UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva returns to the Octagon tomorrow night to face former light heavyweight belt holder Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort. The battle between the two Brazilians will headline UFC 126, which is scheduled to take place Saturday, February 5th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event also features an undercard fight between former champions Rich "Ace" Franklin and Forrest Griffin. UFC 126 Betting Odds have Silva listed as a -220 moneyline favorite to retain his belt.
Anderson Silva extended his UFC record 
to 12-0 in his last fight, but the champion came perilously close to seeing his dominant Octagon run come to an end. Chael Sonnen, who talked a big game in the lead up to his UFC 117 meeting with Silva, backed up his words when the two entered the cage.
For four and a half rounds Sonnen pummeled the Brazilian with an ultra aggressive ground and pound attack. Silva, who was clearly rattled from the first round on, hung in, though, and his fortitude paid off. Sonnen got carleless, as he is prone to do, in Silva's guard midway through the final round and the champ siezed the opportunity, clamping on a triangle/arm-bar that led to a submission victory.
Now Silva faces another formidable opponent in Vitor Belfort. Belfort, who returned to the UFC in August of 2009, has a far different style than Sonnen, though. Like Silva, Belfort is more of a stand up fighter who relies a great deal on his counter striking abilites.
The similar approach may lead to an early feeling out process, but given the power and quickness of both fighters, this scrap has the potential to produce some real fireworks.
The co-main event between Franklin and Griffin also has a great deal of promise. Franklin (-165), who was knocked out by Belfort at UFC 103, likes to stand and bang and his nine UFC knockouts are proof of such. Griffin, who first garnered fame after an epic TUF season one slugfest with Stephan Bonnar, is a grinder who has never shied away from contact.
Tomorrow's card is scheduled to get underway at 10:00pm ET on Pay-Per-View. Two preliminary matches, Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly and Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa, will be broadcast live on Spike TV.
Anderson Silva (-220) vs Vitor Belfort (+175)
Forrest Griffin (+135) vs Rich Franklin (-165)
Ryan Bader (+220) vs Jon Jones (-300)
Antonio Banuelos (+250) vs Miguel Torres (-350)
Carlos Eduardo Rocha (+220) vs Jake Ellenberger (-300)
Paul Kelly (+220) vs Donald Cerrone (-300)
Michihiro Omigawa (+250) vs Chad Mendes (-350)
Gabe Ruediger (+165) vs Paul Taylor (-210)
Demetrious Johnson (-110) vs Norifumi Yamamoto (-120)
Ricardo Romero (-105) vs Kyle Kingsbury (-125)
Kenny Robertson (+200) vs Mike Pierce (-260)
