Cardio Freak MMA News Report 2.28.08: UFC 82 Preview

Posted by Jeremy Lambert on 02.28.2008

Cardio Freak returns with a breakdown of one of the biggest fights of the year. Does Anderson Silva have the hands to knockout Dan Henderson? Does Dan Henderson have anything working against him in this fight? Find all that out and more inside. Plus all the latest news in the world of MMA.



Welcome back to Cardio Freak friends and fans. I am your host ‘Back to the Avs' Jeremy Lambert.

Before I move into the fighting, I must type about the NHL Trade Deadline because I am the rare American that likes the sport known as hockey. Big props to my Colorado Avalanche for bringing it back like it's 2001. Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote are back, which means Patrick Roy should be coming out of retirement in the next 24 hours. Hopefully this puts the team back into the playoffs and we get another run at the cup. WAR AVS~!

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for some missing content this week as I've had a busy week here at the fine East Carolina University.

Top Story of the Week

UFC 82: Pride of a Champion

For the first time in a long time, we finally have The Best vs. The Best. #1 in the World on most sites vs. #2 in the World on most sites. The UFC Middleweight Champion vs. The PRIDE Middleweight Champion. Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson. It's finally here.

*Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson to Unify the UFC and PRIDE Middleweight Belts

History: Dan Henderson won the Pride Welterweight Title (Middleweight in UFC) in 2005 by defeating Murilo Bustamante. Anderson Silva won the UFC Welterweight Title by destroying Rich Franklin in 2006. They now battle. That's the history, I don't need to go any further.

Why Dan Henderson Will Win: On paper, this fight really seems to be in Dan Henderson's favor. He's a great wrestler going up against a guy who lacks takedown defense and a guy who is willing to take himself off his feet by throwing flying knees. He's never been knocked out and he's facing a guy who normally wins by knockout. He's normally in great shape fighting a guy whose cardio has been questioned. This fight really seems to be up Henderson's alley. The thing I love about Dan Henderson is that despite being a very good wrestler, he's still willing to stand and bang with his opponent. Henderson has great power in his right hand although he may rely on it a little too much when on the feet. The good thing is that Silva is open to the right hand thanks to his stance. If Henderson can connect with one of those rights, it could be lights out. Henderson recently went on record to say that he wanted to be in the clinch with Silva and a lot of people questioned this after seeing how Rich Franklin faired in the clinch with Silva. The difference is that Henderson is stronger than Franklin and Henderson won't be in the thai clinch, he'll likely be in over under clinch. Coming from the Greco Roman background and Team Quest, Henderson loves to clinch and throw shoulder shrugs and dirty box a little. With Henderson, Silva may want to avoid the clinch and just stay on the outside and exchange. Henderson has a distinct advantage in this fight because he can dictate where the fight takes place. If he wants to stand, he'll stand. If he wants to take it to the ground, Silva will put up a fight, but he'll take it to the ground. Silva has good jui-jitsu and trains under current UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Nogueira but Henderson is a big guy who I think can use his strength to pass the guard of Silva or pound him from the guard. Again, this fight looks perfect for Henderson, almost too perfect.

Why Anderson Silva Will Win: To me, Anderson Silva is the best P4P fighter in the world right now. He's destroyed everyone in his path during his UFC run and has spent less time in the Octagon in 5 fights than Dan Henderson has spent in 1. He's arguably the best striker in the world and easily the most diverse. Silva puts together very good combinations with his strikes, mixing it up with kicks and knees. If Henderson decides to stand with Silva for too long, Anderson could easily knock him down and out. The big thing with Silva is that he's a rhythm fighter. Once he finds his groove, he's tough to stop. He's also not afraid to throw flying knees or spinning back kicks, which tells me that he's confident in his ability to either connects or that he's confident that he'll get right back up and start trading again. He doesn't have one punch power like Henderson has in his right hand but he connects with one punch that dazes his opponent and follows up quickly with three more that knock you down. The ground is where Silva's weakness lies. He's training with Big Nog and I don't think his ground game is as bad as some people may think but he was getting pounded out by Travis Lutter until he decided to go for a sloppy arm bar. Silva has a very active guard that is tough to pass though. I don't think he'll be able to submit Henderson off of his back but I do think that he'll be able to neutralize him. The problem for Silva is that his main strength is almost countered by the fact that Henderson has never been knocked out but I do think there is a chink in Henderson's chin, as proven by Quinton Jackson late in their September fight.

