Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson - Anderson Silva has easily been the most dominant and explosive of the UFC champions over the past 18 months. Silva has only seen an average of about 3 minutes of action in each of his UFC fights. Silva has shown superior, pinpoint striking and good takedown defense and ground work. Anderson should look to keep the fight standing and his his long reach to keep Henderson at a distance and pepper him with strikes and kicks.
Dan Henderson has what none of Silva’s five other UFC opponents have - top-level wrestling skills. Sure, Dan has lately been known for his striking and trademark right hand, but his true bread-and-butter is his ground game and wrestling prowess. Sure Anderson Silva has excellent jiu-jitsu skills but we haven’t seen him tested against someone who will be able to physically control him on the ground like Dan Henderson will. I think we see Henderson sharp and on his game back at his more natural weight of 170 185 lbs. and a changing of the guard in the middleweight division. Winner: Dan Henderson
Heath Herring vs Cheick Kongo - Heath Herring has been pretty disappointing since joining the UFC at the beginning of 2007. A loss to Jake O’Brien followed by a lackluster victory over Brad Imes soured the UFC fan-base on Herring’s potential. Against current heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira, Herring appeared close to finishing the fight in the first round but chose not to attack Nog after dropping him to the canvas. Even though he took a lot of criticism for not going for the finish against Nogueria, I think he was wise as Nog has been known to finish most of his opponents while on the brink of defeat.
Cheick Kongo won the biggest fight of his career at UFC 75 against Mirko Filipovic. Kongo’s game is full of holes however and I think Herring has a great chance of ending his little march through the UFC. In my mind, the UFC is hoping that Cheick Kongo wins this fight to have him next in line for a heavyweight title shot. Herring would be wise to take the same approach against Kongo that Carmelo Marrero did. Take him down and blanket him for three rounds; however, Herring has appeared averse to hitting the mat, preferring to stand and trade punches. If the fight stays standing, Kongo easily wins the fight. If Herring is smart, he takes Kongo down and lays on him for three rounds and we all sleep through a decision victory for Heath. Winner: Heath Herring
Alessio Sakara vs Chris Leben - I think this is a waste of a fight and definitely a waste of a valuable PPV slot. To be blunt, Alessio Sakara is not a very good fighter, and in my opinion neither is Chris Leben. My guess is that Leben was given this fight since he recently signed a new two-year contract extension. Leben has shown improved defensive skills in his last few fights but not much else. Both guys are going to stand and trade shots and whoever catches the other first will win. My guess is on Leben. Winner: Chris Leben
Yushin Okami vs Evan Tanner - I have been waiting and anticipating Evan Tanner’s return to the UFC perhaps more than anyone. Tanner’s journey from UFC middleweight champion to director of a failed MMA boarding school to captain of a sunken sailboat and back to the octagon has been a long, strange, tenuous journey; but the fact that Tanner truly is fighting again says alot for the man’s determination and willpower.
The only downside to Tanner’s return is opponent, Yushin Okami. While we have to applaud Tanner for not shying away from tough competition, we also have wonder if it is a wise decision. Whether or no you like his style, Okami is one of the toughest middleweights in any promotion. Okami’s raw strength and ground-and-pound skills will be to much for a rusty Evan Tanner to handle. If Tanner had been fighting all this time and was sharp on his feet and on the ground, perhaps this fight would be neck-and-neck. I just think Tanner is going to need one or two fights to get his feet back underneath him and won’t be able to rely on experience alone in this fight. Winner: Yushin Okami
Chris Wilson vs Jon Fitch - Chris Wilson makes his UFC debut after fighting in 10 different promotions over the past 3 years. If you weren’t able to watch Wilson in any of his three fights in the IFL you missed seeing a very scrappy fighter with the experience needed to defeat some of the best fighters in the division. Unfortunately for Wilson, his debut has to come against Jon Fitch who has won his last 14 fights and is definitely worthy of a welterweight title shot sometime in 2008. Fitch will take Wilson to the ground and find a way to win before the final bell sounds. Winner: Jon Fitch
Jake O’Brien vs Andrei Arlovski - Winner: Andrei Arlovski
Luigi Fioravanti vs Luke Cummo - Winner: Luke Cummo
Dustin Hazelett vs Josh Koscheck - Winner: Josh Koscheck
David Bielkheden vs Diego Sanchez - Winner: Diego Sanchez
John Halverson vs Jorge Gurgel - Winner: John Halverson
Unfortunately this will be the first UFC in a long time that I won’t be able to watch live. I’ll be out of town this weekend and probably won’t get to see the show until early next week.
