What does Dana White have in store for the follow up to an action packed UFC 100? Saturday’s match list includes one of the most dominant fighters in MMA history?
Robert Rousseau delivers his picks for the top two matches at UFC 101.
Forrest Griffin (16-5) vs. Anderson Silva (24-4)
Prediction Introduction: UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (-330) is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, pound for pound fighters in the world. But his last two fights have been snoozers that left a bad, lingering taste in the mouths of fans.
Enter former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.
Griffin has shown over his fight career that he’s as tough as they come and he’ll put on a great show. Expect some serious fireworks Silva decides to test his striking skills against Griffin.
What Griffin brings to the table: He’s unquestionably one of the toughest guys to ever fight in the UFC. This is a guy that once won a fight with a broken arm. That ability to absorb pain is going to come in handy against Silva's powerful attacks.
Griffin also possesses underrated striking skills himself. He’s well rounded in wrestling and submissions as well. Former champ Randy Couture regularly calls Griffin one of the hardest working fighters he's ever seen. Griffin’s conditioning and stamina will come in handy Saturday night.
Griffin is a well-rounded fighter without any glaring weakness. To beat Griffin your strengths have to be better than his.
What Silva brings to the table: Silva might be the most proficient and deadliest striker in the history of mixed martial arts. He's pinpoint accurate with his blows and can do pretty much anything on his feet as well as anyone and better than most.
He is black belt level in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which serves him well with those long limbs.
If there is an Achilles' heel in Silva's game, it's a lack of wrestling expertise. He can be taken down, but it ain’t easy.
Prediction: Griffin is a bigger and longer opponent than most of the guys Silva’s faced. The challenger isn’t going to just sit back and let "The Spider" pick him apart in spots from the outside.
Still, as good of a striker as he is, Griffin is not as talented or fast as his adversary. So if this stays a striking contest, Silva should dominate.
Expect Griffin to do some damage to his opponent on the ground, but the stand up exchanges will be more numerous and should offer an advantage to the champ.
Pick: Anderson Silva
BJ Penn (13-5-1) vs. Kenny Florian (11-3)
What BJ Penn brings to the table: Penn (-250) is an amazing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist with ridiculous flexibility. If you find yourself underneath him on the ground, you're in deep trouble. If you find yourself on top of him on the ground, you're still in deep trouble.
He also has strong boxing skills and a fantastic takedown defense. Utilizing his balance and elasticity, Penn can let an opponent push one of his legs above his shoulder and still keep his balance on the other foot.
Penn physical condition has improved over his last four fights (three wins). He takes his cardio training much more seriously. He has lost steam at the end of some of his matches.
What Kenny Florian brings to the table: Since Florian (+200) lost his bid to gain the UFC Lightweight Championship from Sean Sherk back at UFC 64, he has become a different fighter.
His attitude in training and techniques has improved, which has helped him gain some strength and deception in his striking attacks.
The result has been five straight victories, with four coming by way of stoppage.
Florian is an elite level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with numerous tournament wins to his credit. He also possesses extremely diverse striking skills of the Muay Thai variety and is known for his ability to utilize his elbows and feet to stymie opponents.
Prediction: Can Penn get this fight to the ground consistently? I don’t think so.
He's not necessarily known for his takedowns and Florian’s improved his takedown defense. If Penn does get his opponent to the canvas, Florian will have enough to survive.
After all, his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu resume is underrated. Expect this fight to go somewhat like the one between Florian and Huerta. Penn has enough to win, but let's call an upset and go with the value selection.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its inaugural trip to Philadelphia for UFC 101: Declaration. ‘The City of Brotherly Love’ is known as a fight town, producing such famous boxers as Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston and Bernard Hopkins to name just a few.
Mixed martial arts will take center stage Saturday night at Wachovia Center with a couple of intriguing matchups, including the main event between lightweight champion B.J. ‘The Prodigy’ Penn (13-5-1) and Kenny Florian (13-3). Penn is currently listed as the $2.20 ‘chalk’ (bet $220 to win $100) at the Las Vegas Hilton over Florian, the $1.90 underdog (bet $100 to win $190).
Penn is coming off of a brutal one-sided beatdown at the hands of Georges ‘Rush’ St. Pierre earlier this year in a welterweight matchup. However, the Hawaiian hasn’t lost in the lightweight division since a majority-decision setback to Jens Pulver back at UFC 35 in 2002. The Hawaiian addressed critics who think that he still obsessed with that setback to St. Pierre.
‘I’m the lightweight champion of the world and I’m definitely still relevant,” stated Penn. “I’m very hungry and I’m ready and willing to fight anyone. All this talk and all this other stuff, none of that matters now.”
Florian earned his second shot at the lightweight crown compliments of his current six-fight winning streak. The Boston native’s first shot at the title resulted in a unanimous-decision setback to Sean Sherk at UFC 64.
The 33-year-old talked about his chances Saturday night against Penn.
“To me, it’s a dream come true to fight for the belt and go out there and do what I love doing,” said Florian. “I honestly don’t know how it would feel (to wear the belt), but it’s been a long road and a completely different path from where I feel I was headed.”
There is also a highly anticipated matchup in the light heavyweight division.
Middleweight champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva (24-4) is moving up a weight class to take on former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (16-5). Las Vegas Hilton presently lists Silva as a decided $3.70 favorite over Griffin, the $3.10 underdog.
Silva is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound MMA fighters on the planet, but the Brazilian has taken some criticism for his last two efforts. ‘The Spider’ has only lost one round in his nine UFC fights, but prevailed in less-than-stellar performances against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites.
This matchup also marks his second foray into the light heavyweight division after knocking out James ‘Sandman’ Irvin in the first round last summer. Silva has effectively cleaned out the middleweight division, and has repeatedly stated that he will take on the best fights available in either weight class.
Griffin is returning to the octagon for the first time since losing his light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans last December. The 30-year-old won the first two rounds of that fight before getting knocked out in the third.
Griffin, who won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, has three knockout victories on his resume, seven wins by submission along with six decisions. Three of his losses have occurred by knockout, while the other two setbacks were by decision.
Ufc 101: 8/8
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