This weekend will give us our first full slate of Saturday college football, and our first NFL Sunday. For the truly sick amongst us, we have also been blessed with UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH late Saturday evening from Atlanta. I have surely died and gone to sports gambling heaven!
The one thing I am certain of, is that many of the fighters on this card will be absolutely elated to not see Mr. Anderson Silva standing across from them in the Octagon. The uber-talented Silva has destroyed Henderson, Marquardt and Franklin (twice!). Without him around, the outcomes may not be as predictable, but entertaining all the same. I have a feeling that the dogs will be let out, with upsets in four of the five featured matches.
Chuck Liddell -255
Rashad Evans +215
This fight was supposed to happen at UFC 85 in London, until a hamstring injury forced Liddell to bow out. Tonight we will finally get to see “The Iceman” take on “Sugar”. As long as nobody is feeding rambunctious announcer Joe Rogan any sugar, everything should be OK.
Liddell (21-5-0) is looking to regain his elite status after dropping two of his last three matches. During the seven straight victories before then, he earned the reputation as one of the most feared fighters in MMA. The punishing striker then faltered a bit. First he was TKO’d by Quinton Jackson, then lost a stunning split decision to Keith Jardine. In that match, Jardine threw so many leg kicks into Chuck’s left side, that it started to resemble a side of raw beef. It wasn’t pretty. Liddell then regained his winning ways this past December in a highly entertaining match against Wanderlei Silva.
Evans (16-0-1) has come a long way en route to an undefeated record. He once said that he enjoyed to street brawl, but figured he may as well get paid for it, and set his sights on the UFC. He was then cast on The Ultimate Fighter’s second season and won the heavyweight title. Matt Hughes, who was a coach on that show, chastised Evans for showboating too much in the ring. Since then, Rashad fights with much more discipline and composure. Although the knock on him has been that some of his fights can be boring, Sean Salmon might disagree. He was the recipient of one of the nastiest head kicks I’ve ever seen.
Evans is coming off a lackluster victory against the overrated Michael Bisping. Before that he fought to a draw versus Tito Ortiz. I felt he actually won that fight. At 28 years of age, Evans has a ten year advantage on the older Liddell. I think he will be able to withstand Liddell’s striking and gain a decision from the judges, thus earning a nice payday to his backers.
Rich Franklin -235
Matt Hamill +195
Rich “Ace” Franklin (25-3-0) is REALLY glad that Anderson Silva isn’t here tonight. Since joining the UFC in 2003, Franklin has 10 wins and 2 losses. Both those losses have been at the hands, or knees, or Silva. In their first bout, Franklin’s nose ended up over by his ear
What’s that? I can’t smell you.
His opponent, Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (5-1-0) is a product of the third installment of The Ultimate Fighter. He is a skilled wrestler, who has been improving on other facets of his game. Matt has cruised to four easy UFC victories and one controversial split decision loss to Michael Bisping. Hamill is deaf, and that means he couldn’t hear me booing the decision in that fight. He was completely robbed by the judges, who were obviously influenced by Bisping’s hometown London crowd. He should be undefeated right now. Just terrible.
Unfortunately for Hamill, he can’t bring Anderson Silva in the Octagon with him. Look for Franklin, as a heavy favorite, to continue his non-Silva winning streak.
Dan Henderson -190
Rousimar Palhares +165
Yet another Light Heavyweight bout, and I’m going with youth and the upset once again. Dan “Hendo” Henderson (22-8-0) was part of the huge PRIDE exodus that the UFC took on. Unlike Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, Henderson has yet to taste any success in this venture. He lost a unanimous decision to Jackson, and got choked out by, you guessed it, Anderson Silva.
While Henderson possesses knockout power from both hands, the 37 year old is almost ten years older than his opponent. Palhares (17-1-0) is fighting out of Brazil. And as expected, that means he specializes in submissions. He is coming off an arm lock victory over Ivan Salaverry. A win over Henderson could make him more of a household name. Even if most households can’t even pronounce it
Nate Marquardt -160
Martin Kampmann +130
Marquadt (29-8-2) is coming off of a tough loss to Thales Leites. He was deducted a point for an illegal knee kick, and then another for a phantom elbow to the back of the head. The latter was a terrible call that no doubt, assisted in his split decision defeat. He also is a member of the Anderson Silva Beatdown Team.
Martin Kampmann Frederiksen (13-1-0) calls himself “The Hitman”. With a name like that and his looks, he should call himself “The Skinhead”. This guy just looks like he is ready to hurt somebody. He is 4-0 in the UFC, submitting Drew McFedries and Jorge Rivera. He has also taken a unanimous decision against Thales Leites, the same man who recently beat Marquardt. Another mild upset here with Kampmann.
Dong Hyun Kim -360
Matt Brown +270
A last second back injury to Karo Parisyan has catapulted this fight into the limelight. Kim (10-0-1) is a relative newcomer to the UFC. The Korean southpaw lists his hero as ANDERSON SILVA! That’s a good sign. He lists his college education as attending the Yong-In University, where he majored in Judo. That doesn’t even make sense.
Matt Brown (9-6-0) is coming off the most recent installment of The Ultimate Fighter where he was respected by the other contestants as a tough brawler. He has since won a TKO bout with fellow TUF alum, Matt Arroyo.
Asian fighters never seem to fare too well in the UFC, and that is just too much chalk to lay on an unknown. Take Matt Brown, the huge dog, take the money, and I’ll see you at the bar on Sunday. And remember…Anderson Silva is coming to get you.
