The Iceman and The Axe Murderer

It might not be quite as exciting as when first announced, but the Superfight between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva looks as if it is going to happen after all. It was first announced at UFC 61 in July 2006, that the two fighters who were at the time at the top of their respective promotions, would fight if Liddell could get past Renato Sobral at UFC 62. Liddell did, but negotiations between the UFC and PRIDE broke down, Wanderlei got knocked out by both Cro Cop and Dan Henderson, Liddell got rampaged by Quinton Jackson, and before you know it, here we are. Two fighters who were at the top of the pile less than a year ago are now struggling to regain their respective reputations. Such is the world of Mixed Martial Arts. So even though this fight may not be the greatest thing to ever take place in an Octagon, it still promises to be an excellent fight between who I consider to be the 3rd and 4th best Light heavyweights in the world (Rampage and Henderson are above them).

Wanderlei is 2-0 against Rampage, with his first victory coming by TKO after 17 consecutive knee strikes. Coincidentally, this took place at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003, the same event in which Rampage Jackson knocked out Liddell for the first time. Wanderlei holds a split record against Henderson. Liddell has obviously lost twice to Rampage but has never fought Henderson. Of course, Liddell has many other wins to his credit, including two against Randy Couture and two against Tito Ortiz. Both fighters (Liddell and Silva) are well-known for their street fighting inspired strategy and generally aggressive style. Although I'd expect them to feel each other out for a little (a la Rampage-Liddell II), I think it would only be a matter of time before these two legends started to bang, ending in a fast and hard finish.

MMAfighting.com has an excellent article on the subject, and in a far more articulate fashion than mine, lays out each fighter's strengths and how the fight would go down (both under PRIDE rules and UFC rules). For those of you too bored to read (or maybe you don't know how, like me), the article paints Silva as having near-equal punching power, a slightly better chin, and some of the best conditioning in the world. Essentially, he's Tito Ortiz if Tito could punch and withstand punishment. Or from another perspective, he's like me with conditioning. Either way, we're talking about a complete fighter here. However, Liddell shouldn't be overlooked: with punching power (probably more than Silva), a great chin (other than the Rampage fight which is unfortunately everyone's most recent memory), and a legendary sprawl (seriously, the best since Royce Gracie ten years ago), he wouldn't exactly be expected to drop easily. Despite Liddell's credentials, I believe that Wanderlei Silva's Muay Thai skills would come through in the end, delivering the victory to the Brazilian Chute Boxe prodigy in one of the earlier rounds.