UFC 82 Pride of a Champion - Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson - UFC Middleweight Championship
Posted by Zdot on Feb 7, 2008
UFC 82 Pride of a Champion, the next ultimate fighting night scheduled on Saturday, March 1 at Nationwide Arena, will witness the clash of the UFC middleweight title. Anderson Silva “the Spider” from Brazil, VS Dan Henderson from Hollywood, will square off in a highly anticipated bout to determine the 2008 UFC middleweight champion.
Anderson Silva, undefeated in the UFC, is one of the most feared strikers in the middleweight division. He has sent Rich Franklin over to the plastic surgeon after their first fight at UFC 64 and he didn’t look much better after their second meeting at UFC 77. He is one of the best Muay Thai fighters in the UFC and his lightning elbows and knee strikes are among the most devastating blows in the middleweight division. He is extremely fast and powerful and you understand why he is nicknamed “The Spider” when you look at his clinch work.
On the other hand, he is facing a special case on this one in the person of Dan Henderson. Former Pride champion in welterweight and middleweight categories, he is coming off a really close split decision loss - that looked like a victory in many peoples’ minds including mine - against Rampage Jackson for the Pride/UFC unified title.
As styles make fights, Anderson Silva looks advantaged on paper because of his size, strikes and stand up skills. Dan Henderson, although an accomplished wrestler, will certainly go at it and brawl like he did against Wanderlei Silva and expose himself to deadly counters, but he is physically more powerful than the Brazilian and he has the tools to press the fight and overwhelm his opponent. I only fear that he will have to eat a lot of Brazilian knees and elbows to do that.
As strange as it may sound, I am rooting for Dan Henderson on this one. I honestly think that his granite chin - never been knocked out - his physical strength and his training ethic will make the difference. The guy is not “only” a great fighter but he is the owner and leader of Team Quest, one of the best MMA teams, and he manages other MMA fighter careers. He knows the business and is afraid of nothing, certainly not of middleweight strikes.
Other UFC 82 related articles
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• UFC 82 and UFC 83 cards announced
• I’m Clearing My Calendar for UFC 82
• Which is the better card: UFC 82 or UFC 83?
• Chris Leben’s Next Fight… UFC 82 Dan Henderson vs Anderson Silva