Josh Koscheck (-410) vs Paulo Thiago (+330)

Striking wise Chael Sonnen is a very good striker and he will be able to keep his distance by backing up Maia who is not a very good striker at all. Up against the cage is where Sonnen fights the best. He will be able to use his size and power to hold Maia on the cage and land punches. Chael Sonnen has superior wrestling power but he will not use his wrestling for takedowns, He will instead use his power to keep the fight standing

Bottom Line: I see Sonnen being able to stuff Maia’s shot attempts and being able to land punches on Maia. Sonnen is a fighter that can test Maia and he can pressure him to making him make a mistake in the standup. We have yet to see Maia’s chin tested and Sonnen is a person that can KO the smaller less powerful fighter. Maia is not a strong or big fighter, he relies mostly on technique.

If Sonnen can take him off his game plan I can see an upset. He is no joke as he is the current WEC middleweight champion. To me, at +215 it is worth the risk to bet on the underdog in this fight. I love Maia as a fighter but to me he is still unproven and I see a big upset.