Tuesday, November 6, 2007

The Axe Murderer vs The Iceman, Who Wins?


With the recent announcement of Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 a match that is long overdue, I want to give my prediction on who I think wins this superfight.

Both fighters are coming off two losses and both fighters lost their belts in the process. Silva was knocked out by heavyweight Mirko Crocop and then knocked out by Dan Henderson, while Liddell was knocked out by Quinton Jackson and then lost a split decision to Keith Jardine. Its fair to say both fighters are hungry to get back in the ring and prove themselves, but this is not just another fight, this is a fight that the MMA world has been eagerly anticipating for years. The stage was set at Pride Final Conflict 2003, but Rampage Jackson spoiled the party by forcing Liddell's corner to throw in the towel after Liddell was taking a viscious beating on the ground. Wanderlei ended up winning that tournament with a stoppage of Jackson later that night, thus cementing his place as the best 205 pounder in the world at the time. Oh how times have changed, Pride is defunct and Jackson is now on top of the rankings after beating Liddell and Henderson in the UFC. So who do I believe will win this match for the ages?

Striking- Both fighters are well known for knocking people out while standing. They both strike a little wider than the traditional method of punching. I would give the power advantage slightly to Chuck, while I would say Wandy is a little bit faster. Chuck doesn't really kick or knee anymore that much, while Silva is devasting with knees in the clinch, and to a lesser extent low kicks and kicks to the body. Both fighters can end the fight in the blink of an eye, Liddell more with one punch and Silva more with a flurry of punches, knees and kicks.

Ground Game- Wandy is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, he knows his submissions, he just chooses not to end his fights that way. Liddell hasn't been submitted in almost 8 years and Silva hasn't submitted anyone in 7 years so its not gonna happen. Liddell has an uncanny ability to get back to his feet after being on his back. I would predict that we wouldn't see much ground action in this fight and having Wandy stand over top of you while your on your back is not nearly as dangerous as it used to be because of UFC rules.

Grappling- Both of these guys are well versed in the wrestling aspect of MMA, of course in this fight, which is likely to stay standing, we'll probably see alot more upper-body wrestling than anything else. Of course Silva will want to work the clinch and Liddell will certainly want to avoid that and try for overhooks and underhooks. These guys will want to slug it out with punches, but Silva will certainly try to get in close and use his famous Muay Thai knees.

As for who has a mental edge in this fight, since both guys are looking to prove themselves again, neither of them really have an edge. I'm picking Wanderlei to win the fight. I think Keith Jardine exposed somewhat of a weakness in Liddell's game, low kick defense. Wandy knows how to use low kicks and I think he will use them to his advantage. I think Liddell will have some problems with Silva's Muay Thai clinch, not to the extent of Franklin/Anderson, but I think it will pose a credible threat to Liddell's gameplan, which is probably counter-punching. I can't wait for this fight to happen!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really wish this fight had happened when both guys were in thir prime, but fair enough anyway, Can;t wait either.

Carlos said...

I think the cage experience will be the deciding factor in this fight. Liddell by knockout in the 2nd round

Anonymous said...

If Chuck wins the fight the Light Heavyweight division will be broken. Wanderlei beats Rampage, Rampage beats Chuck, Chuck beats Wanderlei? Rock Paper Scissors. That said, my moneys on Silva.

Carlos said...

Wanderlei has got stomped in all but one of his fights in the ufc, losing to tito ortiz and vitor belfort, rampage seems completely comfortable in the cage, if there were a match between rampage and wanderlei after this, I think rampage would win for sure, he would use the cage and contain wanderlei much like he did dan henderson

Anonymous said...

Yeah but both of those fights were before his career really took off. His recent losses have been to two guys that I believe would both slaughter Liddell (provided Mirko snaps out of whatever daze he's in). I think Wanderlei is a different fighter now than he was then and Chuck, as said, has finally started to show his weaknesses.

Anonymous said...

Check it out fight fans, Chuck didnt really believe he got beat by Rampage....just "caught" whatever that means so I dont think we saw a hungry Chuck against Jardin, who in my opinion embarrassed the hell out of the Iceman worse than Rampage did....Chucks power will take out Wanderlei in the 2nd or beginning of the 3rd....if not, he retires.....and for Mirko hahaha take that s#*t to Bodog

Anonymous said...

That's a good synopsis. I reckon Wandy takes it. I think Chuck is on a slide, and the Jardine fight gave the MMA world a blueprint for beating him.

Anonymous said...

chuck kno's hes done. wandy's an animal , in fact chuck is'nt even training cuz he knos his career is over he's prolly jus drinkin brews and gettin fatter. wanderlei will pisspump chuck.

Anonymous said...

chucks probably at a club getting lap dances right now

Anonymous said...

Chuck stands no chance. Wandy will absolutely destroy him. Even when they were in their prime, the same thing would've happened. Wandy was from a superior organization (the now defunct PRIDE), fought better opponents in PRIDE and is just an animal. THERE'S A REASON WHY CHUCK LIDDELL LOST IN JAPAN!! He can't stand with fighters in Wandy's class.

Sam Freedom said...

Excellent prediction analysis and lots of great comments. I have to go with Wanderlie only because he just seems like a natural beast and he's gonna just go in and hammer chuck with everything. We know Wandy can take a punch on the way in...

...but I am certain that the quality and intensity of this fight will bring more out of Chuck than ever.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

wandi win you motherfucking brazilian beast!

Anonymous said...

gotta be wanderlai. plus training with Xtreme Couture has gotta improved his game.

Anonymous said...

ok people, the confident answers need to stop...there is NO way to predict for CERTAIN who will win, the best you can do is analyze the fight and choose the winner with the biggest chance to win based on the analysis...that being said, Im taking silva...chuck has no inside striking game, and I think he will have trouble dealing with leg kicks, knees inside, and punches inside...on the other hand, if chuck uses his reach and keeps wandy outside, wandy might have a long night ahead of him.