Dennis Siver -130 vs Matt Wiman

[ShogunRua]

Anyone else like this play? Wiman has vastly improved since his TUF appearance, but I don't think this is a good matchup for 'Handsome'. I was completely caught off guard watching the Siver vs Sotiropoulos fight. I honestly did not expect Siver to be able to consistently stop the Australian's relentless takedowns. A lot of this was good game planning from his team, but it also goes to show that the German's wrestling has improved significantly. Plain and simple, Wiman will not be able to get Siver to the mat. This might not be his gameplan anyways, but if he starts getting tagged on the outside by the unorthodox German kickboxer, he won't have any viable options other than to stand and bang back. Wiman was able to take down/rough up Cole Miller, but Siver is a shorter/stockier guy...won't happen. This is going to be a stand up fight. And while Wiman is a good striker with knockout power, Siver is much more experienced and technical. The German will outwork the good looking kid from Oklahoma and more than likely win by decision. Good luck.

Lay the -130 and take your chances with Dennis Siver. He will win by unanimous decision 30-27 29-28 29-28.

[The HOFF]

I agree with you. I like Siver in this match up and think Wiman is getting too much credit. A lot of other people love Wiman, which I don't understand.

[Ladle]

Firstly, the Sotiropolous/Siver fight didn't show us that Siver has good takedown defense; it showed us that Sotiropoulos' takedown offense is woefully deficient. Every single time George got position on a leg, he just stood there and did nothing. No effort to sweep Siver's other leg, no effort to force Siver backwards into the fence; he just waited around for Siver to pull his leg out and scurry away. Wiman's takedowns are light years better than any of the feeble single legs Sotiropoulos attempted in that fight.

Secondly, while Wiman is a bit reckless in the stand-up, he has a decent overhand right. Just so happens that Siver got absolutely torn up by Ross Pearson's overhand right when they fought. Might want to keep that in mind.

[terpkeg]

Firstly, the Sotiropolous/Siver fight didn't show us that Siver has good takedown defense; it showed us that Sotiropoulos' takedown offense is woefully deficient. Every single time George got position on a leg, he just stood there and did nothing. No effort to sweep Siver's other leg, no effort to force Siver backwards into the fence; he just waited around for Siver to pull his leg out and scurry away. Wiman's takedowns are light years better than any of the feeble single legs Sotiropoulos attempted in that fight.

Secondly, while Wiman is a bit reckless in the stand-up, he has a decent overhand right. Just so happens that Siver got absolutely torn up by Ross Pearson's overhand right when they fought. Might want to keep that in mind.

This was my take as well. I played Wiman at +135 and still like him at +105. I think he should be favored.

[MMAbetMASTA]

Anyone else like this play? Wiman has vastly improved since his TUF appearance, but I don't think this is a good matchup for 'Handsome'. I was completely caught off guard watching the Siver vs Sotiropoulos fight. I honestly did not expect Siver to be able to consistently stop the Australian's relentless takedowns. A lot of this was good game planning from his team, but it also goes to show that the German's wrestling has improved significantly. Plain and simple, Wiman will not be able to get Siver to the mat. This might not be his gameplan anyways, but if he starts getting tagged on the outside by the unorthodox German kickboxer, he won't have any viable options other than to stand and bang back. Wiman was able to take down/rough up Cole Miller, but Siver is a shorter/stockier guy...won't happen. This is going to be a stand up fight. And while Wiman is a good striker with knockout power, Siver is much more experienced and technical. The German will outwork the good looking kid from Oklahoma and more than likely win by decision. Good luck.

Lay the -130 and take your chances with Dennis Siver. He will win by unanimous decision 30-27 29-28 29-28.

Good breakdown. I am also liking a moderate play on siver. I know a lot of people on here are all about wiman. At first I didn't understand it, but now I do. Yet I still think this is Siver's fight to lose, and I don't like a play on wiman, but rather find a play on siver enticing. I do think this fight will play out on the feet where siver has a clear advantage. Matt does have some power, but I have a hard time seeing him getting the better of siver on the feet. Furthermore, I actually think Siver has better ground work than wiman. People will call me crazy for saying that, but if siver does get taken down, I think he pops right back up or threatens with subs. I also think he will be very hard to get down. Like Ladle said, Wiman's tds are much better than Gsot's. Yet I think outside of Laynard, Siver has done very well with his tdd. I don't think wiman is that good a wrestler to consistently take siver down and keep him there. If I give wiman any shot, its to win via a flash KO. I don't think he will win a decision or get a sub on siver My main concern though is if siver fades in the latter part of the fight, where his striking is not as crisp and his tdd/scrambles are lacking energy - I could see wiman having an advantage in all areas of the fight if siver gasses. Overall I think it will be dominant UD or tko for siver. I also think that line isn't too bad for siver. I wish I would have got on him sooner, and I stil haven't pulled the trigger. Yet I feel that even around -140 siver is appealing. I won't be going crazy on this fight like I probably will be with Cruz, but I will probably make a line or double the line play on siver. GL to everyone on this fight!

