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Getbig Misc Discussion Boards => Mixed Martial Arts (MMA/UFC) => Topic started by: Bluto on November 18, 2007, 01:07:19 PM
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"The Ultimate Fighting Championship, at the post-fight press conference in New Jersey, announced that Pride 185-pound division champion Dan Henderson has finally relented and has agreed to fight UFC champion Anderson Silva.
The bout is to take place sometime in March, which would most likely be at the UFC’s return to Columbus, Ohio on March 1 at Nationwide Arena.
Henderson suffered a disappointing decision loss in his return to the UFC last September, when he lost to current light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson. Despite that loss, he had steadfastly said he wanted to remain in the 205-pound class.
Silva has dominated the 185-pound division since debuting in the UFC with a 49-second TKO of Chris Leben in June of 2006. He has finished all five of his fights in the Octagon, only two of them going outside the first round. "
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yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssss sssssssssssssss
man i hope henderson knocks silva out
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say what you want, but henderson is a totally different thing to fight than rich franklin - twice!
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I'll take Henderson. Finally an exciting match is announced.
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Now, THIS is a fight I'd pay to see.
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This will be a real war. I might actually try and get tickets for this one. I guess this means the Arnold expo with be just as much MMA as it is BB again this year.
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WoW! I know we're buddies and all, but I can't believe Dana actually listens to every single word I say!
http://www.mmawriter.com/?p=7 (http://www.mmawriter.com/?p=7)
UFC Caught in the Spider’s Web
October 26th, 2007
After another dominant performance at UFC 77, in which he destroyed Rich Franklin in a rematch of last year’s title-winning effort, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva finds himself at the top of the food chain. The problem facing the UFC is finding the flies to feed him.
Although many predicted that Silva would defeat Franklin in their rematch, no one could have imagined the ease in which Silva was able to dominate every aspect of the match. When Franklin’s takedown of Silva brought the crowd to its feet halfway through the first round, Silva calmly demonstrated the ease in which he can maneuver those daddy long legs from butterfly guard to a standing position. When Franklin landed a straight left to his opponent’s face, Silva simply smiled, and when the hometown favorite tried to let loose a multiple punch combination, Silva bobbed and weaved making Franklin look like a wild and flailing rank amateur. And of course, when Franklin entered the ‘Spider’s Web’ – a space consisting of any area within three cubic feet of Anderson’s hands or feet – Silva’s punches, knees, and kicks landed with such force and accuracy as to make fans wince in pain, and future opponents go into hiding.
The middleweight division has some very talented young fighters, but who can the UFC match up with Silva that won’t appear to be a sacrifice at the altar? The most obvious choice is Yushin Okami. Stylistically, he matches up fairly well against Silva. Okami is a conservative, thinking fighter, with a solid ground game and good boxing skills. The problem with such a match-up is two-fold: Neither the fans nor the UFC want to see this fight happen. The fans don’t want it because there is no one to root for. Despite being very nice gentlemen, in addition to not speaking fluent English, neither fighter has an outstanding personality to speak of. The UFC doesn’t want it because, marketing nightmares aside, in the off-chance that Okami wins, the UFC would actually be left with a less marketable champion than Silva. So that rules out Okami.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White mentioned David Terrell and Ricardo Almeida as potential challengers, but the last most people remember of either guy is them getting blasted out of the UFC by Evan Tanner and Andrei Semenov, respectively. So let’s move on.
Which brings us to the only possible opponent under UFC contract that really makes sense: Dan Henderson. Despite’s Dana’s claim that Henderson wants to stay at light-heavyweight, other than a rematch with Quinton Jackson, what is there at 205 for ‘Hollywood’? By fighting anyone other than Jackson, Henderson risks his reputation with little reward. A title shot against Silva, however, is both a UFC and fans’ dream come true. Just imagine the build-up to Silva-Henderson: The patriotic United States Olympic wrestler dropping twenty pounds to avenge his fellow countryman’s defeat on the Octagon battleground. Selling out an arena in Cincinnati or Columbus? They could sell out Ohio State’s Horseshoe Stadium with that one.
Of course, who can blame Henderson for wanting to stay at light-heavyweight? For one thing, the man has probably been cutting weight for thirty years. At this point in his life, why starve himself unless the UFC steps up to his plate with $omething el$e he can get fat on. Even aside from the weight loss, it’s hard to imagine that Henderson is losing any sleep at night salivating at the thought of stepping into the Octagon with Silva. Henderson has never backed away from a challenge in his life, but after watching Silva display his wide arsenal of weapons against Franklin for the second time, who can really blame Dan for sitting on his haunches?
And then, there are the young contenders to consider. Patrick Cote, coming off a knockout of Kendall Grove, is probably still a few fights away. Alan Belcher, who looked tremendous stopping Kalib Starnes, lost his previous fight to Grove, and still needs a big win over a fellow contender to merit serious consideration as a possible title challenger. An improved Chris Leben, who ousted Terry Martin last time out, already suffered a quick and brutal KO to Silva and wouldn’t appear to be in line for a rematch anytime soon.
All of which brings us to one final appetite-whetting idea: Get Dana White’s mortal enemy and nemesis, former UFC Middleweight Champion, and MMA legend Frank Shamrock back in the Octagon. Shamrock, coming off a PPV destruction of former UFC fan favorite Phil Baroni, is still fresh in people’s minds. And if Silva-Okami is a lose-lose proposition for the UFC and fans, Silva-Shamrock is about as win-win as it gets: If Silva destroys Shamrock, Dana White’s champion single-handedly obliterates Shamrock’s mythical status and renders all future Shamrock fights an afterthought; however, if Shamrock wins, the money the UFC will make off Shamrock title defenses should more than make up for the difficulties in doing business with Frank.
In a nutshell, the UFC finds itself and their middleweight champion stuck in a web of their own making. The only way out is to look at the menu, open up that fat wallet and buy themselves a legitimate title contender. Because the fans won’t accept anything less. And the UFC doesn’t want to feed Anderson Silva the Chump du Jour. Henderson. Shamrock. Mmmmmmm. Now that’s something we can chew on.
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After the Ultimate Fighting Championship finished with its return show to New Jersey, UFC president Dana White announced a middleweight title match-up between champion Anderson Silva and the only Pride champion in that weight class, Dan Henderson. They will meet on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
Henderson won the first ever 183-pound division title in Pride by winning a Grand Prix tournament, but this will be the first test for him at this weight since returning to the Octagon.
“I’m right in between the two weight classes,” he said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com about his drop to the middleweight division. “It’s pretty easy to cut the weight.”
Since his debut in the UFC, Anderson Silva has run roughshod over the middleweight division, but the Team Quest fighter will likely present the toughest test for the champion to date.
“He’s tough,” Henderson said about Silva. “He’s definitely proven that he’s a force to be reckoned with.”
The announcement of the title fight also answers questions about his long-term plans with the UFC.
“I’m kind of in the twilight of my career, don’t have that many years left of fighting,” he stated. “I don’t want to jump around at all. I was in Pride for seven years, so I kind of like to stay where I’m at and build relationships that way.”
While the Pride champion stated he was hoping for a fight in December, waiting until March gives him the chance to try and add another title to his resume. But Henderson hasn’t given up on another shot at the light heavyweight belt as well.
“I would definitely want to fight for that title again,” said Henderson about the 205-pound division championship. “(I’ll) see what I’ve got to do to get back there.”
First things first, Henderson will have to get past Silva on March 1.