This Saturday night MMA fans will have the pleasure of seeing two very talented lightweights square off in the cage. Dennis “The Kibojou Kid” Siver is slated to throw down against “Handosme” Matt Wiman in a match-up that will pit kickboxer against wrestler. Both fighters are riding high on three fight winning streaks.The lightweight division has been stacked since before the WEC merger but now it’s downright thick with the likes of Edgar, Maynard, Guida, Guillard and many more. This means that both fighters will be looking for a big finish to help get them into Top 5 lightweight contention.
These two fighter’s styles match up nicely on paper, with Siver who will look to keep things standing and impose his will through aggressive striking and Wiman who will have a more balanced attack
Russian born fighter Siver moved to Germany at the age of 12 and began martial arts training shortly thereafter. After becoming the WAKO Kickboxing Champion he began his MMA career. The compact kickboxer has compiled an impressive 8-4 record in the UFC with his most prominent victory being over George Sotiropolous at UFC 127. In that fight he used his take-down defense to stuff Sotiropolous’ attempts and was the better striker, winning a unanimous decision victory.
Wiman came onto the scene in UFC 60 losing to Spencer Fisher in his only career stoppage from Fisher’s flying knee. However, Wiman is best known for appearing on season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter, where he made it to the semi-finals before losing to Manny Gamburyan. He’s won his last three fights with the last being an upset over another TUF season 5 fighter, Cole Miller, by decision victory. Wiman’s best attributes are his conditioning, predictability and an unorthodox style.
This whole bout will hinge on how well the German kickboxer can defend against the take-down. Siver hasn’t faced a fighter with the wrestling skill of Wiman, who will likely try and take Siver to the ground after realizing he can’t win the stand up battle. There he can use his submission skills and ground and pound. While Wiman does have power in his hands, his best chance for victory is by getting this fight to the ground. And while Siver is the favorite, if Wiman manages to get him to the down then I think Wiman could grind out a victory.
Ultimately I think Siver will out strike Wiman in a fight that goes the distance with Siver winning by split decision. A win for either fighter should get them a fight with a Top 5 fighter in the stacked 155 lb lightweight division.