How It Will Happen: I think both guys will be relaxed during the fight and they're both going to be willing to trade in the opening round. I see Silva winning the opening round by connecting with more strikes but I don't think Henderson will suffer too much damage. In the second round, Henderson will start to go for the takedowns and when he does, Silva will catch him either with a knee or a kick and put him away. I could be totally wrong about this and Henderson could easily pound out a decision but you readers expect expert analysis and that' what I deliver. YEAH~!

*The Rest of The Card

I didn't feel justified in breaking down Herring vs. Kongo and leaving out analysis of so many other awesome fights with big names. So instead, I'm quickly going to rundown the rest of the card.

*Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring: Kongo is an awesome striker with little ground game and Herring is good at a lot, great at nothing. Herring likes to stand and trade and make fights exciting so that may get him in trouble in this fight. On the feet, I think Kongo has a decisive advantage. He throws crisp strikes with good power. Herring is a solid wrestler and if he wants to take this fight to the ground, I don't think Kongo will put up much resistance. I like Herring by decision in this fight.

*Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben: This should be a good battle on the feet until someone falls. In his last fight, Leben showed more technical punching than he did in his previous encounters, which is bad news for Sakara. I still question the heart of Sakara and I think if Leben hits him hard enough, Sakara will call it quits. If the fight hits the ground, Leben holds the advantage as he has an underrated ground game. I think Leben ends this in the first with a big punch.

*Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson: Outside of Georges St. Pierre, I think Fitch is the best all-around fighter in the Welterweight division. He's obviously a very accomplished wrestler, has good submissions, and can throw hands. Chris Wilson comes from Team Quest so I expect his wrestling to be there but I don't think that will stop Fitch, who is a man on a mission en route to a title shot. I like Fitch by ground and pound sometime in the second.

*Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami: I hope Evan Tanner shows up with the caveman look and sloshed out of his mind. Both Tanner and Okami are good fighters who do pretty much the same thing. I think Tanner has the better hands, Okami is stronger in the clinch, and it's almost even on the ground. In his prime, I would probably take Tanner by decision but because he's been out of the game for so long and you have no clue where his head is at, I like Okami by another Okami decision.

*Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden: This is pretty much a gimme fight for Diego. He's going to come out, push the pace, never get tired, and it will all likely be too much for Bielkheden to handle. Bielkheden comes from a good camp but I don't think he'll be handle to keep pace with Diego, who wins a lot of fights he maybe shouldn't because of the pace he pushes. I think Diego will come out with a blitz, takedown Bielkheden, and submit him early.

*Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien: O'Brien is a very good wrestler and if there's one thing Arlovski lacks, it's wrestling. That said, I don't think O'Brien will be able to takedown Arlovski at will like he did against Herring. I also think O'Brien's chin is suspect as he was rocked from the few times Herring caught him. I expect Arlovski to stop the takedown, be more aggressive than we saw in the Werdum fight, and finish this late in the first with a big KO.

*Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett: It's a Koscheck fight, which means he's going to takedown Hazelett and probably ride out a decision. I don't think Hazelett presents too much of a threat on the feet but he is strong off his back. Problem is, Koscheck has very good submission defense. Koscheck will probably blanket him for 3 rounds en route to a decision.

*Luigi Fioravanti vs. Luke Cummo: Luigi has good hands and power and was actually doing well against Jon Fitch until the eventual loss. Cummo has decent hands but his strength is on the ground, where he trains with Matt Serra. I think Luigi knocks him down early and pounds him out.

*Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson: Gurgel is a scrapper and Halverson is a good all around fighter. Gurgel likes to stand longer than he should and if he tries that with Halverson, he might be in trouble. I think Gurgel is better on the ground than Halverson but I can't see a submission from either guy off their back. I like Gurgel by decision in the one.

It's a beautiful card on Saturday Night folks and I hope everyone checks it out. Unfortunately, I'll be in spoiler avoidance mode as it's my friends birthday (Happy 22nd Jenn) and I'll miss the event live.

UFC Event News & Notes

UFC.com reports that Ultimate Fight Night 13 will be three hours and feature 6 fights

Good deal. Hopefully some of the fights end early so we'll see more than 6 fights because guys like ‘The Cardio Freak' Clay Guida are in dark fights right now. That means on April 2nd I'll get to watch UFC from 8 to Midnight. How awesome is that?

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Sokodujou will battle Kazuhiro Nakamura at UFC 84: Ill Will

First off, what a horrible PPV name. They should instead call it UFC 84: Roid Rage since it features Sean Sherk. That or UFC 84: BJPenn.com.

