Tonight is an important one for the UFC and mixed martial arts fans, as former pound-for-pound king Anderson "The Spider" Silva returns to the octagon for the first time since being viciously knocked out by Long Island-born Chris Weidman, who snatched Silva's middleweight crown. Live stream the UFC 168 main card online by clicking this link.
On the main card two fights are hotly anticipated. They are the aforementioned Silva-Weidman rematch, and Ronda Rousey's second matchup with Meisha Tate. Rousey and Tate are known to be bitter rivals, and their hatred was only ramped up in their first meeting when Rousey nearly shattered Tate's arm with her famed armbar.
Ever since then, Tate has said she dreams of knocking Rousey out. "I just keep picturing in slow motion, me landing that one knockout punch," Tate recently told MMA Fighting. "And her just falling and the ref just stopping it before I can even get another punch in. Just like, 'She's done! She's done! Don't hurt her anymore.' Yeah, I just want to win by brutality."
She's not underestimating Rousey anymore though, like she did the first time. "I'm expecting her to be hell on wheels. I'm expecting the best Ronda Rousey anybody's ever seen," she said.
In the Silva vs. Weidman fight, Silva remains a favorite despite getting knocked out in the first go-round. Many believe if Silva had taken Weidman more seriously, and not clowned around, he would've walked away with the win. When asked if he thought Silva respected him, Weidman gave a testy answer that showed his eagerness to prove himself yet again.
"You know what, I don't care. You know, all the arguing, everything is going to be settled on Saturday," Weidman said. And he's happy to be a Vegas underdog as well.
No. I mean, it's good for my friends. They get to make more money on me," he said. "I'm fighting Anderson Silva. I expected the first time to be the underdog, and I expected this time to be the underdog."
Before the main card there are a number of preliminary fights. The first two, William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker and Robbie Peralta vs. Estevan Payan can be seen on UFC.com. The next four prelims will be televised on Fox Sports 1 and live streamed here. Those fights are Chris Leben vs. Uriah Hall, Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson, Dennis Siver vs. Manny Gamburyan and John Howard vs. Siyar Bahadurzada.
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