Posts with the tag "Wanderlei Silva"

With the big event only a day away, a few friends and I decided to head down to the Target Center to watch the UFC 87 weigh-ins. We didn't know quite what to expect, but we each had our own ideas what the day might be like. Let me just say, we were all dead wrong.

The anticipation was high as we stood in line. We figured out that the Jon Fitch crew was right in front of us in line and in front of them was the Roger Huerta crew. After about an hour of standing in line, we were finally allowed in to find a seat.

As we sat down, the stadium quickly filled with fans. It was an impressive crowd for mid-day on a Friday. Then, our first sight of one of the fighters. A small crowd, which was quickly turning into a large crowd, was gathering down by the front. Sure enough, there was Wanderlei Silva signing autographs.

It didn't take long for my friend Mike and I to decide to go down. And as luck would have it, we were able to get a few pictures of him.

OK, I know I look a little giddy in the picture, but I have to admit I was excited to meet one of the best fighters in the world. With that out of the way, we headed back to our seats to watch the weigh-ins.

To keep this post somewhat sort, I won't bore you with the details of the weigh-ins. In fact, you can watch them right here thanks to ESPN video. At the very least, skip ahead to see Luke Cummo pose after he is done weighing-in.

With the weigh-ins now over, it was time to head out. After a little deliberation with the crew, I was able to convince them that we should have a beer instead of fighting the traffic. As we walked out of the Target Center, we grabbed a flier that promised cheap beer at NBA City.

Our day seemed to be winding down and we were fairly satisfied. I had gotten to meet Wanderlei Silva, who was actually really friendly and approachable. However, the story doesn't end here. I still have to get to why Bruce Buffer owes me a beer. As you might guess, our day had much more in store than we could have ever imagined...

Bruce Buffer Owes me a Beer: Part 2

OK, this is a little late but still worth going over. The UFC 84 event was absolutely outstanding. The billing was great with fighters such as B.J. Penn, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva, and Lyoto Machida to name a few. Another bonus was the fact that most of the fights were quick, so we got to see many of the undercard fights.

B.J. Penn once again proved he is the top lightweight fighter in the world. He was able to pick apart Sherk one punch at a time. I still wonder why Sherk didn't try to take down Penn more, I guess he didn't think he could get him to the mat.

Wanderlei Silva again proved he is one of the most dangerous fighters in the mixed martial arts. He absolutely destroyed Keith Jardine who once again looked old and slow. From this point forward, the plan executed first by Houston Alexander and now by Wanderlei Silva will be a blueprint for others to defeat Jardine.

Finally, the fight between Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida went exactly as planned. Ortiz's loss will justify the UFC cutting him loose. Machida's performance was lackluster, but he showed how to execute a perfect strategy. The question remains, can the UFC make Machida a star?

OK, so the fight is only a few hours away and I haven't weighed in with my opinion. I was a little surprised to see most of the experts picking Keith Jardine to defeat Wanderlei Silva. Now I know Jardine was able to defeat Liddell while Silva lost to him, but still I have a feeling that Silva will win this fight.

The only point I can stand on is this. Jardine lost to Houston Alexander who is a very explosive fighter. Sound familiar? Wanderlei Silva is also an explosive fighter, so I expect him to have the same success against Jardine. I think Silva wins the fight via early round knockout.

According to his blog, Wanderlei Silva is contemplating a move to the middleweight weightclass. Silva would be the latest in a line of fighters to lose and then move weighclasses.

Michael Bisping was the last fighter to move weightclasses. After losing to Rashad Evans, Bisping declared his intentions to move to the middleweight division. He will face Charley McCarthy at UFC 83 in the new weighclass.

Before Bisping, it was Mick Swick. After losing to a bigger and stronger Yushin Okami, Swick moved to the the welterweight division. So far so good for Swick, he was able to defeat Josh Burkman.

So will Silva move weighclasses? He doesn't appear to be ducking the fighters at the light heavyweight division, but instead wants a rematch with Dan Henderson. Still, seems like his loss to Chuck Liddell is the reason he is considering the move.

UFC 79 is this Saturday and was originally billed as a match up between the coaches from The Ultimate Fighter 7. With an injury to Matt Serra, George St-Pierre jumped at the opportunity to fight Matt Hughes in the main event. The other main event fight is a long time in the making, Chuck Liddell will fight Wanderlei Silva.

Liddell vs Silva is a long time in the making. Back when both owned their divisions in their respective organizations, a super fight couldn't be arranged between the two. With the demise of Pride, the UFC has signed Silva and finally arranged the fight. Both fighters are coming off of back-to-back losses. This fight will get one fight back into the mix and put the other a fight or two away from retirement.

Here are my predictions:

• Matt Hughes vs. Georges St-Pierre: With Hughes coming to the end of his career, he has trained harder than ever before. After a losing the title, St. Pierre is hungry to get his hands back on the title. I have been a Hughes fan for some time, but my gut tells me St-Pierre will win this one.
• Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva: The winner will be the fighter who lands the first big punch. I give Liddell the edge in this one.
• Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Sokoudjou: Another light heavyweight fight featuring strikers. Sokoudjou is relatively inexperience with only 5 professional fights, still I expect him to make this a good fight. Machida wins via strikes.
• Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard: Guillard makes any fight interesting with his unpredictable nature. I pick Guillard via early knockout.
• Soa Palelei vs. Eddie Sanchez: Since I don't know too much about either fighter, I will go on their nicknames. Palelei is the "The Hulk" and Sanchez is "The Manic Hispanic." I am going with the Hulk.