2010 UFC 117 Picks & Predictions – Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
One of the featured bouts of UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen is a welterweight contest between Matt Hughes and Ricardo Almeida.
Almeida enters the fight as the slight favorite with a betting line of -175 with Hughes given a line of +145 according to online sports book SBGGLOBAL. Here is a closer look at both fighters heading into this bout, which will take place from Oracle Arena in Oakland, California at 10PM ET on Pay Per-View.
Matt Hughes (44-7):
Strengths: Hughes is a wrestler all the way as he used that strength to become a long-time UFC welterweight champion. Hughes likes to get his opponents on their back and unleash strikes or submissions for wins. Hughes has good conditioning as well, which allows him to control fights in the later rounds.
Weaknesses: Hughes hasn’t been able to improve his striking over the years, which makes him a one-weapon fighter. He also lacks the speed most fighters in this day and age have. He is good at submission defense and staying off his back though.
Last Five Fights:
Third round TKO win over Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 on April 10, 2010
Unanimous decision win over Matt Serra at UFC 98 on May 23, 2009
Second round TKO loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 85 on June 7, 2008
Second round submission loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 79 on Dec. 29, 2007
Unanimous decision win over Chris Lytle at UFC 68 on March 3, 2007
Ricardo Almeida (12-3):
Strengths: A slick jiu-jitsu fighter, Almeida is very dangerous on the ground and can submit anyone he fights. Along with his grappling ability, Almeida has a lot of speed and he stays light on his feet. His striking isn’t great, but it is likely superior to Hughes’.
Weaknesses: Almeida is a big welterweight, but he can still be taken down and controlled. That is what forced him to leave middleweight and move to welterweight. While he has been successful as of late, winning his last three fights, Almeida has not been overly dominant.
Last Five Fights:
Second round submission win over Matt Brown at UFC 111 on March 27, 2010
Unanimous decision win over Kendall Grove at UFC 101 on Aug. 8, 2009
Unanimous decision win over Matt Horwich at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1, 2009
Split decision loss to Patrick Cote at UFC 86 on July 5, 2008
First round submission win over Rob Yundt at UFC 81 on Feb. 2, 2008
Who will win: The betting line in this fight is surprising given Hughes history of success and Almeida not having won any major fights in his UFC career. Hughes has only lost to the best in recent years, but he still has something to offer. He should be able to score takedowns and not have to worry about being knocked out by Almeida. If Hughes can avoid the submissions, which we think he will, he should be able to win a decision on Saturday night.