UFC 163: August 3, 2013 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil UFC Middleweight Cezar Ferreira (-430) Profile: Vitor Belfort’s first pick and the second selection overall on Brazil’s inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, Cezar Ferreira (4-2) was expected to be in the finals fighting for the coveted title, and he has lived up to expectations and looks to have a bright future in the UFC. With an impressive array of BJJ, and showing extreme KO power in all of his limbs, Ferreira is a force to be reckoned with. Although he lost his last professional bout to Elvis Mutapcic via KO at Superior Cage Combat 2 in August of 2011, the 27-year-old Brazilian has proved his worth in blowing through the competition on TUF, scoring a win via guillotine and an impressive head kick KO of Thiago Perpetuo in the semifinals. Injuries held back the TUF fight with Sergio Moraes, but they finally met at UFC 147, where Ferreira won a tough decision over the vet, Ferreira was supposed to make a quick turnaround to get back into the Octagon, but injuries to himself and his opponents pushed his second UFC back to UFC 163. UFC Middleweight Thiago Santos (+310) Profile: With Clint Hester out, Cezar Ferreira meets Thiago Santos (8-1) which will give him a second lease on life in the UFC after being ousted from The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 as a member of Team Werdum. He was a welterweight on the show, but will now move up to 185 for this opportunity inside the Octagon. He has good hands, decent ground game, but with what little tape we’ve found with him, a mediocre gas tank. Opening UFC 160 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Ferreira a sizeable -430 favorite (bet $430 to win $100) while Santos opened as a +310 underdog (bet $100 to win $310) at Several Bookmakers sportsbook. Ferreira is finally back in the Octagon after more than a year out of the cage due to injuries, and the UFC is giving him a favorable matchup here in Santos, who is a natural welterweight and who is taking this fight on short notice. But while Ferreira is the solid favorite in this fight, don’t sleep on Santos, who should be the faster fighter in this fight and who could surprise against Ferreira, who is one of the more overrated fighters on the UFC’s roster.
