People get fired from their jobs for many different reasons each year. If I was to tell you that a fighter could lose to Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin in consecutive fights, and get cut because of it, you would think I was lying. In what I feel is a surprising turn of events for this TUF 4 winner, he is cut from the UFC. Travis Lutter no longer can call the octagon his home.

In a recent blog post, Lutter confirmed the news.

Lutter’s record does not really tell his story. He is 1-2 since the UTF 4 finale and his only recent win came against Patrick Cote in that fight at the finale. Since then he has fought 2 of the best fighters at 185 in the world. In both of these fights he at one point seemed to have the upper hand.

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It has been suggested that Anderson Silva should fight Roy Jones Jr., perhaps the greatest 185 pound boxer in the world. It’s not surprising that people have started to think this, after Silva destroyed a man that many considered the #2 ranked middleweight in the world, but the thought of reverting to Roy Jones Jr. seems bizarre, and the reasoning is relatively simple.Even in the longstanding debate between who is the better striker, the conditions of Silva’s match with Jones would be subject to negative scrutiny, however they turned out. Here’s what I mean:

If Silva and Jones met in a boxing match and Jones wins (which I imagine he probably would) then it won’t prove anything. It won’t show MMA fans that boxers are superior strikers because they are used to using heavier gloves. All it will show is that Jones is, as I suspect, a better boxer than the undisputed UFC middleweight champion.

If Silva and Jones meet in the Octagon and Silva destroys Jones, whether using his kicks, his thai clinch or his submission skills (all of which are possible, but the first two I find most probably, given that Silva feels they will look the best against Jones), all he will have proved is that it isn’t possible for Jones to adapt to the MMA system in whatever short period of time he is give. It won’t prove anything about the quality of Anderson’s skills and the authority of his dominance.

Let me simplify it even more:

If Silva fights Jones in MMA, all he’s going to prove is that Jones isn’t a very good MMA fighter. (or at least not any better than the other guys that he has systematically demolished)

If Silva fights Jones in boxing, all he’s going to prove is that his striking doesn’t translate well, or (on the slight off-chance that he should win) he’ll prove that he is (as we already know) a phenomenal striker.

That said, I don’t even think that Jones is a deserving opponent for Silva, given his current situation. Jones is 3-2 in his last 5 fights, and I, personally, don’t find that stat to be particularly impressive. If Jones were on the kind of roll that Mayweather is on, it might be more understandable (that said, if he also had Mayweather’s mouth, my reaction would be as it has always been to Mayweather, and that is to politely suggest that he shut his cakehole).

I think that it goes without saying, given how I feel about boxers coming into MMA (they shouldn’t), that I don’t think we should be talking about this, and that we should be looking at the prospect of a match between Silva and a legitimate top middleweight, pushing the UFC into signing Matt Lindland or Kazuo Misaki or Dennis Kang or Yoshihiro Akiyama (or a dozen other guys who are much more qualified fighters than the boxer Roy Jones), or, as has been suggested many times, that Zuffa work to convince WEC champ Paulo Filho that his best chance for a great fight (both to prove his own mettle and to entertain the fans) is in the prospect of a fight with Silva), despite the uncertainty of both men about fighting a fellow Brazilian.

My point is simple: we, as MMA fans, have been led on for over a year now (arguably longer than that, but other instances have been more sparatic, so I’ll just stay on the safe side) and I’m wondering why professional writers are still talking about it. I don’t want to sound superior, because here I am, talking about it (even if it’s as a suggestion not to), but it’s like my dad always used to tell me:

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me for being suck a damn fool.

Anderson Silva has destroyed all competition in the cage who has challenged him. He is the best fighter in his weight and wants more. Silva’s manager has gone on record via MMAMania.com stating that Silva wants to fight Roy Jones Jr with boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are just as technical as boxers. Silva and Jones are considered to be two of the pound for pound best fighters in the world and both have dominated in their respective sport.

