When it was announced that UFC 158 would be headlined by Georges St-Pierre taking on Nick Diaz, everyone was up in arms about it. Why on Earth was Diaz getting the shot against St-Pierre instead of Johny Hendricks. The answer is because St-Pierre asked for Diaz after defeating Condit and UFC president Dana White complied.

The two were supposed to fight back in October of 2011 when Diaz became one of the first fighters to be imported from Strikeforce. Unfortunately for Diaz, he missed multiple required pr appearances and White decided to give Carlos Condit the fight against St-Pierre. Diaz then fought BJ Penn in a new main event after St-Pierre had to withdraw from the Condit fight due to injury.

This lead to Diaz fighting Condit for an interim title in February of 2012 and Diaz was the good fighter who showed up to all of the press requirements. He lost a controversial decision to Condit, many citing Condit’s game plan wasn’t that of fighting. But it wasn’t an issue anyways because Diaz tested positive for marijuana and was given a suspension.

Unlike many who have been suspended for testing positive for a banned substance, Diaz decided to fight it and even took the athletic commission to court. His attempt to get his suspension shortened or even revoked completely was denied, and now we are nearing the end of his suspension.

So when one combines the amount of injuries that forced changes to cards in 2012 with Diaz’s erratic behavior, one needs to have insurance. In this case for UFC 158, it’s back up plans. Not just a plan B, but likely a plan C and a plan D are either in place, or have been thought of just in case.

The rest of the card that has been announced so far features three other welterweight fights. The co-main event has Jake Ellenberger taking on Johny Hendricks in what is probably Hendricks’s fourth number one contender fight. Keep in mind he has knocked out two of his last three opponents and is on a five fight win streak. Hendricks is likely the first person that will get called to the main event should something happen to either Diaz or St-Pierre. Ellenberger is a good second choice being that he is 5-1 over the last two years, but Hendricks no doubt will be getting the first call up.

Also on the card is a grudge match between Carlos Condit and Rory MacDonald. In MacDonald’s second UFC fight he battled Condit and was winning on all the judges’ scorecards. That was until there was seven seconds left and Condit landed a clean punch and followed it up with more forcing the ref to stop it. Since then Condit has defeated three others before ultimately fighting St-Pierre and losing. MacDonald has stated he won’t fight St-Pierre, but should something happen to the Hendricks-Ellenberger fight, it is possible that one of these two steps up to fight whoever gets left out of the title fight.

But if the UFC decides to keep the grudge match between Condit and MacDonald, another interesting welterweight battle is on the card. Strikeforce veteran Bobby Voelker is set to take on Patric Cote in his welterweight debut. Voelker who fought only on the Challengers cards for Strikeforce amassed a 4-1 record with three finishes. Cote is coming off the DQ victory over Alessio Sakara, but realized in that fight he was too small for the UFC’s middleweight division after being away for nearly two years. And like Condit-MacDonald could replace someone, Cote and Voelker would also be interesting matchups.

Given the history that transpired not only in 2012, but with Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz, this move is a smart one by the UFC. It ensures that there are several options should something happen and the fighters are also prepared for it as well. It will be interesting to see if the UFC decides to add another welterweight fight to the card and make the entire PPV a single weight class much like they did in 2012 with an all heavyweight main card.

UFC 148 took place this Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM grand, and the UFC delivered on what may turn out to be the biggest event in the company’s history. Over 15,000 fans filled the arena for the United States’ largest UFC box office of 7 million dollars and according to President Dana White all metrics point to this being the largest pay per view buy rate in company history.

The main event featured the biggest rematch in UFC history that pitted Champion Anderson Silva against Chael Sonnen.  The first round looked similar to the first four rounds of their first fight, but it was Anderson SIlva who figured out Sonnen’s timing and began landing strikes that rattled and dropped him in the second round. Sonnen was finished seconds later by technical knockout and Silva defended his title for the tenth time and extending his winning streak to fifteen(both UFC records.) Silva was awarded the knockout of the night bonus for the finish as well ($75k.)

In the co-main event it was the rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. The third fight looked much like their first two fights, but it was Forrest Griffin who was able to squeak out two rounds and get the unanimous decision win. The fight was also awarded the fight of the night honors($75k.) Ortiz made it official, and retired after the fight. Tito had a big day, as he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame earlier in the afternoon.

Main Card
Middleweight Championship Title Bout
Anderson Silva 184 lbs vs. Chael Sonnen 185 lbs
Anderson Silva defeats Chael Sonnen by Technical Knockout at 1:51 of round 2

Light Heavyweight
Forrest Griffin 204 lbs vs. Tito Ortiz 204 lbs
Forrest Griffin defeats Tito Ortiz by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

Middleweight
Cung Le 185 lbs vs. Patrick Côté 185 lbs
Cung Le defeats Patrick Côté by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim 170 lbs vs. Demian Maia 170 lbs
Demian Maia defeats Dong Hyun Kim by Technical Knockout (Strikes) at :47 of round 1

Featherweight
Chad Mendes 146 lbs vs. Cody McKenzie 145 lbs
Chad Mendes defeats Cody McKenzie by Technical Knockout (Punch to the body) at :31 of round 1

Bantamweight
Ivan Menjivar 136 lbs vs. Mike Easton 135 lbs
Mike Easton defeats Ivan Menjivar by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 29-28)

Preliminary Card on FX
Lightweight
Gleison Tibau 155 lbs vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov 155 lbs
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeats Gleison Tibau by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Lightweight
Melvin Guillard 155 lbs vs. Fabrício Camões 156 lbs
Melvin Guillard defeats Fabrício Camões by Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)

Middleweight
Constantinos Philippou 186 lbs vs. Riki Fukuda 185 lbs
Constantinos Philippou defeats Riki Fukuda by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 28-28)

Lightweight
John Alessio 156 lbs vs. Shane Roller 155 lbs
Shane Roller defeats John Alessio by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

Preliminary Card on Facebook
Lightweight
Rafaello Oliveira  156 lbs vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo 156 lbs
Rafaello Oliveira defeats Yoislandy Izquierdo by Unanimous Decision (29-28×3)

The UFC 148 weigh ins took place today in Las Vegas, Nevada for the biggest UFC pay per view of the year. All fighters made weight for the event, and all bouts will take place as scheduled. The talk is over, the fight has been sold, and the only thing left for the fighters to do is fight. Things got animated in the stare down when Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva bumped into Chael Sonnen, and they were immediately separated. Below are the full weigh in results for UFC 148.

