Instead of doing a typical UFC 82 preview, I decided to run down some of the numbers, and then quickly break down some of the fights.
2: Anderson Silva VS Dan Henderson will be the second time a current PRIDE champion will fight a current UFC champion.
6: Yushin Okami has had 6 UFC fights, all of which have gone to the 3rd round.
1156: Days since Anderson Silva’s last non DQ loss.
5: Alessio Sakara’s last 5 fights have all ended in the first round.
36: UFC events since Evan Tanner’s last fight, a triangle choke victory over Justin Levens
7: Different countries represented at UFC 82: Brazil, United States, France, Belarus, Sweden, Japan and Italy.
10-0: Jake O’Brien has a perfect 10-0 record in MMA.
70: Andrei Arlovski hasn’t fought since UFC 70 in April of last year.
0: Number on times Dan Henderson has been knocked out
21:56: amount of time Anderson Silva has spent in the Octagon.
5: During UFC 82 Mark Coleman will be inducted as the 5th member of the UFC Hall of Fame
15: Jon Fitch will be going for his 15th straight victory.
8: Royce Gracie holds the record for most consecutive wins in the UFC at 8. With a win, Jon Fitch will tie him.
12/13/06: The last time Diego Sanchez won a fight. He beat Joe Riggs that night to go 17-0 for his career.
3: There are 3 contestants from the first season of the Ultimate Fighter on the fight card.
Anderson Silva VS Dan Henderson: Dan Henderson has never been knocked out. Anderson Silva is the best striker in the game putting up highlight reel KO’s including a standing elbow to Tony Fryklund, breaking Rich Franklin’s nose several times in several places and knocking out Chris Leben 3 times in one fight. Silva is great in the clinch, but Henderson will use his Greco skills to overpower Silva when in the clinch. Henderson does have power, but standing with Silva could be a mistake. I’m going with Silva via TKO in 2nd. Don’t be the least bit surprised to see Henderson win though.
Heath Herring VS Cheick Kongo: Kongo has very good standup, but his ground game is questionable. He was exposed badly against Carmelo Marrero. Since then he has defeated 2 strikers. Herring should try and take Kongo down and throw him some submissions. Herring via submission in the 2nd
Jon Fitch VS Chris Wilson: Fitch is going for the all-time record for most consecutive wins in the UFC. He is the UFC’s best kept secret. Wilson has been on the IFL and trains with Team Quest. Wilson has decent strikes and can submit you, but Fitch might be the 2nd best 170lb fighter in the world. Fitch via Decision.
Evan Tanner VS Yushin Okami: A very weird fight. Evan hasn’t fought since UFC 59. Tanner has some amazing heart, he has some great comebacks. Okami likes to ground and pound, but Tanner has better wrestling. Don’t look for Yushin to have any fans after bashing American fighters. Tanner via Decision.
Chris Leben VS Alessio Sakara: A classic strikers fight. They both love to throw and this fight will be a very entertaining fight. The difference is Leben can take a punch, Sakara cannot. Leben in the first via TKO.
Andrei Arlovski VS Jake O’Brien: Jake is a great wrestler, putting on a clinic against Heath Herrings. Arlovski was the UFC’s top dog about 3 years ago. Then he got KO’d by then Tim Sylvia. Since then his career has been spiraling downhill. However, on the feet, Arlovski should have no problems cleaning O’Brien clocks. Arlovski via TKO in the 2nd.
Check out the Fight Card show at www.getsportsradio.com and www.myspace.com/thefightcard for a full recap.
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