Feuds, Beards & Cameroon Rule UFC 79
Silva vs. Liddell
Dec 28, 2007
Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) vs. Chuck Liddell (Pictures)
The old adage of "better late than never" will be stretched to the limits of relevance when Chuck Liddell (Pictures) and Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) finally resolve what has long been one of MMA's most dreamed about and debated fantasy matches.
At this point however, this match has transcended the tiresome
"PRIDE vs. UFC" dialogue and has become a crossroads for two
fighters who may be entering the twilight of their careers.
For Liddell (20-5), the past year may have seen the twilight come and go when Quinton Jackson (Pictures) ended his title reign with a stunning first-round knockout. Perhaps even more damning was a decision loss to Keith Jardine (Pictures), who laid bare the holes in Liddell's game for all to see.
That question of course being how he would fare against former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) (31-7-1, 1 NC). Ironically, Silva enters this fight with the same questions about his own place in a division he once dominated.
After years as the gaijin poster boy of PRIDE, Silva's success seemed to wane just as the organization began its epic collapse. First was a brutal and not entirely surprising knockout loss to heavyweight Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) that put an end to the two-time PRIDE 205-pound Grand Prix champion's dream of winning the 2006 Open-Weight tournament.
With one title already beyond his reach, Silva went on to lose the title he had become synonymous with when Dan Henderson (Pictures) handed the Brazilian his second straight knockout loss. A third may await Silva, but the prospect of redemption is well worth the risk that comes with taking on Liddell.
On paper it's not hard to understand why this match has been the subject of more fantasies than the cast of "Baywatch." Liddell is a counterpuncher who thrives on opponents walking right into his unorthodox looping punches, while Silva loves staying inside the pocket and smashing every limb he has into whatever is standing in front of him.
Keeping that in mind, Liddell's windmill counterpunches should have no problem finding their way to Silva's suspect chin given how willing Silva is to initiate the action. However, we've seen fighters have success against Liddell by staying in the pocket and overwhelming Liddell with strikes in great volume and variety.
Silva has the style to do just that. If he should close the gap, the clinch will play a pivotal role in this fight, as Liddell is ill suited to trade blows in the Thai plum. That means nothing, though, if Silva is unable to survive exchanging with Liddell, who holds a clear edge in both chin and punching power.
No matter how cautious Silva tries to be early, he inevitably regresses back to his all-out style, which will lead to him walking right into one of Liddell's haymakers. I'm not of the mind that Silva has the chin to stand up to Liddell's punches. Expect a third straight knockout loss for Silva late in the first round.
Now for a small request designed to keep me from looking like an idiot: If Liddell shows up to the weigh-ins looking like he just rolled out of Studio 54, would someone please hand the man a Red Bull?
The old adage of "better late than never" will be stretched to the limits of relevance when Chuck Liddell (Pictures) and Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) finally resolve what has long been one of MMA's most dreamed about and debated fantasy matches.
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For Liddell (20-5), the past year may have seen the twilight come and go when Quinton Jackson (Pictures) ended his title reign with a stunning first-round knockout. Perhaps even more damning was a decision loss to Keith Jardine (Pictures), who laid bare the holes in Liddell's game for all to see.
Hardly in his physical prime at 38 years old, Liddell hasn't helped
his cause by maintaining a party boy lifestyle that would put Pete
Doherty to shame. With his career seemingly on the line, Liddell
will need to rediscover the form of years past to answer the
question that followed him through all those years.
That question of course being how he would fare against former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) (31-7-1, 1 NC). Ironically, Silva enters this fight with the same questions about his own place in a division he once dominated.
After years as the gaijin poster boy of PRIDE, Silva's success seemed to wane just as the organization began its epic collapse. First was a brutal and not entirely surprising knockout loss to heavyweight Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) that put an end to the two-time PRIDE 205-pound Grand Prix champion's dream of winning the 2006 Open-Weight tournament.
With one title already beyond his reach, Silva went on to lose the title he had become synonymous with when Dan Henderson (Pictures) handed the Brazilian his second straight knockout loss. A third may await Silva, but the prospect of redemption is well worth the risk that comes with taking on Liddell.
On paper it's not hard to understand why this match has been the subject of more fantasies than the cast of "Baywatch." Liddell is a counterpuncher who thrives on opponents walking right into his unorthodox looping punches, while Silva loves staying inside the pocket and smashing every limb he has into whatever is standing in front of him.
Keeping that in mind, Liddell's windmill counterpunches should have no problem finding their way to Silva's suspect chin given how willing Silva is to initiate the action. However, we've seen fighters have success against Liddell by staying in the pocket and overwhelming Liddell with strikes in great volume and variety.
Silva has the style to do just that. If he should close the gap, the clinch will play a pivotal role in this fight, as Liddell is ill suited to trade blows in the Thai plum. That means nothing, though, if Silva is unable to survive exchanging with Liddell, who holds a clear edge in both chin and punching power.
No matter how cautious Silva tries to be early, he inevitably regresses back to his all-out style, which will lead to him walking right into one of Liddell's haymakers. I'm not of the mind that Silva has the chin to stand up to Liddell's punches. Expect a third straight knockout loss for Silva late in the first round.
Now for a small request designed to keep me from looking like an idiot: If Liddell shows up to the weigh-ins looking like he just rolled out of Studio 54, would someone please hand the man a Red Bull?
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