Best bets for UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva 👊👊
Best bets for UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
The UFC returns to Las Vegas this week, where Anderson Silva will fight for the final time of his long and decorated career. And he'll do it as an unranked underdog versus Uriah Hall.
Prelims start at 4 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN+, and the main card begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
Middleweight main event: No. 10 Uriah Hall (-220) vs. Anderson Silva (+185)
Tale Of The Tape
It will look like a slowly building striker's duel with a lot of feeling out to start. Silva has never used much of a ground game, and Hall is unlikely to change levels. But neither is a high-paced striker, and neither prefers to lead the dance. One or both would have to break with his normal fighting style in order to start a fire fight.
That leaves us examining striking precision and defense. Both fighters have similarly high knockdown rates, but Silva gets the slight edge in accuracy and has tighter defense. However, Hall has the range advantage and also averages a high rate of strikes while standing. Hall will also mix in kicks at all levels, which could be difficult for Silva -- at this point of his career -- to withstand for long. Silva's durability is a big factor as he competes at the age of 45, having accumulated damage and injuries along the way.
E+ recommends: Money line lean on Hall.
Best bets elsewhere on the card
The only heavyweight bout on the card will feature two guys trying to put a win streak together. And they'll likely do it entirely on their feet, as neither Greg Hardy (-300) nor Maurice Greene (+250) has ever landed a single takedown in the UFC.
They have identical striking accuracy from a distance, and both like to initiate. The biggest difference is Greene's poor head-strike defense. He's been dropped twice and generally eats more punches than the average fighter. That should be the difference, and Hardy could get a striking finish.
E+ recommends: Money line play on Hardy.
Looking deep into the undercard, we'll find women's flyweights Cortney Casey and Priscila Cachoeira. It's yet another matchup between two fighters who don't use many takedowns. On the feet, both average a very high pace of strikes, but Cachoeira has much worse striking defense -- the worst of any fighter on the card.
Casey has tested herself against more elite talent, albeit mostly in a lower weight class. Still, that experience -- and the liabilities of Cachoeira's technical striking -- make us side with the betting favorite.
E+ recommends: Money line play on Casey
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
The UFC returns to Las Vegas this week, where Anderson Silva will fight for the final time of his long and decorated career. And he'll do it as an unranked underdog versus Uriah Hall.
Prelims start at 4 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN+, and the main card begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
Middleweight main event: No. 10 Uriah Hall (-220) vs. Anderson Silva (+185)
Tale Of The Tape
| Last fight weight class | Middleweight | Middleweight |
| Age | 36 | 45 |
| Height | 72 | 74 |
| Reach | 79.5 | 77 |
| Stance | Orthodox | Southpaw |
| Analyzed minutes | 139 | 254 |
| Stand-up striking offense | ||
| Total knockdown ratio (scored:received) | 6:3 | 18:4 |
| Distance knockdown rate | 8.8% | 8.1% |
| Head jab accuracy | 39% | 50% |
| Head power accuracy | 30% | 34% |
| Total stand-up strike ratio | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Striking defense | ||
| Total head strike defense | 76% | 78% |
| Distance knockdown defense ("Chin") | 98% | 97% |
| Wrestling and grappling | ||
| TD attempts per min standing/clinch | 0.17 | 0.02 |
| Takedown accuracy | 39% | 75% |
| Advances per takedown/top control | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Opponent takedown attempts | 43 | 76 |
| Takedown defense | 70% | 76% |
| Share of total ground time in control | 23% | 17% |
| Submission attempts per trip to ground | 0.10 | 0.29 |
That leaves us examining striking precision and defense. Both fighters have similarly high knockdown rates, but Silva gets the slight edge in accuracy and has tighter defense. However, Hall has the range advantage and also averages a high rate of strikes while standing. Hall will also mix in kicks at all levels, which could be difficult for Silva -- at this point of his career -- to withstand for long. Silva's durability is a big factor as he competes at the age of 45, having accumulated damage and injuries along the way.
E+ recommends: Money line lean on Hall.
Best bets elsewhere on the card
The only heavyweight bout on the card will feature two guys trying to put a win streak together. And they'll likely do it entirely on their feet, as neither Greg Hardy (-300) nor Maurice Greene (+250) has ever landed a single takedown in the UFC.
They have identical striking accuracy from a distance, and both like to initiate. The biggest difference is Greene's poor head-strike defense. He's been dropped twice and generally eats more punches than the average fighter. That should be the difference, and Hardy could get a striking finish.
E+ recommends: Money line play on Hardy.
Looking deep into the undercard, we'll find women's flyweights Cortney Casey and Priscila Cachoeira. It's yet another matchup between two fighters who don't use many takedowns. On the feet, both average a very high pace of strikes, but Cachoeira has much worse striking defense -- the worst of any fighter on the card.
Casey has tested herself against more elite talent, albeit mostly in a lower weight class. Still, that experience -- and the liabilities of Cachoeira's technical striking -- make us side with the betting favorite.
E+ recommends: Money line play on Casey