who is this guy? Sylvia will win easily? His predictions are founded on what reasoning? It is like he is just guessing. Well, he has a 50-50 shot right? Well, not really. And guess what guy, A. Silva is a 185 pound fighter, Wanderlei and Jackson are 205. They could never make 185; although Hendo vs. A. Silva would be a great fight.

10-19-2007 @ 11:46PM

i know silva's a middleweight like henderson but did henderson fought wanderlei and jackson? anderson is a big and very strong 185 pounder he definitely can move up to 205.

10-20-2007 @ 8:35AM

Well, I guess I better put up my predictions too. A. Silva will TKO/KO Rich; probly in the second round. Vera will TKO Silvia in the 3rd or 4th round, I expect to see very nice leg kicks and mid kicks. Stephen Bonnar will win his fight. Probly by decision. And although Starnes is the easy pick, I have seen enough of his lack of heart and I will pick Belcher to win a decision. I also feel Okami will beat Jason. Also Josh Burkman will dominate in his fight.

By the way I really don't see A. Silva going up in weight. Why would he? He can dominate the 185 for a long time and if he goes up to 205 he would be very small for that wight class. 205 fighters by rule walk around at around 215-225. A.Silva would be giving up a lot of weight.

10-20-2007 @ 12:37PM

Chris Stone said...

Well you all can talk about silva(185) or jackson(205) all you`d like,but dont no one and I do mean no 1 wants to be in that 205 class silva is better off where he is at and jackson knows his day is coming soon-cause when he fights HOUSTON ALEXANDER,he knows his lights are gonna get knocked out(hopefully he dont kill him)and the belts are leavin his waist 4 good.he will probably change his weight class or retire

10-20-2007 @ 2:14PM

mrright949 said...

Look at the first "reader comment," does this guy realize that Silva is 20 lbs. less than Rampage and that the current 205 champ is huge for his weight class.

Yushin pointed out that Franklin even has a weak game on the ground. Nonetheless, Franklin's in his own backyard so if an upset happens don't be surprised. I still think the safe bet is on Silva. Prediction Silva TKO/KO.

I'm taking Sylvia over "The Truth" Vera. This is based purely on size and KO power. I could be wrong but don't think Vera is on the same par as Sylvia. Although I like Vera's attitude, I hate to see a fighter like him have his agent get in his way of a title fight, as done earlier in the year.

I'll take Stephen just because I like him. Which Stephen will we see is anyone's guess.

Starnes or Belcher. I guess the spread would be on Starnes (am I wrong?) but I'm picking Belcher solely based on his last impressive performance.

10-20-2007 @ 8:43PM

docbisio said...

"Vera will TKO Silvia in the 3rd or 4th round"
FYI- This is not a championship fight, so it will not go beyond 3 rounds. Neither of these guys have ever been knocked out, so I think it will go to decision, probably won by Sylvia.
Anderson will never fight Rampage or Wanderlei because he won't move up and they won't move down in weight. Hendo-Anderson would be a great fight! I hope they can make it happen. I'm afraid Anderson is still in Franklin's head after he demolished him last time. I like Franklin, but I think he'll lose, probably by decision. The rest of the card is pretty weak, except for the MacDonald-Okami fight. The winner will put himself back into title contention and the loser will set himself back quite a bit.

10-20-2007 @ 7:37PM

terrie said...

AND BRIAN STANN IS THE MAN OOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRAAAAHHH

10-20-2007 @ 7:38PM

I DONT CARE WHOS FIGHTING~UFC,IFC,MMA,WECAGE~ROCK THE WORLD~

10-20-2007 @ 10:11PM

i'm well aware anderson silva fights at 185 and so does dan henderson and he handled himself quite well against the bigger, younger, and more powerful jackson. and if you guys are true ufc/mma fans, you should know that there were no wieght classes back in the old days. the gracie bros defeated fighters 50-70 lbs larger, dig it?

10-21-2007 @ 2:24PM

Well, I would say I did pretty well. 5-1. The only fight I didn't predict was the Vera vs. Sylvia fight. Unfortunately Vera broke his hand in the first round. I even got the round right in the Franklin vs. A. Silva fight. Perhaps AOL should hire me to cover their fighting events?