Friday Night Throwdown 2.1.08: Critical Countdown: Sylvia-Nogueira

Posted by Chris Cosme on 02.01.2008

With all the hype surrounding Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut against Frank Mir, you wouldn’t even know that there’s also another heavyweight fight also on Saturday. A battle for the interim UFC heavyweight championship between Tim Sylvia and Antonio Noguiera. In the FNT, the Critical Countdown segment returns and previews the other heavyweight battle that takes place tomorrow night!



Now we all know about tomorrow night's Lesnar-Mir fight, but lost in all the hoopla is a fight for the interim UFC heavyweight title. History could also take place tomorrow night as well as Tim Sylvia goes against Antonio Noguiera. Both men have been on top of the mountain in their respective organizations at one time. Minotauro was the king of Pride during it's early days before a man named Fedor came in and dominated. Tim Sylvia is a two time UFC heavyweight champion who ran through Ricco Rodriguez and three wars with Andrei Arlovski to recognized as a credible champion.

This fight has some historical significance for both men. For Antonio Nogueira, he could become the first heavyweight to capture titles in both the UFC and Pride organizations. For Tim Sylvia, he could become the second man in UFC history to win the heavyweight title for a third time. He would join Randy Couture, the last man to defeat Sylvia; in accomplishing that feat. Rest assured, we could see a war that we haven't seen in the heavyweight division for a long time. Or we could see a snooze fest because of Tim Sylvia…now let's go to the matchup!

Striking

Minotauro is not known as a devastating striker at all. The man does have three T(KO)s on his resume, with TKO wins over Pawel Nastula (not a striker but judo expert) and Edson Inoue. He also as a KO victory over Sanae Kikuta at an UFO event in 2002. In his last fight, Minotauro showed that his striking has improved vastly over the years. He picked apart Heath Herring at UFC 73 before catching a kick dead on to his face. That almost ended the fight had Herring not allowed Minotauro to regain his composure. He got up and ended up schooling Herring on the ground and feet en route to a decision victory.

In this fight, Nogueira will have to close the distance against a big man like Sylvia in order to dictate where the fight goes. Of course to take the fight to the ground is what Nogueira would prefer in order to win the fight. Noguiera will have to jab at Sylvia and throw a looping hook just like Couture did to stifle Tim and get him to the ground. His striking in this fight is critical to set up shots and attempt to get Tim to the ground.

On the other hand, Sylvia has KO power in both hands and feet. Granted, his last couple of fights have gone to a decision. The man still can knock out anyone in the division. His height and reach advantage will be key going into this fight. He can keep Noguiera at bay while picking shots and attempting to land that one punch that ends the fight.

Tim had to be watching Nogueira's fight against Herring and watching how Nogueira never saw that kick coming. If Tim gets a head kick to Nogueira, you can sure bet he will finish. The man is tired of decisions and wants the fans' respect. And really the only way that he will is to finish Minotauro impressively. People forget that Sylvia does have 16 T(KO)s to his credit. KO wins over Ricco Rodriguez, Gan McGee, Cabbage Correira and Andrei Arlovski.

In the striking department, Sylvia in the end wins easily. If he keeps the fight standing he can frustrate Noguiera into attempting to slug with him. If goes that way, it's lights out for Minotauro.

ADVANTAGE:Tim Sylvia

Submissions

Tim Sylvia is purely a striker but has great takedown defense but when he does go to the ground, his long limbs allow him to neutralizes his opponents' chances for submission. But two of his three losses in his career have been by submission. His first submission loss is one all fans remember at UFC 48 against the man who is also fighting tomorrow in Frank Mir. In that fight Sylvia took Mir to the ground only to get caught in armbar…and it cost him his arm. His arm was snapped in two and the fight was stopped.

His second submission loss was in his first fight with Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51. Tim was rocked a straight cross and Andrei transitioned into an achilles ankle lock to win the then interim heavyweight title. It's simply obvious at this point that if you can take Tim to the ground and you're say…a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt like Minotauro, your chances of winning goes through the roof. To his credit, the last time Sylvia fought a BJJ was against Jeff Monson at UFC 65.