As a boxer, Roy Jones Jr. was named fighter of the decade for the 90’s by the Boxing Writers Association of America. His name echoes around the world of boxing as one of the best ever and his accolades tell the story themselves. The Pensacola native has been the IBF middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavy weight champion. He fought one fight at heavyweight and it was for the WBA title (he won). Not impressed yet? He also held the WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO, NBA, WBF, and IBA light heavyweight belt all at the same time! This silver medalist and 8 time world champion was no doubt the top light heavyweight boxer in the world. This past January in his last fight, Jones defeated Felix Trinidad at the famous Madison Square Garden by unanimous decision.

In the MMA realm, Anderson Silva has many things in his favor. If he was allowed to fight in other organizations he could/would have multiple titles. He beat Dan Henderson who was the Pride Middleweight Champ. Silva in my opinion would beat 99% of the other fighters at his weight right now and I say 99% because of the upset factor. Face it, it happens. Silva is on a roll in the cage. He is dominating opponents in the octagon, and isn’t having any problems doing it. He is very marketable and is considered a great champion. Dana White has said that he is the best fighter in the world.

This could be an advertisers dream! Imagine the UFC promoting a boxing match in the cage to determine the true pound for pound best fighter in the world. It is something that Don King and Dana White probably think about on a daily basis. This sounds great, but it will never happen. Unless Roy or another boxer decides to take a major pay cut and put the pride of boxing on his shoulders then it won’t ever happen. In Roy’s fight against Trinidad they had over half a million pay-per-views buys. For the boxing community this was proof that they are still here, and aren’t going to just fade away in the sunset. The highest paid boxer makes at least twice what the highest paid MMA fighter makes. Why would Mayweather or Jones fight for a quarter of the money they usually make? The answer is simple… They won’t. Unless Dana decides to make something like this happen, it won’t happen. Keep in mind, this is the same guy that wouldn’t sign Fedor and allow him to fight Russian Sambo.

This goes back to the argument of MMA vs. Boxing. Let’s try something else, let’s compare golf and putt-putt (that is just an example, not saying either is like putt-putt). You can’t compare the two. They are somewhat comparable sports. You use a golf club and a ball, but there is a night and day difference between the two. The same is with boxing and MMA. Reminds me of the saying, “they are exactly the same… but different”. You can’t even compare the two, but thousands of people try to do it daily on the forums.

Anderson Silva and Roy Jones would make a lot of money. It would be a big draw for MMA fans and Boxing fans alike. They would enjoy seeing the chance for a real MMA fighter to finally put up or shut up, and face a true boxer. It is no secret that the sporting event would more than likely decide the overall outcome of the fight. If the two fought by boxing rules, Jones would pick Silva apart. Jones’ hands are far better than Silva’s no matter what the average MMA fan thinks. If they were fighting by MMA rules, Silva would simply take Jones down, and submit him on the ground. It is that simple. As much as I would love to this battle of true athletes, I don’t feel this will ever happen. It could be good or bad for either sport. It is not a true measurement of which sport if superior, and would do nothing but add fuel to a never ending feud.

MMAWeekly has a story on an apparently bored Anderson Silva talking about boxing Roy Jones Jr. Well, Anderson himself didn’t speak. His manager Ed Soares made the actual statement to MMAWeekly.

Adam Morgan over at Fiveouncesofpain.com picked up the story and asked how Dana would react to such a statement from one of his champion’s camps.

I think Dana would like that grandstand challenge just fine. He knows it won’t happen, but he’s a promoter, and this is a good talking point for a promoter. It brings him attention and allows him to hype the UFC in a few mainstream press clippings or ESPN website blurbs.

What would be interesting is if the over-the-hill Jones Jr. was savvy enough to agree (and he should be), a great promotional endeavor would be a one-and-one series. White should suggest a boxing match followed by an MMA bout, or more than likely if it’s White talking, he’d (smartly) want the MMA fight first and foremost.

If Dana White really wanted to reach “across the aisle” and bridge the (media manufactured) gap he’d get in bed with Jones Jr’s promotional team specifically. Roy Jones Jr. is an entertainer who knows how to play a heel. At the end of the scenario Jones knows how to play the game and be like Tito Ortiz. Jones will carry the talk, say the words that sell the fight to both sides of the argument, and captivate the media. When the fight is over, Jones will be the one to walk over, hug Silva, and put him and MMA over as being for real. Boxing and MMA side-by-side. No need for competition for anything but PPV dollars.

