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!