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whoa Doc ether you have some kind of delay or your up real late because i was just on here like 15min. ago and this post wasnt here and its now exactly 4:00am, were you up with the baby or something?
by the way Dans fighting at 185lbs. not 170lbs. lol you’ve had some issues with weight classes lately eh? lol
there is a bunch of reasons why i think Hendo will lose to Anderson (besides the fact that Silva is my favorite fighter right now lol) first can Dan put Silva on his back and hold him there? yeah for sure he can, BUT hes gotta get inside and grab on to something and it dangerous to get to close to Anderson and drop your hand to pick up the single or double. clinching up and dirty boxing is an option but that could go ether way and we know what Silva can do when he gets up close and personal. now Dan taking Anderson down and holding him down is a very good way for him to win like Doc said, but the problem i see with that is how long will it stay on the ground? not only will Henderson be contending with Silva to stop him from getting up or throwing up subs but he will contending with the ref by having to stay active enough not to get stood up. i just really see the deck stacked against Henderson and that could be just my bias opinion but its the way i see it. a very small part of me wouldnt mind seeing Dan win this one just because i kinda feel bad for him if he loses, he is a very good fighter and earned himself two belts in PRIDE and he could drop them both in faux-unification title bouts back to back. i would have liked to seen Henderson have a couple fights between title fights so he could remind the N.American fan why hes great.
go arlovski!!!!!!!!
This is one of those events where most of the fights are one sided. My picks are exactly the same as Dr.J this time around. The only fights that could potentially go either way are Dan vs Silva and Herring vs Kongo.
Im with Hendo all the way, like ive said many times before, hes got the strongest hips in mma, and 185 is where i think he belongs. The thing is, i would give Silva the striking AND submission advantage in this fight! So what makes me think Hendo will win??
Hes a warrior man! hes got a chin thats as solid as they come, hes always conditioned to fight all night if need be and.. STRONGEST HIPS IN MMA!!! lol. From a distance, he will be able to eat those 1 or 2 shots from Silva on the way in no problem, one shot is not gonna hurt Dan. INFACT Dan has NEVER been knocked out even though hes faced MUCH stronger strikers like Gilbert Yvel or Wandy. In the clinch, the greco roman beats the thai knees, basically it will end up as a takedown with dan on top. From the top position, Dan has the skill and experience to avoid getting submitted while also keeping his position and working his GnP. Dan has had alot of experience against fighters like Silva in Pride, including Andersons own teammates, the point is, i dont think he will get submitted.
As for Silva, lets face it man, hes peaking, hes in the best shape of his life and hes already solidified his place as the UFC champ, almost considered unbeatable. Although he has A TON of experience against great strikers and BJJ players, hes never fought a Greco guy. The first greco guy hes facing, is one of the best in the world, Dan is basically a 185 Randy Couture.
I think Andersons Reign as UFC MW champ is over guys.
Herring vs Kongo
Like Doc said, Herring likes to scrap and hes not the kind of guy to lay on top of someone for 3 rounds. BUT i think were going to see a different Herring, he said himself hes been training smarter and he intends to fight smarter. If thats truly the case, then he WILL take it to the matt and we all know what Kongos like on the matt.
So im going with Herring, because i believe he will stick to the game plan and neutralize Kongos entire striking game simply by getting a takedown.
Tanner vs Okami
I think Doc pretty much laid that one out perfectly, Tanner comeback + Tough competitor = defeat. Its likely another case of Tanner looking for a quick paycheck and not a serious dedication to return to the UFC as a determined professional fighter. If Tanner wins i will be very impressed!
The other thing that bugs me is, Fitch, Kos and Diego all on the same card, all proven potential contenders at the division and theyre all fighting Nobodys…. Seriously, is there nobody left in the division for them to fight? Especially Fitch fighting a UFC newcomer? i dont care what he did in other promotions, that dude is getting fed to fitch and its not a fight ill be interested to see. Koscheck maybe could do with a tune up fight after his recent loss to GSP, but diegos fought some tough guys man, he should have had a real opponent and be on the main card. Instead, we get to see ANOTHER Leben fight on the main card, id much rather see Diego, Kos or Fitch up there instead.