Of course, that’s where the fantasy ends. It’s great to put these hype quotes and blog writer narratives out there to keep people talking and interested. The problem is at the beginning of the pretend narrative I laid out. Dana White and Jones Jr.’s people would never leave the table shaking hands. Remember how Mark Cuban and Mayweather were talking (JUST talking) about doing some MMA business together? Where was the expected payoff money for Mayweather coming from? Even with the intrigue, the pie isn’t big enough for Mayweather’s $20 million price tag. Let’s pretend for a minute Dana really could realize his dream and become Vince McMahon. Would he really cut in Mayweather for that chunk of change when PPV carriers are getting half of the overall take? That live gate would have to be $40 million for him to even consider the idea.

Dana White is controversial for saying a lot of crazy things, but If he did a lot of crazy things the UFC wouldn’t have the market share it owns in MMA.

Anderson Silva is considered by most to be the pound for pound best MMA fighter in the game. Last weekend he added a victory over Dan Henderson, the Olympic wrestler out of Team Quest, to his resume. The fight of the night included a first round that I gave to Henderson, but ended with Dan having a spider on his back. Silva tapped out Henderson via rear-naked choke in the second round and by doing so, Silva is now in rare company. Not only is he undefeated in the UFC and hasn’t gone into the third round since joining the MMA juggernaut, he is quickly beating the best competition in that weight class too. He has beat Rich Franklin twice, Nathan Marquardt, Chris Leben, and Dan Henderson amongst others. He is showing why he is the best pound for pound fighter in MMA.

If you look around the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, there is only a hand full of fighters that you could compare The Spider’s run to. A few of these are Matt Hughes, Fedor Emelianenko, and Chuck Liddell. Looking at the records of these fighters I found an uncanny similarity between Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell. This is not bad company to keep, but could it be an eye opener for Silva in the future?

During Chuck Liddell’s run as the champion ,he won an impressive seven wins in a row. He was in the top spot and every fight was against the second best guy the UFC could throw at him at that time. He achieved wins over fighters like Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Renalto Sobral, and Jeremy Horn. He was at the top of the UFC, but most of all he was Dana White’s boy. He was the untouchable of the UFC and everything he touched was turning to gold. He was in magazines, websites, and on television. Chuck also was being interviewed on the sports world wide leader ESPN. It almost seemed like Chuck may never lose again, but the luck ran out and Chuck encountered one major road block to continuing his streak; Quinton Rampage Jackson. Rampage seemingly beat Chuck at his own game. Rampage knocked Chuck out quickly in the first round and has been the champion ever since.

I bring up the history about Chuck because Anderson Silva is starting to head down the same path. He is Dana White’s new boy thanks to Dana going on the record saying that Anderson Silva is the best pound for pound Mixed Martial Artist in the world. I can’t say that I completely disagree, but he is starting to believe it like it could be considered fact. To date, Anderson is on an amazing 7 win streak. He is on fire and similar to Chuck, he seems like he can’t do any wrong. I am not saying that he is going to lose his next fight, but I am saying that he is due. Lately the sport has been one of upsets (see Matt Sera vs. GSP I). The sport has suddenly been revolutionized with new athletic all around fighters that can achieve victory in every aspect of a fight. Each time Silva steps into a fight it will be against top competition.

In the mean tine, Anderson Silva will continue to be pushed as one of the faces of the sport, and the UFC organization. Pictures of him and teammate “Big Nog” will continue to surface around the internet as the two Brazilians continue to seek dominance in the UFC. Anderson Silva is a great champion as a BJJ black belt, and is the most feared striker in the sport. He is a homerun hitter in a league of contact punchers. At this point there are not many that can challenge him. He has beat black belts, Olympic wrestlers, and others on his way to his hot streak and the only hope for that weight class is that he gets bored, and decides that he wants to bump up. I would love to see Anderson Silva avenge his loss over Yushin Okami, then bump up to 205 and battle with the big guys. If he is the striker he is known for, I want to see him stand with the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Chuck and Rampage. After UFC 82, Silva said that he would like to fight the 185 boxing champ, with boxing rules. This will throw even more fuel to the MMA vs. boxing rivalry. Currently the boxing champions in the 190 pound class are Firat Arslan (28-3-1), David Haye (20-1), and Steve Cunningham (21-1). If Anderson Silva was able to beat one of these world class boxers, it would be an amazing boost for the sport. Combine that with a huge sponsor in Bud Light, and you have the makings of an amazing popularity boost for one of the most amazing sports in the world.

