411 MMA Fact or Fiction 02.10.10: UFC vs. Strikeforce, Sonnen vs. Silva, Couture's Title Hopes & MORE!

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 02.10.2010

Does Randy Couture need one more win before getting a title shot? Was UFC 109 a better event than Strikeforce: Miami? Would Chael Sonnen be Anderson Silva's toughest UFC challenge? Should Frank Trigg call it quits? 411's Samer Kadi and Jonathan Solomon debate these topics and more in this week's edition of 411 MMA Fact or Fiction!

UFC 109 is in the books and Randy Couture proved once again that you're never too old to punch a guy in the face.

To debate the fallout from UFC 109 and more this week we have a man who always puts a stranglehold on the competition, the master of the Rear Naked Column, Samer Kadi. His opponent is a Juggernaut in MMA News and is always ranked #1 on my list. Please welcome Jonathan Solomon.

In the words of John McCarthy…LET'S GET IT ON!

1. Chael Sonnen would be the toughest opponent Anderson Silva has faced in UFC.

Samer Kadi: FICTION. Chael Sonnen poses the trickiest stylistic match up for Silva out of anyone in the middleweight division. It's long been thought that a tough wrestler with good top control is the kind of fighter to trouble Silva. But the toughest opponent Silva has faced in the UFC? Well, that comes in the shape of another tough wrestler, Dan Henderson. On top of his wrestling, Henderson has bigger punching power, a better chin and better submission defense than Sonnen. Like I said, Sonnen has the style to trouble Silva, but calling him his toughest opponent in the UFC is a bit of a stretch. Plus, we can't overlook the man Silva will face in two months, Vitor Belfort.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION No way Jose. Sonnen is on a roll, but to say he is Silva's toughest opponent? I can't say that with confidence. Sonnen has tremendous wrestling but is it better than Dan Henderson's skills? Like Samer mentioned, Sonnen does not have that striking prowess that would make opponents worry too much about his stand-up. For years we have heard that the biggest test for Silva would be a wrestler with submission skills. Is there anyone in the division besides guys like Jake Shields and Jacare Souza (despite not being a wrestler, is an amazing grappler). I will say Henderson and Belfort are/will be Silva's biggest tests.

SCORE: 1 for 1.



2. Frank Trigg should retire.

Samer Kadi: FACT. Trigg has gone on the record saying he doesn't want to fight in the minor leagues. He said he knows he can make money fighting in Strikeforce or Japan, but he's not interested in that, as it's either the UFC or nothing. Well, at this point in his career, Trigg doesn't have what it takes to compete in the UFC. He's coming off two back to back first round knockout losses, the second of which to a guy who's hardly a top contender in the division. Trigg's biggest strenght remains his wrestling, yet he's in a division full of better wrestlers. His striking is mediocre at best, and he's in the division with the likes of Alves, Hardy and Daley. I actually liked Trigg better at Middleweight. Either way, if Trigg is indeed serious about not fighting in the "minor leagues", then it's time to retire.

Jonathan Solomon: FACT Trigg is clearly at a crossroads where he has lost his last two fights by knockout. Obviously he is nowhere near the middle of the weight class, let alone a potential title shot. What is there left for him to achieve (realistically) besides collect a pay check. I don't know but I'm assuming he doesn't need to do months worth of training camps to earn a good pay check.

SCORE: 2 for 2.

3. WEC on PPV will do at least 60,000 buys.

Samer Kadi: FACT. Zuffa's marketing of the WEC has been surprisingly below par for the past two years. With that said, this is the WEC's biggest show to date, and it's on PPV. They have no other choice but to hype this one like there's no tomorrow. The WEC's biggest star, Urijah Faber is on the card and he usually puts asses in seats, or so the numbers suggest. How well he does on PPV remains to be seen, but I have little doubt Zuffa will go all out with this one, even more than they did with Faber's fight with Pulver and the Brown rematch. I recall Dave Meltzer reporting that the first Affliction PPV did between 50 000 and 85 000 buys. The WEC is a more recognizable brand name and with the UFC hype machine behind it, the buys should be around that same area. Although I do believe Zuffa is making a mistake by charging 44.95$ for the event.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION I am taking the pessimistic view on this one. WEC has absolutely no PPV presence. Strikeforce and CBS may end up booking the same date for their next show. WEC 48 is in the middle of two big UFC PPVs, a Mayweather PPV and a WWE PPV. That is a lot of competition for the dollars of people who purchase shows and those people are bound to make decisions with so many choices. Why will people choose to pay $44.95 for a show they have been accustomed to watch for free? I think WEC will do closer to 50,000 buys and anything above that is golden. I can't wait to see how the UFC helps out in the marketing and whether Spike TV allows them to do it on their network. This is their big chance to make money (the fighters) and we shall see whether Urijah Faber can carry a show.

