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FIGHT ODDS

Back Against the Mat: UFC 99 Edition

Jake RossenJun 12, 2009

Stakes are always high in prizefights, but for some more than others.

Wanderlei Silva: A fifth loss in six fights would bring talk of retirement -- already a low murmur -- to a chorus. He at least needs a competitive distance battle with Franklin to retain fan faith.

Cain Velasquez: Big paydays against big names -- Mir, Lesnar -- are right around the corner for Velasquez if he can get past Cheick Kongo. A collective deflation for his supporters and his next-big-thing status is queued up if he can’t.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic: He’ll always have a home in Japan, but the UFC may have an extremely hard time justifying his presence in future shows if he can’t beat Mustapha al Turk.

Paul Taylor: The Brit is 2-3 in his UFC run, and the cuts have been coming at a chef’s speed.

Marcus Davis and Dan Hardy: The two have been engaged in an extended piss match for months. Losing stinks. Losing to a guy who’s talked a dumpster’s worth of crap stinks more.