1. Anderson Silva’s two top dream contenders are out. Lindland has signed with a promotion to face nobody because UFC has no interest. He is a top contender they could do SOMETHING with, even if he isn’t a draw. The second is Paulo Filho, who will stay in WEC. He and Silva simply refuse to fight, as they train together and are countrymen. I don’t get this as I’d fight anyone for the right price even if I lived in the same house as them. If you’re a fighter, you fight, right? Guess not.

2. To me UFC should market GSP and Silva as unstoppable and try to get anyone and everyone like the Lindlands in to face him, get knocked out, and try to get rid of them (the Arloski booking pre-CBS deal). If that CBS deal takes off Frank Shamrock will use it to try to spotlight his last name and his mic skills. UFC should lay out a grandstand challenge to combat this.

3. Staunch MMA purist writers (like Josh Gross and TJ Desantis) are missing the boat by failing to gain perspective through constant trial and error by MMA promoting they themselves report on. This block of thinkers/fans/MMA ideologists will never REALLY be true MMA opinion setters because they’ll only appeal to those who want to feel like the intellectual snobs of the MMA fanbase. It’s not that they are dumb, they just don’t WANT to see it as business or promotion. They don’t care to believe people want to see Lesnar and Kimbo. They can’t understand why people wouldn’t care about pretend rankings from a website. They are so called “purists”, and sport and entertainment don’t traditionally mix well in their minds.

I’ve heard them talk about Frank Shamrock. They talked about his legacy and what it is and what it could be. They talk about Frank making crazy claims about being the greatest of all time now and forever. These writers and radio hosts take claims like Shamrocks’ not only at face value, but they take the idea he would say it very seriously. They talk about a fight with Anderson Silva and what it could mean to both.

The truth is that fight will not ever happen because Shamrock isn’t a mark. A mark is generally used as a derogatory term in Pro Wrestling, but it applies to MMA as well. A mark in MMA gets wrapped up in legacy, purist fantasies, and rankings. He takes less money to travel the globe and become some pretend website pound-for-pound unified champ to bask in the glory of blog writer opinions and photographer admirations.

Shamrock, on the other hand, knows he’s got a finite few years to make the most money possible putting together the most marketable fights and promoting them with his mouth. It’s irrelevant if it is the best match nup or settles anything concrete in terms of title or rank. It’s about selling compelling fighters and an intriguing match up to the most people whether they see MMA as a sport, Ultimate Fighting, or a human cock fight. He wants the most money for the least work, though he’ll work quite hard to do it. I applaud him. takes the millions and walk away with your health.

Josh Gross’ idea (I’ll unfairly single him out) of a legacy or his website’s pretend rankings only mean something to less than 100 thousand fickle people with no perspective. Those people aren’t purists. They’re fantasy puppet masters. Frank Shamrock is a businessman.

For some, there were some big shocks on the UFC 82 card, but the fact is, most of it was understandable.

We saw Anderson Silva submit Dan Henderson to solidify his position at the top of the 185 pound ranks in most minds.

We saw Diego Sanchez return to form and destroy his Swedish opponent, who I clearly overestimated.

We saw Koscheck destroy Dustin Hazelett, who everyone else seemed to have drastically overestimated.

We saw Chris Wilson take Jon Fitch the distance, but drop the fight in the end, as was expected.

We saw Andrei Arlovski pound Jake O’Brien into a bloody pulp, and many of us pointed and laughed.

We saw Heath Herring outgrapple Cheick Kongo, who seems to be showing improvement on the ground, but doesn’t seem to understand that his ground game still sucks.

We saw Yushin Okami kick the crap out of Evan Tanner, which I might not have predicted, but I’ll admit that when I saw the size difference as they squared off I considered as a possibility.

The real question is what does this mean for the future of the division.

Well, the middleweight division seems devoid of challengers. I mean, there’s the possibility of Cote or Kampmann, but I don’t think anyone expects them to beat Silva. That’s just a fact.

