You read their articles, you watch and listen to their interviews, but often the personal opinions of the mixed martial arts (MMA) media get brushed over.

These media members have inside knowledge of the sport and a unique perspective of the fighters they have the privilege of interacting with. Before you place that bet in Vegas or with your friends, be sure to check out what those most educated about the sport have to say about the upcoming event.

UFC 162: "Silva vs. Weidman" is just hours away and with the hype reaching a peak, fans are wondering how the event headliner is going to go down.

Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman are set to collide in the main event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title belt on the line.

With another pay-per-view (PPV) main event just around the corner, read as ten of the sport's writers and reporters break down and predict the UFC 162 main event of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman.

Mike Bohn (MMA Mania): Chris Weidman is a legitimate threat to Anderson Silva, and the fact he is supremely confident going into the UFC 162 main event makes him even more dangerous. But my days of picking against "The Spider" are done. In recent years, I have picked against Silva more often than not, and time after time he continues to amaze and impress me. If Weidman attempts to stand with the Brazilian for any extended period of time, he's toast. If he can get things to the ground on a consistent basis and dominate position, that makes things much more interesting. Silva has proven countless times over his storied title reign that he is not going to be mentally or physically broken and can never, ever be counted out of a fight. With 25 minutes at his disposal to find the right angle and time of attack for one of his lethal, pinpoint strikes; it's just a matter of time until something devastating finds a home on Weidman's chin and we are once again in awe of the phenomenal ability of the champion. Anderson Silva via second-round TKO.

Dave Doyle (MMA Fighting/Yahoo! Sports): I've heard all the reasons why Chris Weidman is going to be the man to defeat Anderson Silva (our New York MMA media friends, in particular, have all but wrapped the belt around his waist): His wrestling, his cardio, his striking, his solid positional awareness on the ground, which will keep him from getting trapped like Chael Sonnen, etc. But Silva has been there, done that, and clowned people who came in with similar reps. Strip that all away and Weidman's case comes down to "Someone has to defeat Silva eventually." That's true, but that's also not reason enough to pick against the champ here. Silva, TKO, round two.

Shaun Al-Shatti (MMA Fighting): For years people have been predicting the demise of Anderson Silva, but I don't remember it ever reaching this kind of fever pitch before, to the point where pound-for-pound greats are jumping aboard the bandwagon. The case for Chris Weidman is certainly strong, though much of it is centered in intangibles -- mainly, that Weidman has much more within him than he's shown before. For sure, nine fights is hardly an extensive body of work. Hell, Anderson Silva lists more title defenses on his resume than that. But although Weidman seemed to finally pieced together his prodigious gifts in his brutal victory over Mark Munoz, he never really got the chance to have ‘that moment,' the blinding second where everything comes together and he realizes the volume of his potential. Who knows, perhaps that moment would have been the Tim Boetsch fight. Perhaps Weidman would've smashed Boetsch like Cormier smashed Barnett, and then he'd ride into this fight with the knowledge that he belongs firmly engrained inside his head. But unfortunately that isn't the case. Instead Weidman will be thrown to the lions, forced to adapt and find himself while the greatest fighter on the planet blankly stares across from him. Ultimately, it just seems like to tall a task to ask. Silva via third-round TKO.

Dave Deibert (Postmedia News): Do you pick the winner between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman based on past events which we've seen, or a future we think we can foresee? As much as many prognosticators - fighters included - say Weidman's wrestling makes him the worst kind of matchup for Silva, let's flip that around. Silva's pinpoint striking, underrated submissions and refusal to break (witness his classic win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 117) make him the worst kind of matchup for Weidman - and virtually anyone else, for that matter. Weidman's time will come soon. Just not yet. Prediction: Silva via third-round TKO

Ian Bain (MMA Opinion): Chris Weidman is undoubtedly a talented prospect in the UFC's middleweight division, however with only 9 fights under his belt he is going to find out the difference between fighting the best fighter in the division and borderline top 10 guys. Weidman has good wrestling and an offensive submission game that stylistically may cause problems on paper. However, his year out injured and his lack of experience in high pressure situations make me think Silva uses distance and movement to pick apart Weidman on the feet and grabs a TKO stoppage inside the first two rounds.

Jason Moles: (Cage Potato): *Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy*

Anderson Silva went to town

Pounding Weidman's face;

Ref Herb Dean called it off,

Then two Silva's did embrace

No way Weidman could have won

Although he's not a can;

To beat The Spider by yourself,

You must be Superman.

*********

*Boom! ~ Drops microphone. Walks off stage.~*

Adam Martin (Sportsnet): Although I believe Chris Weidman will give Anderson Silva fits for a few rounds, there is no way Silva is going to lose his strap to a fighter who hasn't stepped a foot in the cage in a year. Weidman will tire as the fight progresses, and in round three Silva will finally get the chance to knock his opponent out and he'll do so in highlight-reel fashion to retain the UFC middleweight championship and prove once again he's the best in the world.



Jason Nawara (Middle Easy): I have no reason to pick against Anderson Silva in this fight. In fact, I don't see why anyone would. Actually, yeah I do, anyone picking Weidman in this fight is doing it purely so they can say they picked against Anderson, and if Anderson wins, it's no big deal, Anderson always wins. But back to the fight itself. Anderson has shown no signs of slowing down, and he's fighting the young and hungry Chris Weidman, who is a damn solid fighter, but is still a year removed from his last fight against a rusty/pudgy Mark Munoz. That worries me in itself. Ring rust is a very real thing, and how do we know how Weidman will react in by far the biggest sporting moment of his life? When I watched him do commentary over the Silva/Bonnar fight, it seemed like he had the right idea, but as Tyson said: "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." It's a fight, and Fedor, Tyson, Ali all lost in the end, but I don't think this is the end. I think this is just another fight for The Spider, who UFC marketing loves to rally against. Anderson Silva TKO win in round 2.

Jeremy Brand (MMA Sucka): Is Chris Weidman the guy to dethrone Anderson Silva and take the middleweight championship? Many media and MMA fighters are thinking so, but come on it's Anderson Silva. Yes Weidman has elusive striking and some may say better wrestling than Chael Sonnen, but again, come on it's Anderson Silva. I see this fight going the way most Silva fights do. He is going to play it safe while he feels out Weidman and then he will pounce. My pick is Silva by 2nd round TKO.



Karim Zidan (The Flying Knee): Since I do not buy into the ridiculous UFC hype machine, I will keep this short and sweet. Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter on the face of the planet, having defended his UFC title a record 10 times in over six years. His pin-point accuracy and his incredible athleticism makes for a deadly recipe. Let us be honest here, does Weidman really stand a chance? Take away the random comments from other UFC fighters that are either wrestler or affiliated to him and he is simply a 9-0 young fighter with the personality of a rock. He may be an incredible wrestler and an above average Jiu-Jitsu practitioner but that does not render him capable of defeating the GOAT. Not only do I believe Silva will win on Saturday night, I think it will not even be as close as most predict.

Media picking Anderson Silva: Ten

Media picking Chris Weidman: Zero

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