(25-4) Anderson Silva vs. Damian Maia (12-1)
One of two titles are placed on the line tonight, the main card being Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title against fellow Brazilian Damian Maia. Silva makes his way back down to middleweight after his 1st round destruction of former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin in an outstanding bout which featured Silva’s elusiveness and comfort in his standup game. Maia is coming off an impressive 3 round bout with fellow middleweight Dan Miller, rebounding off his 21 second KO loss to Marquardt.
Silva is currently ranked the #1 middleweight in the world, as well as in the top 3 pound for pound fighters in the world. The 34 year old holds three black belts (Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and BJJ) and is currently on a yellow belt in Capoeira. He trains at Team Blackhouse, which holds some of the most profound fighters in the sport to include fellow UFC Champion Lyoto Machida, top HW contender Junior dos Santos, as well as the Nogueira twins. Silva won the middleweight title after a very quick destruction of former champ Rich Franklin. He then went on to dominate the entire division, and even made the jump to light heavy and is undefeated there as well.Although he has expressed interest to fight in the heavyweight division, do not expect to see any less enthusiasm when he fights in the prized middleweight class.
Maia is one of the most decorated grapplers in MMA. After the 21 second knockout late last year, Maia has hit the gym hard in order to bring his boxing skills up to par with his grappling credentials. This is all good and fine, but taking the fight on a somewhat short notice does not give Maia the chance to gain the standup to be competitive against arguably the best fighter in MMA. Maia is an absolute monster on the ground, and his recent UD win over Miller should be considered a tribute to the work Miller has done, instead of Maia not finishing the fight.
There are a couple of questions that may prove interesting during this match. Silva has had quite a lay off, especially in his weight class. It will have been a few days short of a year since Silva has had to cut down to 185. Another interesting bit is the fact that Silva was not able to finish his past two middleweight fights (Cote lost via TKO due to an injury). It is clear that Maia has the advantage on the ground and that Silva has the advantage on the feet and in the clinch. Silva has a little over a 5 inch reach advantage, so Maia is going to have to take a chance and get inside to get Silva to the ground.
The other big factor for Silva is his interest level. He is torn through a division as thorough as no one else has, and has expressed interest in the two weight classes above him. I seriously doubt that Silva will come unprepared, but the level of confidence borders on cockiness, and Maia is a very serious competitor.
Anderson Silva (25-4)
Win KO Forrest Griffin 08-08-09
Win UD Thales Leites 04-18-09
Win TKO Patrick Cote 10-25-08
Win KO James Irvin 07-19-08
Win Sub Dan Henderson 03-01-08
Damian Maia (12-1)
Win UD Dan Miller 02-06-10
Loss KO Nate Marquardt 08-29-09
Win Sub Chael Sonnen 02-21-09
Win Sub Nate Quarry 11-15-08
Win Sub Jason McDonald 08-09-08
(15-5-1) BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
BJ Penn has a very colorful history with the UFC, and MMA in general. Don’t let his record fool you either, 15-5-1 may not sound too intimidating, but when you look at who he has fought, you will understand why he is widely considered in the top 5 pound for pound fighters in the world.Frankie Edgar is no slouch either. Fighting some of the best the UFC has to offer currently at 155, he has made easy work of every one of them, with the exception of Gray Maynard. Many believe that Maynard should have the first title shot, it seems Edgar had impressed the powers that be just a bit more, the question is, was it worth it?
Penn has a long history of both weight and cardio problems. He fights because it is what he wants to do, he is not in need of the money, and being from Hawaii has some stigmas that he has fallen into with ease. That is, until he met the Marinovich brothers and their cardio workout. In his past two fights with Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, he was taken into the championship rounds, and looked fresher than both, which is no small feat looking at the cardio of those two.Also rejuvenated is his want to win. Since his defeat at the hands of Georges St. Pierre at 170, he has become more determined than, probably, his entire MMA career. That is one scary thought.
Standing in Penn’s way of possibly making a permanent transition to welterweight, is Edgar.Frankie made his UFC debut against fellow top ten lightweight Tyson Griffin. He won Fight of the Night honors and the unanimous decision victory, and followed it up with wins over Bocek and Fisher. In his match with Gray Maynard, he met his equal and lost the decision. He has since won 3 straight matches, including former lightweight champ Sean Sherk. He is a BJJ Purple belt, with supurb wrestling credentials, and great boxing.
Edgar has a two inch reach advantage over Penn, and the wrestling to equalize Penn’s, at least on paper. Although BJ has T-Rex arms, his boxing skills far exceed any that Edgar brings to the table. Another advantage over Edgar, is Penn’s flexibility and heavy, heavy hands. With the championship on the line, and Penn’s want to keep the win steak together before taking another run at welterweight, do not expect to see anything other than a very game BJ in the ring. There are only two top lightweights that have yet to face Penn, Edgar being one of them, is he the answer to Penn’s dominance at lightweight?
(43-7) Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Renzo looks to give back a little respect to the Gracie family when he battles Matt Hughes in a welterweight match. With Royce losing badly to Hughes, and the sloppy performance by Rolles, the Gracie family has not looked as impressive as they once were in MMA. Renzo looks to right the ship, but standing in the way is a younger Hughes, who looks to be taking the long road to semi-retirement.