Silva may have to engage in a unification fight with Paulo Filho to find a real challenge, and it certainly would be, given that Filho looks like the #2 man in the division, with Henderson getting knocked off.

The possibility of Zuffa doing that unification fight seems more and more possible, as Filho’s division doesn’t seem particularly rife with talented opposition either, and it would certainly be an incredible draw.

Kongo’s loss simplifies the UFC heavyweight division, leaving us with only two serious contenders: Arlovski and Werdum. While people didn’t think that Kongo was a serious contender, I still maintain that he would have been.

I think that Kongo will fight Antoni Hardonk in his next fight, and that will be an awesome matchup. If Joe Silva doesn’t set this fight up, I’ll be seriously disappointed, as it would be an interesting striking war, the kind we really only get to see in K-1 nowadays.

Mir also seems to be looking like a legitimate contender, now that Kongo is gone, but it’s hard to really call him that when I tend to believe that he’d be destroyed by both Werdum and Arlovski. Still, I wouldn’t object to seeing Mir fight Sylvia again to try and prove that he’s really back in the division. That would make for a great rematch. The possibility of him fighting Kongo was really nullified by this fight with Herring, but I think that it’s still a possibility to see Mir fight Herring, should Herring continue to fight with the UFC.

Sanchez, Koscheck and Fitch caused perhaps the biggest shift in their division, because all three are really vying for the chance to fight Matt Hughes for a top-contender position. Personally, I think that they should give it to Fitch, given that he is still undefeated in the UFC, but they may give it to Koscheck because of his wrestling pedigree and his status as a reality show celebrity.

I’m fairly certain they won’t give it to Sanchez, because they want to see him recover a little bit first, but I haven’t dismissed the prospect of him fighting Hughes if Hughes should lose a fight to either Fitch or Koscheck. I’d like to see Diego fight Tommy Speer, but I think that such a possibility is unlikely, as the UFC wants to keep their country boy pretty.

As for Leben, I’d like to see him fight Drew McFedries, as they are both trying to get back on the contender trail. I’m also open to the idea of Leben fighting Evan Tanner, as I think that would be a cool stylistic matchup and help to get Tanner back on track if he should win.

Okami is in a very interesting position, as he’s not really deserving of a top tier position in my mind, but could hold up a solid post as a gatekeeper. I’d like to see him fight the loser of Patrick Cote vs. Martin Kampmann (which I hope would be a top contenders’ match) and see what happens from there. I’d also like to see him fight Joe Riggs, as it would be an interesting fight, but since that fight really doesn’t seriously advance Okami, I doubt Joe Silva will put it together.

The UFC is in for an interesting year, and seems to be putting together an interesting group of contenders in their lower weight classes, while working hard to reestablish the big men. UFC 82 was a good step towards that, especially for the 170 pounders and Anderson Silva. The future for all looks bright.

Next up, UFN: Lauzon vs. Florian.

If they like watching people get punched in the face.

Raghu Nath recently gave a pretty good look at the hype package and inserted some of his picks. I’m not going to really look at the hype behind the fights, because the UFC will do plenty of that themselves. Instead, here’s what I think’s going down, from the bottom of the card to the top.

John Halverson vs. Jorge Gurgel

This is, in my mind, a classic Jiu-Jitsu vs. Striker matchup, but since Gurgel has shown an incredible inability to finish throughout his career, I’m going to do something I don’t usually do, and pick the BJJ blackbelt to lose. While part of this is just to mix this up, I really think that if Halverson comes out swinging, as he’s expected to, he could land a short that puts Gurgel out. Otherwise, he’ll probably drop a decision.

My Pick: Halverson via TKO, Round 1

David Bielkheden vs. Diego Sanchez

There’s very little knowledge about Bielkheden, but what little I do know has endeared him to me alot. That, and the fact that Sanchez has dropped two straight without really showing serious signs of recovery from the initial loss to Josh Koscheck via decision. While both of his losses were to pin-down fighters with great wrestling backgrounds, I think that Bielkheden is going to make this a fight off of his back. The Swede’s BJJ blackbelt and training with Brazilian Top Team make this fight interesting if it hits the floor. Still, I think that Sanchez’s standup will take this fight as it wears on.

