UFC 82 has come and gone…and it was a great night of fights. The main event had all the makings of a dramatic statement that was going to be made by either Dan Henderson or Anderson Silva. With a Hendo victory, we could have seen an all-time great tackle a very consistent and steady UFC champion. If we saw Silva pull off the victory, we could have seen someone cement for themselves a notch in the all-time pound for pound best fighter list. The results speak for themselves.
Anderson Silva is without question the best pound for pound fighter in the sport today. Although this recognition belonged to Fedor Emelianenko for many years, Fedor has not really faced top opposition since facing CroCop in the PRIDE NYE 2005 special. Anderson has steadily and consistently won victories against some solid opponents, and with his recent win over Dan Henderson (a man who is on most people’s P4P greatest lists), he embodies the true P4P great. The ease with which he dispatched Hendo in the second round makes him look unstoppable at 185. Who is left in the division to present a challenge? Okami maybe…he might have some of the tools to hang with Anderson but I don’t see him pulling off the upset. Anderson is exceptional in his striking and so well-rounded throughout the rest of his game that he is a terrible matchup for anyone. There is already some talk of Silva moving up to 205, but I think that would be a mistake, at least now. I would be just as happy to see Silva defend his title as many times as he can until he decides to make the move himself. The only real challenge I see for Silva would (possibly) be Matt Lindland: given Lindland’s history with the UFC it is doubtful that this match will ever happen. Overall, the main event was a fantastic fight and definitely one to add to Silva’s legacy as one of the greatest fighters that MMA has ever seen.
Was I the only one that was surprised at Cheick Kongo’s newfound ground game? Granted, it didn’t have much of an effect at the outcome of the fight, but it was nice to see that Kong’s been adding some tools to the arsenal. As we have seen with Gabriel Gonzaga, I think having a win over Mirko CroCop in the UFC has more to do with CroCop losing the fight than the other fighters being on a higher plane. Herring looked to be in much better shape for this fight as well, let’s hope he can actually work to finish some matches as he continues to refine his MMA career. He is only 29 years old and still has a good future ahead of him. I really hope we don’t see Herring -vs- Big Nog part IV. That would be unbearable.
Jon Fitch continues his winning ways, although he did not look very impressive on Saturday night. I thought it was interesting to find out that Fitch’s eight wins in a row on the Octagon ties Royce Gracie’s all time record of consecutive wins in the UFC. A title shot can’t be far behind for Fitch.
Like most people I love George St. Pierre. I love watching him fight as he seems to be the future of elite MMA: a fighter who is just so sharp on so many different levels. I also love Matt Serra. It is going to be tough to root for a winner when they meet in April. Unlike most people, however, I am picking Serra to pull off the upset (again). Just like their first meeting, I expect the pressure of GSP fighting near his home town in front of his home crowd to be just a bit too much. Serra does not shake easily and always brings the going-for-broke attitude into his fights. I expect this fight to go into the later rounds and I expect Serra to pull off the shocking upset by submission. I could be completely wrong, but given GSP’s frame of mind before big fights, he better come prepared or Serra’s going to have a surprise for him once again.
One final thought: it was great to see Mark Coleman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Conveniently enough, he also announced his upcoming fight this summer with Brock Lesnar. Coincidence? Anyone remember the UFC dusting off the aged- Ken Shamrock in a fight that would be a launching pad for future title-holder Rich Franklin?
Well, this was a completely nonsensical summary of my thoughts on UFC 82. What are your thoughts? Feel free to add some comments.