The itsy-bitsy "Spider" has climbed out of his spout. And he is madder than hell.

Middleweight super champion Anderson Silva, after consecutive knockout wins over Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami, will finally rematch the only man to ever make him look mortal inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Octagon:

Chael Sonnen.

The two mixed martial arts (MMA) veterans will headline UFC 148, which takes place this Saturday (July 7, 2012) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Also on tap in the co-featured fight of the night is the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin trilogy match, as well as an intriguing 185-pound match up between Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote.

Solid entertainment, and some solid wallet-stuffers if you know where to look in the sportsbook.

Join us after the break for an in-depth look at the odds behind UFC 148: "Sonnen vs. Silva 2" as we examine the betting lines for the upcoming MMA match ups this Independence Day weekend:

UFC 148 Odds For The Under Card:

Gleison Tibau (-170) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (+140)

Constantinos Philippou (-160) vs. Riki Fukuda (+130)

Shane Roller (-160) vs. John Alessio (+145)

Melvin Guillard (-260) vs. Fabricio Camoes (+200)

Yoislandy Izquierdo (-150) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (+120)



Thoughts: Several super close match ups. For the most part, these odds strike me as fair, which is not what I’m looking for when it comes to turning a tidy profit.

Still, I think there’s money to be made on Tibau at the current odds. As impressive as Nurmagomedov’s wrestling looked against Kamal Shalorus, the fact remains that Shalorus can wrestle and do absolutely nothing else besides fling his arms in a rough approximation of a punch ... and occasionally kick people in the balls. Tibau isn’t a great striker, but he’s strong as hell and hits plenty hard. Plus, he’s probably got the best submission credentials of anyone Khabib has fought.

If Alessio gets nudged past +150, he’s worth a go based on Roller’s recent string of mediocrity. I’d say put money down on Izquierdo, too, on account of the big striking edge he should have.

UFC 148 Odds For The Main Card:

Anderson Silva (-280) vs. Chael Sonnen (+220)

Forrest Griffin (-400) vs. Tito Ortiz (+300)

Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demian Maia (+125)

Patrick Cote (-220) vs. Cung Le (+170)

Ivan Menjivar (-135) vs. Mike Easton (+105)

Chad Mendes (-625) vs. Cody McKenzie (+425)

Thoughts: Solid line up, even without the Bantamweight championship. Let’s see what we’ve got.

Look, I don’t care how badly I crapped the bed by hyping LeVesseur (and, for the record, I said the only way he would lose is if he dove headfirst into a guillotine. Guess what he did?). I will eat my boxers if Cody wins this fight. Mendes is bigger, Mendes is stronger, Mendes has better cardio, Mendes has better wrestling, Mendes has better striking, and Mendes has better power. He dicked around in Rani Yahya’s guard just because he could, and he trains with a squad that knows more about guillotines than Robespierre’s carpenters. Stick him in a parlay if he’s better than -1000 by the time this article goes out.

Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton has, in my opinion, the best chance of being "Fight of the Night" of all the fights on the card. Both guys are scrappy as hell, both have big stopping power, and both are deceivingly well-rounded. The clincher for me, however, is Easton’s massive overconfidence in his power, which has produced all of one stoppage in his last six fights (and I still think Jared Papazian won their fight). He’s a decent peek-a-boo boxer, but with Menjivar’s experience, resilience, and more varied attack, I don’t think that’ll be enough.

Put Menjivar in a small parlay.

Cote was apparently an underdog at some point in time, but anything better than -175 should be jumped on. Le’s fought twice in the past two years and has just made yet another movie. Cote has big power, a rock-solid jaw, and a drive I’m simply unconvinced that Le has. I will be very surprised if he doesn’t stop Le sometime in the second or third. If the odds get just a little bit better, put money on him.

Wow. I really don’t understand how Kim is this small of a favorite. Literally, the only time Maia has looked good standing that I can recall is one big overhand left that wobbled Mark Munoz, and my gast will be flabbered if the fight hits the ground on Maia’s terms. Plus, Maia (who was in the process of bulking up), will be making a rather obviously-desperation-driven cut to 170. Go big on Kim -- I’ve been drooling over this line since it first showed up a few months back.

Look, did we really need to see Tito and Forrest fight a third time? Both men are past their primes, Tito more so, and the chances of either making any sort of impact in the division are nil. I think Forrest wins easily, but the Ryan Bader fight proved anything can happen. Leave this be.

I was all set to put money on Sonnen, but I can’t shake this feeling that he has woken up a monster who he has no hope of dealing with. I have never seen Silva like this, and frankly, I’m terrified. Still, Chael is Chael, so you never know what might happen. Just sit back, enjoy the fireworks, and try to keep the blood out of your eyes.

UFC 148 Best Bets:

Single Bet: Dong Hyun Kim -- Bet $155 to make $100

Parlay: Gleison Tibau and Dong Hyun Kim -- Bet $60 to make $97.20

Parlay: Yoislandy Izquierdo and Chad Mendes -- Bet $50 to make $46.73

Parlay: Ivan Menjivar and Chad Mendes -- Bet $50 to make $51

There’s just something wonderful about watching two guys who legitimately hate the hell out of each other go at it.

See you Saturday, Maniacs.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver live UFC 148 results this Saturday, which is as good a place as any to talk about all the action inside the Octagon, as well as what you've got riding on the sportsbook.