My Pick: Sanchez by KO, Round 3

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck

As someone who’s trained with Kos, and knows what the AKA camp is capable of under the instruction of the Camarillo’s and their many talented 170 pound fighters, I think that Kos is not getting the credit he deserves. I won’t take anything away from Hazelett, as his submission game is very good, but Koscheck is a national champion wrestler, and that NCAA background plays a huge roll in his physical power and his ability to control opponents on the ground. Bar a Drew Fickett-esque come from behind victory, I don’t see Hazelett winning this match, and I see Kos controlling it on the ground

My Pick: Koscheck by Unanimous Decision (Bring Pillows)

Luigi Fiorovanti vs. Luke Cummo

I refuse to underestimate the power of Fiorovanti’s camp, as the ATT guys are complete warriors, and the coaching staff contains one of the best grapplers in the world, Jeff Monson. I don’t know how Cummo expects to deal with that, and though he’s got a great camp with the Serra Jiu-Jitsu guys and kickboxing genius Ray Luongo, I don’t see Cummo being able to pull this one out, as he has alot of trouble fighting off of the bottom.

My Pick: Fiorovanti by TKO, Round 2

Jake O’Brien vs. Andrei Arlovski

Andrei Arlovski is fighting a wrestler who barely beat a badly injured, Octagon shocked Heath Herring. Not to mention that Andrei has something to prove, since his unimpressive performance against Fabricio Werdum. If this fight stays on the feet, expect Andrei to do alot of punching and O’Brien to do alot of falling down. If it goes to the ground, do not forget that Andrei Arlovski has a submission game, he’s a serious Sambo fighter. Still, don’t hold your breath for Andrei to pull out a submission, I’m sure he’d much rather punch O’Brien in the mouth.

My Pick: Andrei Arlovski by KO, Round 1 (The Big Dog is back)

Chris Wilson vs. Jon Fitch

I won’t write off Chris Wilson. He might be a great fighter and certainly has a solid submission game, but the fact is, he wasn’t called into this fight because people expected him to win. Fitch is supposed to beat Wilson down and advance his rank in the 170 pound division, by posting his 8th straight win and finishing an opponent, ideally in impressive fashion. That is what I expect him to do, because, while Wilson can catch a submission off the bottom, I don’t expect he will on a wrestler like Fitch, who’s been proven to have serious heart when it comes to fighting through submissions.

My Pick: Jon Fitch by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 2 (Round 1 will be exciting, as like the fight with Roan Carniero, but the ending will be similar, too)

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner

Both of these men are underrated submission fighters. Tanner has one of the most wicked triangles in the sport and Okami almost finished Rich Franklin with a kimura when they fought. That said, it really comes down to a battle of size against experience. Okami is a huge dude, and Tanner has alot of experience in this sport, and against alot of incredible fighters, include his middleweight title win over David Terrell. Personally, I’ll be cheering for Tanner, and I think this will be a close, back and forth match.

My Pick: Tanner by Submission (Some sort of Triangle), Round 3 (expect Okami to get on top and do some damage in rounds 1 and 2)

Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben

Leben is a warrior, but I think that, to put it simply, he will fail against a much more experienced, much more skilled boxer. While Sakara has been proven to be a painfully one dimensional fighter in the past, I think the fact that he is coming down to 185 and will be very large compared to Leben will give him a serious edge in this fight and allow it to keep it on the feet and manipulate the pace of the fight, using his boxing whenever and however he likes to dispatch Leben. It make take a few rounds for the technical control to really sink in, but it will happen, and when it does there will be a big KO.

My Pick: Sakara by KO, Round 2

Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring

If Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva weren’t on this card, this would be a shoe-in for fight of the night. Herring may try to take this fight to the ground, but, personally, I’d love to see this fight stay on the feet and, given Herring’s not much of a wrestler, it probably will. He may test Kongo’s takedown defense a little, but I think that the Frenchman’s ability to control distance and manipulate the pace of this fight will give him the huge edge in the overall game, and his general kickboxing prowess will put it in the bag.

