This Friday, October 5, the UFC takes over the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the promotion’s fifth offering on FX. Anchoring the bill is a heavyweight tilt between Travis Browne and Antonio Silva. While it comes as a bit of odd matchmaking on the part of Zuffa, with Browne surging, undefeated in five trips to the octagon, and Silva currently on a two-fight skid.
Here are the updated BetDSI Sportsbook UFC odds on this match:
Travis Browne (-215)
Antonio Silva (+175)
Browne enters the bout as a favorite, currently standing at -215. The Jackson’s MMA product has looked nearly sterling in his UFC run hitherto, with the sole blemish on his record being a draw with Cheick Kongo. The curious thing about the UFC’s handling of “Hapa” is that the peak of the competition he’s faced came against Kongo and Stefan Struve, the Oahu native then went on to face the likes of Rob Broughton and Chad Griggs.
Silva, the underdog, comes into the bout at +175 after suffering back-to-back losses under the Zuffa banner. Ironically, those losses came to American Kickboxing Academy teammates Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez. Prior to those setbacks, Silva was riding high, earning two of his biggest career wins against former UFC Champion Andrei Arlovski and Former PRIDE Champion Fedor Emelianenko.
When looking at the way these two giants match up, it’s hard to ignore where “Bigfoot” has ostensibly fallen short in the past. While the Brazilin is a crafty jiu jitsu veteran, his takedown defense leaves something to be desired, which doesn’t bode well for him, considering he’s largely a top-game player, as the loss to Cain Velasquez showed. Also, while certainly heavy-handed, “Pezao” is still rather rudimentary in the striking department. In his loss to Fabricio Werdum, who was not yet the muay Thai fighter we’ve seen of late, Silva showed an inability to close the distance when having his legs chopped away, despite landing the occasional solid punch. His loss to Daniel Cormier came via a brutal knockout. While Silva is known for his speed on the ground, he’s proven to be rather inert on the feet, a fighter who can stick and move well can find himself having success against the gargantuan.
All the flaws in the Brazilian’s game just so happen to be Travis Browne’s strengths. While he doesn’t have the explosive first step of Cain Velasquez, the Hawaiian is adept at completing takedowns. In the realm of striking, Browne possesses a game similar to Daniel Cormeir’s as far as speed, but also has very stiff leg kicks in his arsenal. The Jackson’s MMA fighter should have no problem dealing with Silva.
