With a large fight weekend coming up, here's an early look at the UFC's event this Saturday.  All lines are the best available from the 3 most reliable U.S. available books (5dimes, Bookmaker, and Bodog) and come courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

Later this week, I'll look at the Affliction card.  On Friday, I'll try to remark on any significant lines changes as well as well as offer my personal bets.

Anderson Silva (-500) vs. James Irvin (+440)

Anderson "The Spider" Silva owns a 21-4 (12 [T]KO/4 SUB) record and is 6-0 in the UFC.  His last fight ended by rear naked choke beating Dan Henderson on March 1^st.  Silva comes into this fight as the unified UFC and Pride Middleweight champion and the consensus #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.  This will be Silva's first fight at 205 pounds.  Silva trains out of the Black House with Minotauro Nogueira and Lyoto Machida.

James "The Sandman" Irvin holds a 14-4 (10 [T]KO/2 SUB) record and is 4-3 in the UFC.  He knocked out Houston Alexander in a record-tying eight seconds on April 2^nd.

This fight is tailored made to showcase Silva.  Irvin's main strength is his tremendous striking power.  However, he generates this power by putting maximal effort into everything he throws.  Doing this, he sacrifices proper defense and often finds himself off balance during his follow through.  One of Silva's few flaws is his wrestling which is not something I expect Irvin to try or be able to exploit.

Irvin may come into the fight slightly larger, and at the very least he will be more comfortable fighting at the light heavyweight limit.  However, I don't expect the new weight class to be a deciding factor in this fight.  Irvin's best chance for finishing depends entirely on his ability to land a KO blow.  Silva should be able to avoid that possibility with his excellent defensive skills (including his footwork, head movement, and timing) and iron chin.

The line opened up at -600, and the current line can still be found that high.  Needing 83% given Bodog's -500 line, I believe you can put a unit or two on the middleweight champ safely as I believe the true line is between -550 and -600.

Frank Edgar (-150) vs. Hermes Franca (+135)

Frank Edgar has a 8-1 (2 [T]KO/2 SUB) MMA record with a 3-1 record in the UFC.  He is most known for his UFC debut victory over Tyson Griffin.  Edgar lost his last fight to Ultimate Fighter 5 competitor Gray Maynard by decision on April 2^nd.

Hermes Franca sports a 18-6 (6 [T]KO/11 SUB) record and is 5-3 in the Octagon.  Franca is a former lightweight champion of the WEC.  He lost his last fight to Sean Sherk in a 5 round decision and is coming off a year suspension for steroids.

Edgar's last fight with Maynard raised a lot of questions about his size.  Edgar says he's trying to come into this fight heavier than in the past, but that's something we won't really be able to confirm until the weigh-ins.  On the other side, will a year's layoff have any effect on Franca?  He's also a guy who could probably make 145 without much trouble, though he'll probably come in bigger than Edgar.

Edgar has the crisper striking, and while he showed OK power in his fight with Mark Bocek, I believe Franca comes in with the power advantage.  Franca holds a significant reach advantage, but doesn't make much use of a jab.  His cardio has also never been great, but he should have enough to carry him in a 3 round fight. 

The biggest advantage for Franca is that he finishes fights, while at the same time being hard to finish.  He reminds me of Joe Stevenson in the sense that he's always looking to grab a submission from the bottom.

I would recommend a small play on Franca at +135, and maybe even as low as +130.  There are a couple of unknown variables in play (how much weight Edgar puts on and how it affects him and Franca's time off), so anything below +125 is risky business.

Brandon Vera (-450) vs. Reese Andy (+400)

Brandon Vera has a 8-2 (6 [T]KO/1 SUB) MMA record and is 4-2 in the UFC.  Vera has dropped his last two fights, a decision loss to Tim Sylvia and a controversial TKO stoppage to Fabricio Werdum.  This is his first fight at 205.

Reese Andy owns a 7-1 (1[T]KO/2 SUB) MMA record.  He is coming off a 4 fight winning streak in the IFL.  This is his UFC debut.

The only tape I could find on Andy is a fight against Trevor Garrett in Icon and a couple scattered IFL rounds (thank the clipped FSN shows!).  From what I've seen, Andy has a strong wrestling background with decent well-rounded skills.

There are a couple of questions about Vera coming into this fight.  His performance in his last two fights hasn't lived up to the expectations he built for himself early in his career.  There are concerns about the cut to 205 as well.  Not only is Vera making the cut for the first time, but he's doing it on short notice.  Will he be able to cut efficiently?  How will it affect his power and speed? 

This is another fight that looks like a no play given the many variables in play here. 

Anthony Johnson (-280) vs. Kevin Burns (+245)

Anthony Johnson holds a 5-1 (3 [T]KO) MMA record and is 2-1 in the UFC.  He defeated TUF 6 finalist Tommy Speer by KO in his last fight on April 2^nd.

Kevin Burns sports a 6-1 (2 [T]KO, 4 SUB) record.  He won his lone fight in the UFC, defeating BJJ black belt Roan Carneiro by triangle choke.

For starters, there isn't a lot of tape out on either guy outside of the UFC.  To add to the ambiguity, Johnson was listed as having a 78" reach in his last fight with Speer, but only a 74" reach in the fight with Rich Clementi.  I'll go with the more recent measurement, as it looks more accurate to my naked eye.

My initial impression of this fight is that there might be value on Burns.  Johnson struggled with a much smaller Rich Clementi, and ended up with a rear naked choke loss.  Burns not only defeated Carneiro with a triangle, but also did a good job of being able to keep Roan from passing his guard effectively. 

That being said, there's a lot to like about Johnson.  He's absolutely huge for the weight class both in height and build.  He either has a very good or outstanding reach depending on which measurement is more accurate.  He adds to that great athleticism, explosiveness, and KO power.

Given the unknowns here, I would recommend no play or a very small (half unit) flier on Burns. 

Rory Markham (-250) vs. Brodie Farber (+215)

Rory Markham owns a 12-4 (8 [T]KO/4 SUB) MMA record.  This will be his UFC debut.  A product of Militech Fight Systems, Markham is an IFL veteran who lost his last fight to Brett Cooper back on December 29^th.

Brodie Farber has a 13-3 (4 [T]KO, 7 SUB) MMA record.  This is his UFC debut.

First things first, I only found one video of Farber which was his loss to Brian Warren two years ago.  Farber looked OK in the loss, showing some solid standup and good knees from the Thai clinch.  He's coming in with a 6 fight win streak in the MMA Xtreme promotion.  However, it should be noted that the combined record of his opponents is 13-33 (which includes the 4-16 Stacy Hakes).

Markham is coming off a TKO loss to Brett Cooper and a 6-2 IFL record.  He possesses good KO power and solid boxing.  He has a competent all-round game, but there are concerns with his chin.

The unknown of Farber makes this a hard bet to quantify, but I think given Markham's well-roundedness and success against quality competition, there is value over a guy who's lone fight of consequence is a 1 minute submission loss to Sean Sherk.  A unit on Markham looks good here.