[ShogunRua]

Firstly, the Sotiropolous/Siver fight didn't show us that Siver has good takedown defense; it showed us that Sotiropoulos' takedown offense is woefully deficient.

You don't think Siver has good takedown defense? Going to have to disagree a little bit there. You can tell by watching his last few fights that he has worked vigorously on his wrestling. Sotirs take downs did look pretty weak in that fight vs Siver, but you have to give the German and his camp some of the credit. He was keeping Sotir off balance in the stand up and forcing him to mistime and go for hailmary takedowns.

Every single time George got position on a leg, he just stood there and did nothing. No effort to sweep Siver's other leg, no effort to force Siver backwards into the fence; he just waited around for Siver to pull his leg out and scurry away. Wiman's takedowns are light years better than any of the feeble single legs Sotiropoulos attempted in that fight.

Wiman's wrestling may be better than Sotirs, but it's certainly not a light year's difference. I would agree that he will be more successful in attempting stronger shoots than Sotir, but this is mainly b/c Siver will have to be more weary of the standup threat that Wiman possesses. Like an above poster mentioned, I won't be surprised if he does get Siver down a couple times, but I don't see him keeping him there and scoring for very long.

Secondly, while Wiman is a bit reckless in the stand-up, he has a decent overhand right. Just so happens that Siver got absolutely torn up by Ross Pearson's overhand right when they fought. Might want to keep that in mind.

I think a lot of people were surprised by how well Pearson did in the standup in his match vs Siver. The German and his camp know about the deficiencies he had vs Ross. I'm pretty certain they corrected whatever mistakes he was making. This isn't to say that Wiman has no shot in the standup....he definitely has a shot at landing a big punch. This will probably be his best chance to win, but I just think he will be overmatched in a 3 round fight that won't see much ground time.

[Educ8d Degener8]

I'm torn on this bout... but I do agree on one thing...

It wasn't a display of excellent TDD by Siver vs GSot; it was a display of piss-poor TDs by GSot vs Siver.

[Ladle]

You don't think Siver has good takedown defense?

There's little evidence to suggest that he has outstanding takedown defense. Scrambling out of Sotiropoulos' appalling single leg attempts does not constitute good takedown defense.

You can tell by watching his last few fights that he has worked vigorously on his wrestling. Sotirs take downs did look pretty weak in that fight vs Siver, but you have to give the German and his camp some of the credit.

It's not that I don't give him any credit for it; I'm just being objective. It had more to do with Sotiropoulos having deficient offense than it did Siver having good defense.

He was keeping Sotir off balance in the stand up and forcing him to mistime and go for hailmary takedowns.

He didn't exactly force Sotiropoulos to "mistime" any takedowns. In fact, pretty much every time Sotiropoulos bent over in an attempt to grab a leg, he was succcessful. What Sotiropoulos completely failed to do was finish the takedowns after getting position. As I said before, he just stood there. It isn't difficult to free your leg if your opponent just stands there holding it.

Wiman's wrestling may be better than Sotirs, but it's certainly not a light year's difference.

Uh, I didn't say that. I said that Wiman's takedowns are light years better than any of the feeble single legs Sotiropoulos attempted in the Siver fight. At no point did I say that Wiman's wrestling was unequivocally light years better than Sotiropoulos'.

I would agree that he will be more successful in attempting stronger shoots than Sotir, but this is mainly b/c Siver will have to be more weary of the standup threat that Wiman possesses.

It has more to do with the fact that Wiman can actually finish a single leg, unlike Sotiropoulos in his last fight.

Like an above poster mentioned, I won't be surprised if he does get Siver down a couple times, but I don't see him keeping him there and scoring for very long.

Based on what evidence?

I think a lot of people were surprised by how well Pearson did in the standup in his match vs Siver. The German and his camp know about the deficiencies he had vs Ross. I'm pretty certain they corrected whatever mistakes he was making.

Got any proof? Or are you just going to assume that he's fixed the holes in his stand-up?

