The Sunday Sprawl 5.18.08: Volume 2 - UFC 84 Headliners

Posted by Alex Mattis on 05.18.2008

We're less than a week away from UFC 84, and on this week's edition of "The Sunday Sprawl" we'll take an indepth look at the two headlinging fights.

Hello all and welcome back to "The Sunday Sprawl." We're less than one week away from UFC 84: Ill Will, and what an event it should be. Last week I took an in depth look at the Tito Ortiz-Lyoto Machida fight and the importance it holds for both men's careers. This week I'll look at the other headlining fights. The Silva-Jardine fight, which has the makings to be an all out war, and the Penn-Sherk fight for the UFC lightweight title. Well, let's get to the fights


BJ Penn Vs. Sean Sherk
In the hype video for this fight Joe Rogan made mentions that this fight is the best case scenario for the UFC lightweight crown, and I have got to agree with him. We've to unanimous choice for the number 1 lightweight in the world against the former champ who truly never lost his title. I resent the notion that some people have, claiming that Sherk doesn't deserve to get a title shot. Well the fact of the matter is that he was the champ, and he was never beaten so he deserves a shot at it. Is he a top 5 lightweight who is in the right place for a world title shot? Eh, I don't think so, but that was his belt and he never was beaten for it. Now moving on to the fight. They say styles make fights and that surely should be the case here. Will Penn's well rounded skills earn him another victory, or will Sherk's incredible cardio be the difference maker here? Well as if this fight wasn't interesting enough, we can tack the label of "grudge match" onto this one. These two have been talking a ton of trash about each, the respect is gone and all these things add up to make what should be a classic lightweight title fight.

I stated that I don't feel that Sherk is in the top 5 lightweights in the world, not only that but I'm not even sure if he is in the same league as BJ. Time will tell if Sherk belongs where he is. Now it is easy to see what the one factor that can alter the entire fight is going to be. Condition. BJ has become notorious for gassing in his fights. It cost him wins over Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. Sean Sherk's cardio is ridiculous. Ridiculous! I joked with some friends, when discussing this fight, that Sherk could probably go five 1-hour rounds and still be ready for some sprints. I can't stress enough how much his condition could come into place. But all the conditioning in the world can't save you when you're mounted eating fists and elbows. If Sherk can make it to the 3rd round with BJ, he has a high of turning the fight around. But it is no easy task to make it to the 3rd round with BJ. BJ clearly has an advantage with the stand up, and if Sherk tries to stand with Penn like he did with Franca, he is going to be in for a long night. I think what we are going to have is a very intense, exciting fight but I don't see "The Muscle Shark" regaining his title. I see BJ just doing his thing, and winning via rear naked choke in the 2nd.


Wanderlei Silva Vs. Keith Jardine
This fight is an absolute must win for Wand. He has lost his last three fights, one of which not being in the light heavyweight division so some may discard the Cro Cop loss. But since then he has been knocked out by Dan Henderson, and lost a unanimous decision to Chuck Liddell in their very memorable war last December. If he wants to stick around or even be a serious contender he needs to put Keith to sleep. I don't know many fighters that could recover fully from four losses in a row. Now on the other hand, Keith Jardine is coming off the biggest victory of his career after he bested Chuck Liddell in their 3 rounder back in September of last year. Prior to the Houston Alexander fight, Jardine was on a hot streak and was thought to be on the path to a title shot. Well that all changed when he was knocked out in under a minute. Now that he is back at the top of the heap following his win over "The Iceman," a win over the "Axe Murderer" could cement his status and get him into the title picture.

So what can we expect in this fight? Well if Jardine fights the same fight he did against Chuck, Wanderlei will KO him. Wand isn't like Chuck, he doesn't wait around for an opening. If Jardine just stands there and picks his spots with leg and body kicks, Wand is going to rush in and put some hurtin' on Keith. But Jardine is a smart fighter and knows this. So what does that mean we can expect? A fucking war. We know both these guys like to throw hands, we all know how aggressive of a fight Wand is. Factor in how hungry both of these guys are and we've got the makings of a great fight. What would the winner of this fight get? Well, for Wand a win here would mean that he just holds on to his spot and starts working his way back to the top. A win for Jardine could mean a title shot or fight with Machida, if he beats Tito, to determine the number 1 contender. And now the big question... who is going to win? I firmly believe that Wanderlei Silva is going to get back to his winning ways here and score a (T)KO victory over "The Dean Of Mean." Jardine is an excellent fighter, and has the skills to hang in there with the best, I just don't seeing him winning this one though.


...And my picks for the rest of the card:
Wilson Gouveia Vs. Goran Reljic
Thiago Silva Vs. Antonio Mendes
Ivan Salaverry Vs. Rousimar Palhares
Rameau Sokoudjou Vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Jon Koppenhaver Vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Jason Tan Vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Christian Wellisch Vs. Shane Carwin

Well that's all for me this week. Next week, I'll look at the event that was UFC 84: Ill Will as well as all of the happenings in the MMA world. Enjoy the PPV next Saturday night, and I'll see you right back here next week.

-Alex