He dominated the fight by using his reach advantage and when Monson attempted a shot, he was stuffed by Sylvia's takedown defense. But Sylvia does have two submission victories to his credit. He choked out Gabe Beauperthy and Greg Wikan early in his career. One has to think that if Sylvia can get into a good spot on the ground he could attempt submissions against Noguiera. That's a pipe dream of course.

As for Minotauro, the man is the greatest heavyweight submission fighter ever. The man has submitted a who's who of MMA. This list goes like this: Gary Goodridge, Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Heath Herring, and Mirko Cro Cop. Need I say any more? The man is a submission machine, and in some of those fights he took a beating in the beginning only to comeback and win by submission.

The man can pull off a submission from anywhere on the ground and it shows in most of his victories. Bob Sapp threw Noguiera like a rag doll but once he decided to pound him out, Noguiera slipped through an armbar and ended the fight. At the same time, his wins by submissions starts out with his heart folks. He takes a beating and just waits for slightest hint of fatigue. From there, it's almost text book for Minotauro's opponents.

As stated earlier, Minotauro's striking will be key to attempt the takedowns. He has to throw with authority and make Tim work. If he can do that, he can take Sylvia to the ground and work his magic. The edge has go to Minotauro in a landslide.

ADVANTAGE:Antonio Nogueira

Championship Experience

Both men have been in championship fights in their respective organizations. Noguiera has fought the likes of Heath Herring, Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko for the PRIDE heavyweight championship. Tim Sylvia has fought in the last eight heavyweight title fights that have taken place in the UFC. Sylvia has fought Ricco Rodriguez, Jeff Monson, Gan McGee, Andrei Arlovski three times, Jeff Monson and Randy Couture.

Both men are no strangers to the big stage, so we won't see any octagon jitters from both men. Tim has the advantage of fighting the traditional US MMA rules of fighting five rounds and each round being five minutes. This will be Minotauro's first go around with the UFC heavyweight title fight rules. In PRIDE, every fight was twenty minutes in a 10-5-5 format. It's a significant advantage for Sylvia.

We don't know if Minotauro has the conditioning to last that extra five minutes in a five round fight. Fighting twenty-five minutes instead of twenty is a huge difference and it could show for Minotauro. If Minotauro gasses by the third round, Tim can win this fight easily. But do not underestimate the heart of Minotauro Nogueira.

ADVANTAGE:Tim Sylvia

Prediction

This fight is purely the striker versus grappler matchup for the heavyweight title. The key in this fight will be if the fight goes to the ground. Nogueira's improved striking can overwhelm Sylvia early in the fight in order to get that most important takedown early in the fight. Yet Sylvia's long range can neutralize Nogueira by throwing jabs and throwing with authority. In the ground department, Sylvia will have to stuff Nogueira's takedown attempts to get the fight standing. If he keeps the fight standing, Sylvia can clinch Nogueira to the cage and maul him against it.

Can Sylvia knock out Nogueira? Yes, but Nogueria's chin has been through the wars against Fedor and Cro Cop. If Tim can't put Nogueira away, you have to like Big Nog's chances. It will play mind games with Sylvia knowing that he can't finish Minotauro and the chances of winning increases. Tim wants to win with fashion and the pressure is more on him to do so.

Can Nogueira submit Sylvia? Hell yeah he can and he can do it with ease. If he takes him down, Nogueira will find a way to submit Big Tim. Tim's long limbs leave him open to get caught in armbar or even ankle lock. But if Noguiera can't get Tim to the ground and has to strike with Tim, I don't like his chances. Nogueira's striking will keep him in the fight but it's the ground is where the victory lies.

In the end, I like the submission game of Noguiera in the fourth round. Nogueira will wear Tim down on the feet to setup an out of nowhere takedown. And from there he will apply an armbar with two minutes to go in the fourth round. Nogueira will become the first man not named Fedor or Couture to win titles in both PRIDE and the UFC in the heavyweight division. He will further cement his legacy as one of the greatest heavyweights in the young history of MMA.