This isn't to say that Wiman has no shot in the standup....he definitely has a shot at landing a big punch. This will probably be his best chance to win

His best and most realistic chance of winning is sticking Siver on his back and beating him up for three rounds.

[Kaladarus]

I think Wiman's takedowns are going to be a lot better than the ones Sotiropoulos was doing. Wiman has a good chin and can really push the pace. If he is able to get Siver down he should be able to secure a comfortable decision win with his devastating GNP. Siver's TDD is decent, but I don't think it will stop Wiman. I also don't think Siver has what it takes to finish this fight. The judges will most likely favor takedowns over whatever happens in the stand up. This fight basically comes down to who gets to keep the fight where they want it. My pick will be Wiman, but if you think Siver takes this it might be best to hit him by decision. Either way I see this fight going to the judges.

[bjpenn85]

The whole problem with this fight is the x-factor which is sivers takedown defense.

1. G.sotir takedowns was crap.
2.Siver have focused and wil be better prepared this time, yet, still unknown how good his tdd, those who try to convince themselves that we know how good sivers tdd are lying, hard.
3. He is short, springy, and athletic, all the attributes that people with good takedown defense need to have.
4. if wiman wants to wrestle or clinch, will siver then have the standing advantage?
5. Do wiman have the condition to take this approach? yes
6. Is this matchup a good betting prospect? no...we dont know, so dont bet. wanne loose money? this is how..am out

[FightFightFight]

Siver gasses out dont forget. Wiman takes the third round easy. Just needs one of the first two, and I think he gets both.

[NickBaragona]

This is a very tough one to call. I will be trying some hail mary parlays for this card, and I honestly may take both to be safe. Wanderlie Silva vs Chris Leben is another hard one to call...

[GunShard]

I see both fighters evenly matched. It's a bad spot to bet for me.

[Vaughany]

Firstly, the Sotiropolous/Siver fight didn't show us that Siver has good takedown defense; it showed us that Sotiropoulos' takedown offense is woefully deficient. Every single time George got position on a leg, he just stood there and did nothing. No effort to sweep Siver's other leg, no effort to force Siver backwards into the fence; he just waited around for Siver to pull his leg out and scurry away. Wiman's takedowns are light years better than any of the feeble single legs Sotiropoulos attempted in that fight.

Secondly, while Wiman is a bit reckless in the stand-up, he has a decent overhand right. Just so happens that Siver got absolutely torn up by Ross Pearson's overhand right when they fought. Might want to keep that in mind.

Apart from Wiman having better takedowns than GSot, he also has excellent cardio and is relentless which doesnt bode well for somebody like Siver who we´ve seen fade slightly in the final rounds of fights.

[Poppa Catfish]

Wiman backers should send GSot a thank you card, his terrible takedown attempts have people buying in on Siver. I'm not convinced and am willing to back Wiman here.

[GoldRush7]

Wiman backers should send GSot a thank you card, his terrible takedown attempts have people buying in on Siver. I'm not convinced and am willing to back Wiman here.

You are spot on with this one I believe

[ShogunRua]

Really surprised to see so many Wiman backers here. Should be a decent fight...we'll see what happens.

[ShogunRua]

Down to -115 to -115

I could be in trouble here.

[ShogunRua]

Anyone else like this play? Wiman has vastly improved since his TUF appearance, but I don't think this is a good matchup for 'Handsome'. I was completely caught off guard watching the Siver vs Sotiropoulos fight. I honestly did not expect Siver to be able to consistently stop the Australian's relentless takedowns. A lot of this was good game planning from his team, but it also goes to show that the German's wrestling has improved significantly. Plain and simple, Wiman will not be able to get Siver to the mat. This might not be his gameplan anyways, but if he starts getting tagged on the outside by the unorthodox German kickboxer, he won't have any viable options other than to stand and bang back. Wiman was able to take down/rough up Cole Miller, but Siver is a shorter/stockier guy...won't happen. This is going to be a stand up fight. And while Wiman is a good striker with knockout power, Siver is much more experienced and technical. The German will outwork the good looking kid from Oklahoma and more than likely win by decision. Good luck.

Lay the -130 and take your chances with Dennis Siver. He will win by unanimous decision 30-27 29-28 29-28.

Winner

Not EXACTLY how I called it but pretty close. I expected Wiman to to try to test his stand up a little bit more to set up his take downs better, but he was basically just shooting in most of the fight. Wiman was able to get Siver down and control round 2 (and landed some pretty damn good GnP), but was very ineffective in rounds 1 and 3. I found it funny how Rogan and Goldy were sucking Wiman off the entire fight when Siver clearly had rounds 1 and 3 in the bag.