Though this match has no contender status remotely near it, it should prove entertaining to see if Gracie can perform to the standards so many people expect to come from the name. Hughes was once the most dominate welterweight champion in MMA, and has since had an up and down career. Gracie is no shining knight either; his so-so record has no wins of any known names in MMA. Though both are extremely talented in their areas of expertise, the wrestling of Hughes, and the BJJ of Gracie somewhat neutralize each other.
Either this match will be a grappling showcase, or it will turn into a standup war. Hughes has had a tough time when it comes to using his stand-up skills, squeaking out a when over fellow wrestler Serra, who has slightly more experience standing. Gracie holds an unheard of 6thdegree black belt in BJJ, so his credentials are just as showy as the rest of the Gracies, but he will be 43 at the time of the fight, a full 7 years older than his competitor. Also, this will be the first MMA match in over 3 years for Gracie, and his last was a win over Frank Shamrock via DQ.Both fighters are near the end of their MMA career, it seems like this is Hughes match to lose, but with the expertise the Gracie name carries, there is always a chance this could be an upset.
(11-6) Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz (7-1)
This could turn into the classic grappler/striker matchup. Grove is skilled in both BJJ and Muay Thai, while Munoz prefers the classic wrestler turned striker route. Grove has put away some of the big names in the UFC in excellent submission holds, and Munoz, though his record is not large, has put away almost all of his fights by TKO.
Grove is a Muay Thai machine. Training with both Team Punishment and Xtreme Couture after winning season 3 on the Ultimate Fighter series, he went 3-0 in the UFC before running into stiff competition in Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. After his loss against Rivera, he has since moved back to Hawaii and trains with friend BJ Penn. Since the move, he is 3-1 with his only loss coming to Ricardo Almeida via decision. Grove has deadly knees in the clinch, and with a definite height advantage (he stands at 6’6) he will look to keep the distance until he is comfortable getting into the clinch to finish it off.
Munoz comes in on a two win streak, and is looking to step up in competition. Although he gives up 6 inches in height, he has won all but two of his fights via strikes, and has mostly submission fighters. Munoz holds a purple belt in BJJ and is a Division I wrestler. He trains with Team Blackhouse which holds some of the most lethal fighters in the UFC, including fellow 112 fighter and middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
With the middleweight division being as stacked as has recently become, this fight will push the winner further up the ladder, and should get them within 3 or so fights before a contender match. One thing is for sure about this match, it should not be a snoozer.
(13-4) Rafael dos Anjos vs. Terry Etim (14-2)
On paper, this is probably one of the most even fights you can get. Both are excellent BJJ and Muay Thai practitioners and both have fought big names in the UFC and won. While most of the lightweight class in the UFC is at a stalemate due to the Champ BJ Penn, some of the new up and comers get a chance to fight some of the bigger names. Here the newbies fight each other to plunge them deeper into the next tier of lightweights.
Etim is on the verge of becoming one of the top 10 lightweights in the UFC, he has sick choke submissions over Buchholz and Gugerty and a decision win over Sam Stout. He is currently riding a four fight win streak and has only lost to Clementi and Tibau (no shame since they are both great fighters, and those were his second and third fights in the UFC). Etim has won 11 of his 14 by submission, most by some form of choke hold.
Dos Anjos is on a two win streak after taking out both TUF alum Emerson and ex-UFC lightweight Kyle Bradley. Etim is definitely a step up in competition, and the last two fighters that were above mid-tier, dos Anjos has had problems with. This may be his last fight if he doesn’t win or give it his all in the cage, with losses to Griffin and Stephens.
The Undercard
On the undercard, you have two undefeated light heavyweights going toe to toe (Davis vs. Gustafsson) with a lot of hype. Both with 1 win in the UFC, Davis is expected to make a huge splash with his collegiate wrestling background. Also on the undercard is the swan song for Al-Turk, as a loss would surely send him out of the UFCs roster. TUF alum Madsen stands in his way to make his official UFC debut. A stand up war between Johnson and Blackburnshouldn’t go past the 1st round, and has the potential to be fight of the night.
UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi– 04/10/10
(25-4) Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia (12-1)
(15-5-1) BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
(43-7) Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
(11-6) Kendall Grove vs. Mark Munoz (7-1)
(13-4) Rafael dos Anjos vs. Terry Etim (14-2)
(9-3) Rick Story vs. Nick Osipczak (5-0)
(10-5-1) Paul Taylor vs. John Gunderson (22-7)
(3-0) Jon Madsen vs. Mostapha Al Turk (6-5)
(9-2) Paul Kelly vs. Matt Veach (11-1)
(10-7) DaMarques Johnson vs. Brad Blackburn (15-10-1)
(5-0) Phil Davis vs. Alexander Gustafsson (9-0)
Tim’s Picks
Maia by Submission (Armbar) in Round 3
Penn by TKO in Round 4
Gracie by Submission (Armbar) in Round 2
Grove by TKO in Round 1
Etim by KO in Round 1
Osipczak by Submission (RNC) in Round 2
Taylor by Unanimous Decision
Madsen by Unanimous Decision
Veach by Submission (Triangle Choke) in Round 2
Blackburn by KO in Round 1
Davis by Submission (RNC) in Round 1
