Five on UFC 82
Thoughts:
1. There is only one way that Anderson Silva loses the middleweight title, boredom. The way Silva defeated a game Dan Henderson, no one in the UFC middleweight division will beat him. No one at middleweight outside of the UFC can probably beat Anderson Silva, including Henderson’s Team Quest partner Matt Lindland. Lindland does not have the striking that Henderson has and would have trouble against Silva.
2. It would be a shame if Cheick Kongo vs Heath Herring didn’t receive fight of the night honors. An entertaining bout from start to finish. Kongo ground game looked improved but it isn’t at the level where he will be able to defeat top competition. If he were to fight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria or Randy Couture, the fight wouldn’t make it past the first round. Great showing nonetheless.
3. “Holy Crap,” was my initial reaction when Mark Coleman stated that he will be fighting Brock Lesner. That match up sounds intriguing and it will be interesting to see if one fighter will be able to take down the other. It could be a passing of the torch from one former NCAA wrestling champion to another.
4. It was sad to see the Evan Tanner comeback story end so bitterly. Yushin Okami was simply the better fighter. It was great to see one of my first favorite fighters reenter the octagon after getting his life back together. It is just too bad that he couldn’t get the victory. Hopefully the loss doesn’t deter the former middleweight champion and we don’t have to wait another two years before Tanner fights again.
5. Though he was unable to finish Chris Wilson, Jon Fitch still put on a strong showing and should be receiving the winner of Matt Serra vs George St. Pierre. Wilson on the other hand, proved he belongs in the UFC and he should receive another top opponent in his next bout.
Fights I want to see:
1. Andrei Arlovski vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: get Arlovski resigned and make it happen. The UFC wanted to see the old Arlovski and it appears that they got it, now pay him and give him a title shot against the interim champ. Though it seems like it will never happen, but the winner might be able to convince Randy Couture to unify the titles.
2. Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami: the unstoppable champ gets a shot at redemption against Okami, the last man to defeat him. Even if it was controversial victory, it still counts on Silva’s loss column. And really, there isn’t anybody else for Silva.
3. Chris Leben vs Thales Leites: Leites needs someone to fight and it looks like Leben is on his way back up the middleweight rankings. Leben has regained his momentum and Leites is one of the people on the short list of contenders so it seems like natural pairing. The winner would probably get a shot at being Silva’s next victim
4. Josh Koscheck vs Chris Lytle: Koscheck looked good and hopefully this fight will help shed the boring title from his name. Lytle looked strong against Kyle Bradley in December and is need of an opponent. A win for either fighter swings them back up the welterweight rankings.
5. Dustin Hazelett vs Chris Wilson: both fighters looked good in defeat and more importantly the winner will take the title of “best Jon Fitch look alike in the UFC. “
Final thoughts
1. Don’t waste Diego Sanchez on the prelims anymore. Sanchez won the Ultimate Fighter so you might as well have him headline an Ultimate Fight Night since he already has a built in audience on Spike TV.
2. Anytime they show Bruce Buffer introduce a fighter and he points at them with such effort, an angel grows its wings.
3. Its time Alessio Sakara gets kicked off the roster. If they think he is that much of an asset, have him fight David Heath in the WEC. Maybe they are padding his record for The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback 2. I sure hope not.
4. Great showing by Heath Herring, good to see the Herring that gives a crap back. How about a match against Gabriel Gonzaga in the future.
5. In case you haven’t figured it out, no one is going to beat Anderson Silva. Take a look at the best fighter pound for pound in the world.
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