My Pick: Kongo by KO, Round 2

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson

I’ve given a much longer analysis of this fight, but I’ll abbreviate it by saying that I expect this fight to stay at range, as Anderson will lay back and try and avoid the clinch, not because he thinks Henderson is better at doing damage there, but because Henderson is certainly better at taking the fight to the ground from there. If Silva can stay at range and land powerful strikes and alot of combinations, we’ll see a solid test of Henderson’s chin, and while I don’t think that Silva will knock Hendo out, I think he’ll make a great argument for the judges to give the fight to him after five rounds.

My Pick: Silva by Unanimous Decision

Awards

Knock Out of the Night: Andrei Arlovski

Submission of the Night: Evan Tanner

Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva over Dan Henderson

In the followup to my previous article in the same series, here is my breakdown and predictions for the main card for the upcoming UFC 82: PRIDE of a Champion event.The fights covered in this edition are:Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara v/s Chris “The Crippler” Leben
Jon Fitch v/s Chris Wilson
Yushin “Thunder” Okami v/s Evan Tanner

Let’s get it on, then.

1. Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara v/s Chris “The Crippler” Leben

This is Alessio Sakara’s first fight at middleweight and judging by his last performance at Light Heavyweight, this one is going to be a barnburner! Sakara comes in with amazing boxing ability and a newly found confidence on the ground as well, thanks to his new camp - The American Top Team. Sakara, ever a dangerous knockout artist, seems to finally have worked at his achilles heel, the Takedown defence. What one wonders is whether Sakara will be able to translate his power and skill down in the middleweight division.

His acid test - The Crippler, Chris Leben. Although Leben is more known for his antics on the camera on the Ultimate fighter season 1, do not take this team quest and now hawaii based fighter lightly. Many people on the internet make the mistake of judging him by his TV appearance and have been proven wrong a few times. Ever an exciting fighter, Leben brings excellent ground skills and really good striking into this fight. What might be a bad idea for him would be to wait till he gets hit before he exhibits any fire in this match since one punch from Sakara will be all it takes to knock Leben out. Leben does have an advantage on the ground and I think that should be his strategy in this fight - take Sakara down and end the fight with punches from side mount.

An exciting standup battle is what I predict.

Prediction: Chris Leben by TKO round 2.

2. Jon Fitch v/s Chris Wilson

This is one of three match-ups that I am very excited to watch. Jon Fitch goes up against a very dangerous newcomer to the octagon in Chris Wilson.

Fitch, an exciting ground fighter, is well known in the division and is thought of by many as one of the rising stars in the division. Fitch has a phenomenal ground game and is pretty good at strikes also. I forsee Fitch trying to take the match to the mat and use his considerable wrestling skills to dominate Wilson on the ground to take the victory.

Wilson, on the otherhand, is a seasoned muay-thai veteran and has had an excellent record in stand-up matches. Wilson’s knees and strikes and especially his setups for the same are phenomenal and have ever gained the praise of many of the game’s best. His ground game is pretty good as well, training at Team Quest with the likes of Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland have really helped Wilson step up his skills on the ground and his submissions are really good as well. I personally am really excited to finally see Wilson in the UFC and can’t wait to see how he performs.

I think the match will end up on the ground for the latter half of the first round with Fitch dominating after taking a few blows while on the feet. The second round will have Fitch trying to get Wilson to the ground but Wilson will use his considerable reach to keep him at bay and the match ends by either submission or TKO on the ground for Chris Wilson. I know a lot of people are going to disagree with this one - glad to hear your thoughts.

Prediction: Chris Wilson - round 2 - Submission/ TKO

3. Yushin “Thunder” Okami v/s Evan Tanner

Evan Tanner returns!! This is basically what has been hyped a lot during the past few weeks and I have even read articles with Tanner claiming to know how to beat Anderson Silva. Two things here that don’t pertain to the match-up. It may be to generate interest, but I have never seen Tanner given so much media attention and secondly, never has Tanner ever made such statements before a fight either. Now that I have that off my chest…

Yushin “Thunder” Liger ..errr…I mean Okami is back after his decision loss to Rich Franklin and has been given the task of judging whether the 35 year old Tanner is still a force to reckon in the middleweight division or not. Okami is mainly a ground fighter with excellent takedowns and dominant wrestling capabilities. Deceptively strong, Okami possesses strength that will be a challenge for Tanner to fight against. The one big weakness that I see in Okami’s game that might cause him problems is that Okami is not very comfortable with strikes and someone with as dangerous a striking game as Tanner can be a daunting task for Okami. The one thing that Okami always goes to and I believe will this time as well is going to be the takedown and ground and pound strategy (if it works, don’t change it right?) and his strength and skill will definitely be difficult for Tanner to combat.