PREDICTION: Nogueira by 4th Round Submission (Arm Bar)

ThrowdowN CentraL

I'm am looking forward to doing the Critical Countdown segment for UFC 82's Main Event of Anderson Silva-Dan Henderson. A dream matchup that will decide who rules the middleweight division for not only the UFC but the world. And to think that UFC 83's Serra-GSP II? It's going to be fun times in the Throwdown.

Speaking of Dan Henderson, anyone catch what he said about Paulo Filho? In case you didn't, at MMAnews.com the question was asked to Henderson of what he thought about Filho:

"I don't think he has been very impressive in his last two performances since coming to the US but I think that's what not being able to use steroids will do to you."

"Are you saying that Filho may be a juicer?"

"Well that's my opinion anyway. He hasn't looked good since he left Pride."

"Was steroids abuse a problem in Pride?"

"People didn't get tested."

Harsh words for Henderson, anyone like me thinks he's going the BJ Penn route of getting a fight with Filho if he gets by Silva? To say that the man was on steroids and that Pride never tested for steroids is really hard to assume considering that Dan has really no proof that Filho was taking them. I say this on the Paulo Filho part of steroids. As for Pride, I can believe Dan on that one because Japan doesn't have a sanctioning body that provides drug testing regularly. Although Wanderlei Silva did say he has been tested up there for steroids, for Dan to say that they never tested for it shows another reason Pride died.

As for Paulo Filho, he will fight Chael Sonnen again for the WEC Middleweight title on a future WEC card. But he also plans on moving up to light heavyweight after the fight. It hurts the middleweight division because Filho is a top five fighter in the weight class. It also hurts Filho because he was a big middleweight but moving up to light heavyweight, he will be a small fighter in not only weight but height. Then again, he's fighting in the WEC not the UFC. Zuffa must be pissed off at this idea.

Not only that the UFC let another former Pride champion slip through their fingers in Takanori Gomi. He has been rumored to sign with World Victory Road. Damn it man, if Gomi signed with the UFC the matchups would be endless. Gomi-Penn II or Gomi-Sherk, the UFC and Gomi has screwed up again. Why am I not surprised.

Although I like Noguiera to win Saturday, if Tim wins the guy deserves some respect. I like the guy but I hate the way he fights. If he wins, to become a three time UFC champion says a lot as well. Say what you want, but Tim is a winner man. He may win uglier than a fat girl on prom night, but the man wins. And if wins again, it's about time fans show some respect.

UFC 81 Picks

Mir over Lesnar: All this hype about Lesnar, I can see Mir pulling off the upset. I actually have a gut feeling that Mir will knock Brock out. Mir may not like to get hit, but the same goes for Lesnar. I actually see Mir frustrating Lesnar on the feet and catches him with a knee to the face as Lesnar goes for the takedown.

Almeida over Yundt: With Alan Belcher out of the card, this will be a showcase for the returning Almeida after a long layoff. He will choke out Yundt in the first round and the middleweight division will have another exciting fighter to add to a division that needs help.

Marquardt over Horn: Marquardt returns to the UFC after a loss to current champion Anderson Silva and the UFC wants to build him back up to title contention. He's facing a veteran in Jeremy Horn in his comeback fight. Look for Nate to win by unanimous decision and quite easily.

Griffin over Tibau: Fight of the Night entertainer Tyson Griffin returns to the octagon following his win over Thiago Tavares last year against rising contender Gleison Tibau. Look for Griffin to ground and pound his way to a second round stoppage. The man needs a few more fights before he gets a title shot and this could be his showcase fight.

Super Bowl Prediction

Although I hate both teams (BIG EAGLES FAN!) I have to go with the Pats. I would like to say I was around when the Patriots went undefeated and won the Super Bowl. The G-Men will keep it close, but look for Brady to pick them apart in the second half and win the game easily 34-21.

That's all I got this week, please be sure to hit me up at [e-mail] for any feedback or questions. If you want to play Xbox Live with yours truly, the gamer tag is TheFury3221. Time to end this week's Throwdown with the Picture of the Week!