The Countdown for UFC 117, Anderson “The Spider” Silva 26-4-0 vs. Chael Sonnen 26-10-1, will debut Monday, Aug. 2 
at 11:00 p.m. ET on Spike TV to promote the upcoming pay-per-view event at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Saturday, Aug. 7.
The network special will provide a behind the scenes look into the preparation and training camps of the fighters set to headline the show.
Betting lines continue to shift for the upcoming fight as Silva enjoyed a -700 line against Demian Maia at UFC 112, but “The Spider” is coming in at a more realistic -450 favorite against the mouthy ex-politician, Sonnen, who currently stands as a +325 underdog.
To me, a former American Top Team fighter, The John Fitch vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves ll has the “Fight of the Nite” accolades written all over it. Alves (22-5-0) hasn’t fought since a five-round decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009.
The American Top Team fighter twice has been scheduled to avenge a second-round TKO loss to Fitch that came in 2006. A knee injury forced him out of UFC 107 in December, and then a failed CT exam just before UFC 111 once again put Alves on the sidelines.
Fitch (25-3-0-1 NC) ended up fighting late replacement Ben Saunders at UFC 111 and won a lopsided unanimous decision. The longtime contender now has won 12 of his 13 UFC fights; the lone loss came to champ St-Pierre at UFC 87. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has gone to a decision in his past six wins, including all four in his recent win streak, though he’s faced very tough opponents such as Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago and Mike Pierce.
Other fights on the card include the return of the legendary welter weigh Matt Hughes to take on Ricardo Almeida, heavy-handed Brazilian Junior Dos Santos 11-1-1 vs. Roy “Big Country” Nelson winner of the Ultimate Fighter Reality show coming off a vicious knockout over a very well rounded Brendan Schaub, plus the always entertaining and exciting Clay the “Carpenter” Guida.
Used with permission of the author.
Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport.
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