Anyway, this fight doesn't really do much for me. Both guys looked pretty bad in their respective fights with Machida (although you've got to give Machida a lot of credit there) and Soko didn't live up to the hype. Both guys have a strong Judo game so I fear that we're in for a long night of clinching.

MMAMania.com reports that Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick has been added to UFC 85: London

Again, another horrible PPV name. Just call this one UFC 85: Liddell vs. Rua since Chuck always seems to get PPVs named after his fights anyway.

Some people are upset over this saying that Davis deserves a test but I fail to see how Swick isn't a test. Did he look good against Burkman? No. Could you attribute that to the first time cutting weight and the pressure of a main event? Possibly. However you want to slice it, this is a test for Marcus Davis. Swick isn't a Top 10 Welterweight but he was once thought of as a Top 10 Middleweight and he trains with two Top 10 Welterweights. This is a test for Davis and if he wins, he'll get a stronger test.

MMAJunkie.com reports that UFC has pitched UFC 85: London to SpikeTV and it is now up to Spike as to whether they will air the PPV

I'm pretty sure SpikeTV would be crazy not to air this PPV. UFC offered UFC 80 to Spike but they turned it down because they didn't think the card was strong enough and that Penn vs. Stevenson wasn't a top draw Main Event. With this card, they're getting names like Werdum, Vera, Lesnar, Swick, and Davis along with the main event of Mauricio Rua against Chuck Liddell, the top drawing act in UFC. What more could Spike ask for?

Wanderlei Silva officially confirmed the fight with Keith Jardine for UFC 84

This fight can be nothing but awesome and I'm excited for it. Wandy may have 3 straight losses but he's still one of the most entertaining fighters in MMA and anytime you match him up against another guy who loves to stand, you're in for fireworks. If Jardine wins this he's got to be considered next in line for a title shot (although I suspect Chuck will get it if he beats Shogun). How amazing is the thought that Jardine could hold back-to-back wins over Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva? It may have meant more 2 or 3 years ago but that's still a big deal to many, myself included.

UFC Fighter News & Notes

On Inside MMA, Justin McCully stated that he will likely be facing Brock Lesnar at UFC 85

Sounds like a good fight for Brock. McCully is pretty much a poor man's Lesnar anyway I suspect Lesnar will take him down and pound him out pretty quickly.

Other MMA News & Notes

MMAJunkie.com reports that EliteXC is expected to announce a deal with CBS

How many Tito Ortiz bobble head dolls do you think Dana White has broke upon hearing this news?

This is really huge for EXC and MMA. The question becomes now, how does EXC handle it? You know they're going to want to make a good first impression and you know who their big draw is. The question is, do they have a former bouncer turned Internet backyard brawler turned MMA fighter headline the first MMA show on a major network? Personally, I'd do it. Kimbo is a HUGE draw for EXC and I think the story behind him would only bring in more viewers. Fans want to see a big scary looking black dude knock someone out. If they get to see that, along with some great MMA action, you've got to call that a win.

Hopefully we know more about this situation in the coming days.

There was a Strikeforce event this past weekend and by most accounts, it sucked

I did not catch this show but I did catch some of the fights. I hope Joe Riggs is ok after that brutal throw and I hope Bob Sapp's pride is ok after that brutal defeat.

There will always be a place in this country for wrestling because if ever someone needed an impressive win after so much hype and such a wrestling entrance, it was Bob Sapp. But this isn't wrestling, it's MMA and, "shit happens and shit." Sapp ate some shots, turtled up, and the fight was stopped. I'm sure we'll see him again, probably in DREAM.

YAMMA Pit Fighting will debut on April 11th with Don Frye vs. Oleg Taktarov and an 8 Man Heavyweight Tournament

This really has "FAIL" written all over it. The tagline, "On the streets, it's against the law. In the pit, it is the law" just screams, "NO HOLDS BARRED STREET FIGHTING" to me. Hardcore MMA fans are going to pissed at that because MMA has come a long way since the early UFC days and Casual MMA fans are going to be pissed when two guys are on the ground holding each other.

Plus the tournament, which I normally love, has some modified rules that I don't love. The first two rounds are one, five minute rounds while the final round is three, three minute rounds. I'm sorry but one round doesn't prove who the better fighter is and I have a feeling that you're going to see some guys just do enough to win the one round and chalk up a victory.

I will admit that the Elimination Chamber type structure does look pretty cool though.

AND IT'S ALL OVER~!

That does it for this week. Everyone enjoy UFC 82 and I'll be back next Thursday for a full review along with any other news. Take care.