Middleweight Championship Title Bout
Anderson Silva 184 lbs
Chael Sonnen 185 lbs

Light Heavyweight
Forrest Griffin 204 lbs
Tito Ortiz 204 lbs

Middleweight
Cung Le 185 lbs
Patrick Côté 185 lbs

Welterweight
Dong Hyun Kim 170 lbs
Demian Maia 170 lbs

Featherweight
Chad Mendes 146 lbs
Cody McKenzie 145 lbs

Bantamweight
Ivan Menjivar 136 lbs
Mike Easton 135 lbs

Preliminary Card on FX
Lightweight
Gleison Tibau 155  lbs
Khabib Nurmagomedov 155 lbs

Lightweight
Melvin Guillard 155 lbs
Fabrício Camões 156 lbs

Middleweight
Constantinos Philippou 186 lbs
Riki Fukuda 185 lbs

Lightweight
John Alessio 156 lbs
Shane Roller 155 lbs

Preliminary Card on Facebook
Lightweight
Rafaello Oliveira  156 lbs
Yoislandy Izquierdo 156 lbs

UFC 148 is just days away, and everyone is compiling all of the numbers to try and figure out just who really does have an advantage and who doesn’t. Our own John Petit compiled a list of all the important stats and numbers for this event to show just who is better where.

Chad Mendes vs Cody McKenzie
Two stats jump off the page right away in this featherweight battle: Mendes is coming in a huge favorite at -500 and McKenzie has a massive height and reach advantage. Mendes being the favorite isn’t that much of a surprise, especially considering the fact that his last fight was against Jose Aldo for the title. McKenzie’s height and reach will be a factor for Mendes as he stands six inches taller and has a six inch reach advantage. Mendes, a wrestler, typically grinds his opponents down with his dominant wrestling skills holding a 57% accuracy in his takedown attempts and never being taken down by any of his opponents. McKenzie doesn’t need to take his opponents down as he has one of the best defenses for a mistake from a takedown: his guillotine. It is no secret that McKenzie loves the submission and has been able to hit it from nearly anywhere winning twelve fights with the submission out of thirteen.

Dong Hyun Kim vs Demian Maia
Maia had a fairly successful run as a middleweight, even earning himself a title shot against Anderson Silva. But after losing his last fight to Chris Weidman, it was time to make a change and fight at welterweight. The odds makers aren’t sure what to do with this fight as it is very close to even with Kim coming in the slight favorite at -135. Kim not only holds a four inch reach advantage over Maia, his striking accuracy inside the octagon is greater than Maia’s. Maia does hold a slight edge in striking defense, but it isn’t at the same portion that separates the two while attacking. Maia’s strength lies in his ability to submit his opponent and that plays a reason why he sometimes gives up the takedown, so he can put his opponent in his world. Surprisingly, Kim has the edge when it comes to actual takedowns and has shown he is even more difficult to take down.

Cung Le vs Patrick Cote
Cote, another former middleweight title contender, is coming in the favorite over Le at -260. Neither fighter has a winning record inside the UFC, though for Le, he has only had one fight for the promotion. Le’s last five fights resulted in him winning 3 and dropping two, while Cote is 4-1 riding a four fight win streak into the fight. Le’s southpaw stance and ability to land spinning kicks, almost at will all play into is his slight edge in striking accuracy, but it’s also why he is so difficult to hit where he holds a major advantage over Cote in the defense department. Neither fighter has been known for their takedowns and even though Le is favored in both defending as well as completing his own takedowns, it shouldn’t be a factor in this fight. What will be a factor is Cote’s reach advantage and how he plans to use the five inch reach to keep Le on the outside.

Forrest Griffin vs Tito Ortiz
Ortiz is going to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame before the fight as this is likely his retirement fight. This will be the third time the two meet, each having won a previous encounter. Griffin is coming in the favorite at -320, likely due to the fact that while his last five he is sporting a losing record with 2-3, Ortiz’s record is worse at 1-4. Griffin holds an advantage in reach and takedowns, while Ortiz is able to land more punches than Griffin.

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
Silva is coming in the heavy favorite at -270 and should be. He holds the advantage in height, reach, streak, shorter fight time, striking accuracy and takedown accuracy. The two spots where Sonnen does hold an advantage, takedown defense and striking defense are by a slim margin. Silva has won fifteen straight fights, and holds the record for most successful title defenses and wins in the UFC. But one also should look at the numbers from the first fight. Sonnen was winning the fight for twenty-three minutes. He outland Silva in significant strikes 89 to 29 and landed 251 strikes to Silva’s head while Silva was only able to retaliate with 52 of his own. In the grappling department, Silva took Sonnen down a single time, while Silva was taken down three times with Sonnen attempting seven times. Once on the ground, Sonnen held the advantage in position and sweeps.

This article is based on the UFC by the numbers stat sheet compiled by John Petit. All stats and percentages are just for the Zuffa fights. To be added to his distribution list contact him on twitter @scream13 or at facebook.com/jmerrilpetit