5 Reasons Why Dennis Siver Could Beat George Sotiropoulos

Throughout the week I’ve exhaustively covered the upcoming UFC 127 “Penn vs. Fitch” event, and there’s one simple reason for that: I think this is going to be one of the best MMA events of the year. Every single one of the main PPV fights have a lot of potential, and the UFC is making many preliminary fights available for free. And one of Australia’s own will be in action at UFC 127, a rising star that could become the next big threat at Lightweight. It’s George Sotiropoulos, and this is a new edition of “5 Reasons Why”, featuring his upcoming fight at UFC 127 with Dennis Siver. First up, we have five reasons why Dennis Siver could beat George Sotiropoulos. The reverse is soon to follow, so let’s dive right in.

5. Dennis Siver knows that by beating George Sotiropoulos, he basically becomes George Sotiropoulos.

There are many reasons why a fighter goes into his upcoming bout motivated and hungry to win. One of the major reasons is because no one expects him to. Siver knows that if he can upset George Sotiropoulos, he basically takes his place on the short-list of possible championship contenders, or at least as a fighter that’s about to be given top-division competition. Sometimes a fighter ending a hype train is far more spectacular than a fighter continuing it, and if Siver shows up motivated and ready to prove people wrong, he’s definitely got a chance at toppling Sotiropoulos.

4. Siver is coming off of a dominating performance.

Another major reason why a fighter shows up motivated and hungry in his next fight is because he dominated in his last fight and wants to keep that train rolling. Siver’s last fight ended in a thrilling first-round submission win that earned him a “Submission of the Night” award. Siver’s knows he can beat and even dominate quality competition, and that’s an experience he wants to repeat very badly.

3. Siver has won six of his last seven bouts.

Although Siver’s overall record is 17-7, he’s only lost one time in the past two years. That one loss finds itself somewhere in-between five stoppage wins and one win by Unanimous Decision. For the most part, Siver has been a force to be reckoned with since returning to the UFC in January 2009.

2. Dennis Siver actually has more submission wins that George Sotiropoulos.

George Sotiropoulos is known as a submission expert, and he’s got several great submission wins on both his UFC record and his record in general. Dennis Siver, meanwhile, is known mostly as a striker. So it comes as a bit of a shock that Siver actually has more wins in his MMA career by submission than Sotiropoulos: nine compared to eight. Siver will probably be at a disadvantage on the ground, but then again, they said the same thing about Jim Miller when he faced Charles Oliveira, and we all know how that turned out.

And the number one reason why Dennis Siver could beat George Sotiropoulos is…

1. The power in his hands, especially compared to Sotiropoulos.

George Sotiropoulos has won fourteen of his sixteen fights as a professional MMA fighter, and that’s a pretty impressive accomplishment. But he’s only ever won one fight, one single fight, by way of (T)KO. George Sotiropoulos simply isn’t known as a striker, even if his striking has progressed a lot. Meanwhile, Siver has five wins by (T)KO, and has earned two “Knockout of the Night” awards for his highlight-reel stoppages of Paul Kelly and Nate Mohr. Siver’s biggest strength and Sotiropoulos’ biggest potential weakness all hinges on how long this fight stays standing.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. Stay tuned for the second part of this “5 Reasons Why” that will be posted soon. But for now: do you think Dennis Siver is going to beat George Sotiropoulos? Why or why not?