Preview: UFC 193 ‘Rousey vs. Holm’

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Heavyweights

Mark Hunt (10-10-1) vs Antonio Silva (19-7-1)

THE MATCHUP: From 2011 to 2014, Hunt starred in one of the most amazing stories in MMA history. On the back of a six-fight losing streak, Hunt put together four wins in a row and then gave former champion Junior dos Santos the most competitive fight of his career, save for those against Cain Velasquez. Hunt became only the second man to knock out Roy Nelson and then came up just short of winning the interim heavyweight title on short notice. Sandwiched between all of that was an all-time classic five-round war with “Bigfoot” Silva.

Hunt has slowed down progressively since the dos Santos fight. The weight problems that plagued him earlier in his MMA career seem to have come back, taking away the improved stamina that made him such a force in the UFC -- though the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner has showed off a slimmed-down physique in recent weeks. Hunt still has a cracking right hand and a thudding left hook, but his ability to rapidly close distance or change angles is diminished. Likewise Hunt’s takedown defense seemed to deteriorate before our eyes during his main-event tilt with Stipe Miocic in May. The past four years have seen Hunt develop a shockingly effective system of takedown defense and ground escapes, but all of them require a certain degree of explosiveness to work, and Hunt’s shrinking gas tank left him unable to execute after just three minutes in the cage with Miocic.

Of course, his adversary has slowed down, too. In fact, “Bigfoot” seemed to be done for good after a pair of consecutive knockout losses to Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir. Suffering from acromegaly, Silva was among the most undeserving victims of the Nevada Athletic Commission’s decision to ban testosterone replacement therapy, and his body seemed to suffer as a result. Always a relatively slow man, Silva seemed completely depleted in the Arlovski and Mir bouts -- a creature of skin and bones rather than muscle and sinew.

Shockingly, Silva came into his most recent fight with Soa Palelei looking renewed. With a slight bounce in his step, “Bigfoot” was once again able to move out of the way of his opponent’s attacks with something of his old energy. He threw kicks and punches in combinations, and on the ground, he reversed and took top position. It was not quite the same “Bigfoot” that had knocked out Alistair Overeem in 2013, but it was closer than expected.

THE ODDS: Hunt (-250), Silva (+210)

THE PICK: As heartwarming as the story of Hunt’s MMA career sounds, there is a dark side. He gave dos Santos a tough fight, but he ultimately lost. He did the same against Fabricio Werdum; and in both of those bouts, Hunt, whose chin is the stuff of legend, was knocked out. He is 41 years old and has been fighting professionally since 1999. Not even a “Super Samoan” can take thunderbolts for that long without experiencing some adverse effects. Silva is heavy-handed and well-rounded. It is easy to forget how close Silva came to stopping the Kiwi in their first bout, even if Hunt did the same to him. Hunt is still the faster fighter, if even for only a few minutes, and I cannot ignore his craft on the feet. It feels like a toss-up, but the pick is Hunt by TKO in round one.

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