A Closer Look At UFC 132: Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman

Hello once more fans and friends, it’s now time to return to my special two-day series “A Closer Look At ufc 132”. After giving a quick wrap up of the preliminary card, it’s now time to give a fight-by-fight breakdown on all five main card fights. By the end of this series, not only should you know who’s fighting and why, but also who is likely to win and why. For part 1 of the series, click here. Now it’s time for part 2, featuring Dennis Siver taking on Matt Wiman.

Matt Wiman is nearly a seven-year veteran, and in that time he’s assembled a respectable record of 13-5. Wiman has never lost more than twice in a row, although there was  time where he went 1-3 in four fights. Wiman debuted in the UFC in 2006 but would unfortunately find himself on the receiving end of a highlight reel knockout. He rebounded about as good as anyone could rebound: by winning his next four fights, with three stoppages.

Just as Wiman was beginning to establish himself as a possible championship contender, he would go on to lose back-to-back fights, first against Jim Miller and then against Sam Stout. But Wiman rebounded once again, and is currently on a three-fight win-streak that includes one first-round stoppage. It’s also interesting to note that no one has finished Wiman since his UFC debut.

But if there’s one thing Dennis Siver is, it’s a finisher.

Dennis Siver has been fighting in the UFC since 2007, but debuted with an unimpressive 1-3 record in his first trip inside the Octagon. After taking a fight outside the Octagon in 2008, Siver returned to the UFC a new man. He put together a great three-fight win-streak with all three fights ending via stoppage, two of which saw Siver nail his patented spinning back kick. After losing to Ross Pearson in March 2010 in a “Fight of the Night” performance, Siver won back-to-back fights before challenging George Sotiropoulos.

Sotiropoulos was quickly making a name for himself as an Australian submission magician. Sotiropoulos was also on an eight-fight win-streak that included seven successful UFC fights. Many people thought that this fight would be over the second it hit the ground. But Siver never really gave Sotiropoulos the chance. Displaying very good takedown defense, Siver forced Sotiropoulos into a brawl, and with Siver being a skilled kickboxer, Sotiropoulos would lose a one-sided Unanimous Decision. It was perhaps the biggest, most meaningful victory in Dennis Siver’s UFC career.

I’m very high on Dennis Siver right now, and I think he’s got what it takes to go all the way and become a challenger to the UFC Lightweight Champion. Some people say he’s too one-dimensional, but when you have a fighter that’s really good at one dimension and knows how to negate and/or defend against all the other dimensions of a fight… then that’s a fighter that knows how to win and will keep on winning. If Dennis Siver doesn’t want the fight to go on the ground, the fight usually doesn’t go to the ground. And once he finds his comfort zone, Dennis Siver turns into a very dangerous fighter and a great striker. With his recent wins and his great performances, Siver has got to be the favorite to win this fight.

And that’s two down and several more to go, fans and friends! Stay tuned for more editions of “A Closer Look At UFC 132”.