SCORE: 2 for 3.

Video Intermission



4. Besides Chael Sonnen, Phil Davis turned in the most impressive performance of the night.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION There is no doubt that Davis had a tremendous showing in his UFC debut and will now have a lot of eyes on him in his next fight. However, I would say the second most impressive performance at UFC 109 was Paulo Thiago's D'arce choke submission victory. In his third fight against an American Kickboxing Academy member, he used both his striking and ground skills to take care of business. Since joining the UFC, we have not seen much of Thiago's jiu-jitsu skills but that changed over the weekend. Now Thiago can say he has decisively defeated two of the top welterweights in the company. Big things may be in Thiago's future.

Samer Kadi: FICTION. Jon is spot on. Davis asserted himself as a very promising prospect in the UFC. However, Chael Sonnen aside, Paulo Thiago turned in the most impressive performance at UFC 109. Stopping Mike Swick is not an easy task, and he did so beautifully, showing his full arsenal of skills in the process. He countered with an overhand right-left hook combo that dropped Swick to the ground, and immediately sunk in a textbook D'arce choke. I was even more impressed with how quickly (no pun intended) Swick went to sleep. In the space of a year, Thiago has established himself as one of the top welterweights in the world, and he holds two quality stoppages over some serious competition.

SCORE: 3 for 4.

5. UFC 109 was a better event than Strikeforce: Miami

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION UFC 109 was not a bad show but I found the Strikeforce event to be more entertaining. UFC 109 was all about Sonnen's dominance of Marquardt and Couture's destruction of Coleman. At Strikeforce, we saw Nick Diaz's dominating performance, Cyborg's dominating performance and one of the greatest come from behind victories courtesy of Robbie Lawler. That doesn't even include the debuts of Herscel Walker and Bobby Lashley. Certainly UFC 109 had more high quality fighters but Strikeforce's crew did well.

Samer Kadi: FICTION. I thought it was about even, with a slight edge to the Strikefoce show. Granted, as John said, the UFC show had more fighters with name value on the card, but the action was a little better on the Strikeforce show. Lawler's come from behind victory over Manhoef is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon while Cyborg and Diaz put on vintage performances. Even Herschel Walker's fight was a pleasant surprise.

SCORE: 4 for 5.



6. Randy Couture needs to win one more fight before challenging for the title.

Jonathan Solomon: FICTION I know Dana White said the winner of the Couture/Coleman fight would be in the mix in the light heavyweight division. Looking at that though, Couture still has to wait his turn. I assume the Rampage/Rashad winner will get the first crack at the Machida/Shogun winner. So you can expect that fight to happen late in 2010. Couture usually fights no more than twice in a single year so it is possible if he wins his next fight, he will be next in line to get the shot. Business wise, he certainly should get the title shot after one more win. However, looking at it without business in mind, he should need two wins at least. Right now he has wins over Brandon Vera and Mark Coleman, which is not exactly the strongest list of title contenders. I would love to see Couture fight someone like Rich Franklin or Rogerio Nogueira (if he defeats Forrest Griffin) before saying he should get that title shot with one more win.

Samer Kadi: FACT. By the looks of it, he won't be getting an immediate title shot which I must admit, is a big relief. I'm Randy Couture's biggest fan but in such a stacked division, he has yet to do enough to earn a title shot. And beating Brandon Vera (in controversial fashion) and Mark Coleman doesn't prove much. Like Jon said, you have to assume the winner of the Rashad-Rampage fight is next in line, especially if it's Jackson. While Jon brings up a good point that Couture doesn't fight often, that seems no longer the case as he's more active than ever and he wants to take as many fights as possible before father time finally catches up. Therefore, I expect Couture to be back by late July-early August. I think Couture should take on the winner of the Nogueira-Griffin fight, which I believe will be Nogueira with the winner getting the next shot at the title. The UFC knows Couture in a title fight is big business, and they won't risk having him fight two more times especially against the top guys in the division who may very well beat him.

SCORE: 4 for 6.

Samer and Jonathan agree more often than making this a lot more competitive than Couture vs. Coleman.

Come back next week as two more 411 writers preview UFC 110 and debate the latest in the world of MMA in 411 MMA Fact or Fiction.

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