Tanner on the other hand has every eye on him and has a lot to prove. No one knows how good Tanner’s conditioning is - although I have never seen Tanner gas and he looked better than ever in promo material. Secondly, is the Evan Tanner who steps in to the octagon the same Tanner who stepped out a few years back? Third - Does Evan Tanner have the will and determination to take his game back to and beyond what it was when he lost to Rich Franklin?

This is the first time that Tanner has had a proper training and conditioning camp for a fight. Tanner’s strengths have always been his elite level striking and excellent submission game. Although his will is sometimes questioned, his heart has never been. He has excellent control during most of his defensive manouvers and can easily turn a defensive manouvre into an offensive tipping point. Look for a lot of crazy elbows from the back while maintaining guard and also look for some really crisp striking from Tanner.

Prediction: Evan Tanner by Submission/ Tapout - Round 3 (provided this is a fully prepared, ready Tanner who shows up).

P.S.: I really enjoyed the thoughtful counter-arguments and intelligent discussion that my first article generated and hope that all my future work including this one are the source of similar discussion. Thanks to all for participating in these discussions and all future ones.

It just doesn’t happen often enough; a fight where I am so uncertain about who is going to win that I am flip-flopping about my pick as I am starting to write. Honestly, I haven’t been this unsure about a pick since Fedor vs. CroCop. I’ve been wrong, but I haven’t been unsure.

The fact is, Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson make for a fight that we cannot, with any real certainty, call, and the odds are proof of that. The UFC and Pride Champions are locked even and I doubt that even Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson would have been considered this tight of a matchup if it had happened instead of the Henderson fight at the end of last year.

I’ve already talked about why it is that Dan Henderson and Anderson Silva are forces to be reckoned with in the middleweight division, why it is they are both dominant and devastating, and why it is that I so rarely bet against either of them when they are competing in this weight class.

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A Look at the UFC’s 185 Pound Champion

Leading up to the fight with Dan Henderson, I think it’s appropriate that we take a look at what makes the fighters great. I’ll definitely spend a little time talking about the numbers, but I’m going to try and focus on the technical aspect, give you some things to watch about the all-around game and the specifics of the way they fight.

I’ll definitely look at Henderson as we approach fight time, but I think that it’s only appropriate to start with the reigning champion of the UFC’s middleweight division, not just because of his status as champion, but also because of how he has been regarded by professional analysts (most notably the ones that the UFC has had do their “analysis.” (I put it in quotes, because it’s not really analysis as much as it’s hyping the fight)

Anderson Silva is not infallible. He is great, and certainly one of the most devastating fighters of his generation, and it wouldn’t be far fetched to say that he’s one of the greatest users of the traditional vale tudo combination: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai.

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Forget about the Ortiz vs. Rashad fight; it ended in a foreseeable draw. Herring vs. Nogueira? It only ended in the typical Herring fashion with a judges decision after three rounds of mostly standup fighting. The Florian fight ended with KenFlo victorious and threatening the rest of the 155 pound weight class while his ridiculously obnoxious corner danced and screamed behind him. The focus of the UFC 73 main card was on the two championship bouts with Middleweight Anderson Silva up against Pancrase champion Nathan Marquardt and Lightweight Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk fighting Hermes Franca.

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Well, UFC 72 was your mix of typical Ultimate Fighting Champtionship bouts.

It’s not that the UFC has been giving us terrible cards, it’s just that they have been throwing us the typical Pay Per Views with maybe two big-name matchups and maybe one bout where a belt could change hands. If Dana White wants to retain the claim that the UFC is the biggest name in MMA, we need more big-name fight talks and less UFC President vs. UFC Fighter trashing talking sessions. I’m more interested in hearing more about trash talking regarding Hermes Franca vs. Sean Sherk and Anderson Silva vs. Nathan Marquardt, not Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White.

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