Liddell-Silva Still A Blockbuster

On December 29, 2007, live from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV, former UFC and Pride champions Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell (20-5) and "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1) will match up against each other at UFC 79: NEMESIS. Fight fans have been speculating about this fight for years now, and despite recent losses, the match up is still highly anticipated.  An article by Don Davenport.

Chuck Liddell lost his Light Heavyweight Championship to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC: 71 by TKO in the first round by a devastating right hand. Liddell then lost his 2nd fight in a row at UFC: 76 to Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine by split decision. Wanderlei Silva was knocked out by Mirko "Cro Cop" with a left high kick in the in the Open-Weight Grand Prix semi-finals at PRIDE: Fnial Conflict Absolute. Silva too lost his 2nd fight in a row and Middleweight Championship to Dan "Hollywood" Henderson by knockout at Pride 33: Second Coming.

Liddell and Silva were on the top of their respective fight games one year ago wioth both possessing the Championship in their weight class. The argument then was: Who is better, Silva or Liddell? The argument now : Who is more disappointing, Silva or Liddell? This fight was initially anticipated at PRIDE: Final Conflict 2003 tournament, but Liddell was eliminated by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Since then, no negotiations could be made for the two fighters to meet, until UFC President Dana White announced on Spike TV's 2007 Scream Awards that the dream match would finally take place.

My Prediction for the winner of this long awaited battle is none other than Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. Liddell will beat Silva because of two reasons. The first is inactivity: Silva has not competed since PRIDE 33 where he was defeated by knockout by Dan Henderson. This is main component why Silva's training parter Mauricio "Shogun" Rua lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC: 76. The second is that Silva has never done well in "The Octagon". He's 1-2. Silva suffered his biggest loss to Vitor Belfort in just 44 seconds at UFC Brazil: Ultimate Brazil.

I would have suggested that Silva should take a tune up fight, but if he lost, I know that this match would lose appeal; so I am glad he is going for it If Silva is aggressive, he can catch Liddell early and end the fight. When he is at his best, Silva throws a lot of punches and knees, often knocking out his opponents. Remember, he defeated the current UFC Light Heavywieght Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (twice) by knockout in PRIDE. For Liddell to win the fight, he needs to counter Silva's punches with a jab, keep his hands up, and be the more aggressive fighter.

If Liddell doesn't get motivated for this, the biggest fight of his career, he might want to join Randy Couture on the sidelines.