Obrien vs Arlovski i think ive already covered since i heard of this matchup and it pretty much unanimous, everyone is hoping Dre KOs that one trick horse Obrien.
go pitbull
i also agree with doc on everything except the cummo fight,but isnt anyone else amazed that arlovski aint on the main card.Oh im going to see my first live mma event tommorrow i cant wait
well that sucked… i just wrote a long message and just before i hit the add button i accidentally unplugged my computer. the point i way trying to make is that im not convinced the Hendo can hang with Silva. being the MMA news at my workplace has forced me to explain why i think Anderson will win like 500 time this week lol. i dont really want to go over it again so i will leave it like this: mid way through round three Silva will catch Hendo swinging wildly and put him on his asss and swoop in for the finish, you might wanna write that down for later reference lol.
here is a question that doesnt get asked a lot if at all. who would you like to see ref the Silva vs. Henderson fight? my choice would be Yves Lavigne hes an awesome ref and hes Canadien lol. IMO a good ref is a guy who gets involved in the fight as little as possible and Yves is that guy.
morning *******….. PICKS
im always gonna called this dude hollywood.. takin danni boy on this one..
kongo
tanner
fitch
everyone know im pickin obrian…lol yea ***** right
cummo
koz
diego
halverson
I think Anderson takes this fight… Henderson could take it and I wont argue with anyone picking him …
ANYBODY think that Heith Herring looks and sounds a bit like Tommy “HIV” Morrison?
Guys, dont forget to get your picks in at the playground, even if you already did, sometimes they get reset. Happened to me last event, i only got like 3-4 of my picks registerd.
oh, now that i look again, my picks are EXACTLY the same, i have Jorge to win over Halverson.
lol ****, i meant to say ARENT exactly the same.. but almost..
Dan will take the fight to the ground and pound silva to oblivion. If dan is stupid enough to stand and trade with silva, he will get his *** kicked. I don’t care what’s his chin is, granite or tofu. Dan could wear helmet if he likes and he will get knocked out if he trade with silva. My prediction is u will see silva being very cautious using his legs or knees because of fear of being taken down. This will significantly limits his striking. That is the only confort dan could have if he realy is stupid enough to stand with silva. Silva BJJ is great but Dan is too experience to get caught (mind u that dan is susceptible to submision. He lost a couple of fights before due to submission). Bottom line is dan will take this if he’s smart. The pathway to his victory is very clear. It’s a fight for dan to lose, not silva to win.
you say Anderson is going to be cautious with the kicks and knees and i say Anderson is a crazy f*cker and i’ll bet he throws at least one flying knee tonight. you are right about the chin thing Anderson will turn Dans iron chin to tofu lol.
anyone notice that arlovski got the loudest croud in the weigh ins??
Yeah I was watching for that Patrick.. not disappointing at all… if he wins strongly tonight, I see the UFC rebroadcasting the fight if another ends early.. and it looks like Dana and Andrei are still cool on a one on one.. so I think they will get a contract penned within 2 weeks…. as long as Andrei performs like he did 2 years ago … :) … actually with Cro Cop gone, Couture gone, and Tim out of the title picture for a while, they could really use Andrei at this point.. who else they got to fight Nog? Mir, Lesnar, (not experienced enough), Heath, and Congo, so yeah, they could use some Pitbull in there..
for sure if arlovski does well tonight but if he doesnt then i still think he gets a deal kansas u made a great point who else they got KONGO who would get submitted with ease by big nog.
Wouldnt be the first time the UFC made a bad decision, like letting go Diaz. A string of losses, to REALLY tough guys and hes gone. Then he submits Gomi LOL
Great point BV…. my favorite part of your comment was “Then he submits Gomi LOL”…. EAT IT MAN EAT IT! HAHA… yep Diaz showed em, man I don’t know what goes through the heads of those yahoos at UFC headquarters man… people want to see exciting fights, doesn’t matter if a fighter has some losses, as long as they still have their ZING.. you know.. good point man..