Rumored card for UFC 88
Have you guys seen what is coming up for 88, according to mmaweekly.com? The card looks fantastic, as it stands right now.
UFC 88: SEPTEMBER 6, 2008 IN ATLANTA
venue: Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Yushin Okami (#6 Middleweight in the World)
-Chuck Liddell (#3 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Rashad Evans
-Rich Franklin (#3 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Matt Hamill
-Dan Henderson (#8 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Rousimar Palhares
-Karo Parisyan (#10 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
-Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan
-James Lee vs. Tim Boetsch
*Based on MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings
I'm not sure about the Chonan-Carneiro fight, but I like Tim Boetsch. I think he has a spectacular KO of Lee on the way. Karo vs Yoshida is going to be a technical fight, with Karo really wanting to prove the loss to Alves was a fluke. Yoshida decimated War Machine at 84. Hendo vs. Palhares is a fight I won't touch from a betting standpoint. I just want to sit back and watch that fight. I love Toquino, but this is DAN FREAKIN HENDERSON we are talking about here. Rich moving up to 205 to fight Hamill and the long awaited Chuck-Rashad fight are just crumbs on the table for the Silva - Okami fight. By all accounts, Anderson is a nice guy. He respects his opponents to the extreme. But he is not a fan of Okami. He wants to destroy this guy. For those of you that don't know, Okami holds a win over Silva via DQ, when Silva hit him with an illegal upkick (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrffr_rotr-anderson-silva-vs-yushin-oka...). Here is an exerpt from an interview with Josh Gross over on sherdog from a while back...
Okami was given every chance to recover, though even if he'd been lucid the disqualification still could have been warranted.
"The Spider" doesn't see it that way.
"I feel it was a cheap, cowardly way of winning," a pointed Silva says more than two years after the scrap. "People that were there saw that he was in the condition to come back and keep fighting, and he didn't."
Silva says he doesn't "really think much of anything of Okami," but the Brazilian was more poised when stuck under Henderson than he is when discussing the Japanese fighter.
"It wasn't really a fight," Silva describes the disqualification loss before adding that he doesn't want to talk about it anymore.
Judging by how Silva treats opponents he likes, such as Rich Franklin (Pictures), Okami should be careful. He is a quality contender and could provide an intriguing matchup for the UFC middleweight champ, but he may also find out just what Silva fights like when he's angry.
I can't wait to see what Silva does in this fight. The card could really be something special.
- TheBudCan's blog
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Comments
I really hope they add
I really hope they add another interesting fight to this card... several great stars in Chuck, Anderson and Hendo... but all three of them are fighting guys they should ROLL over. Even Karo's fight is one he should roll over. No earth-shattering can't miss fights. I am sure one of those four will get upset as that is the way of MMA... but give me one title-contending fight beyond Chuck vs Wrestler or Anderson vs a very good MW that he should beat 9/10 times and only lost to because of crappy DQ. This is not a card I would buy as it sits...
Sixtus - I think Yoshida,
Sixtus - I think Yoshida, Palhares, Hamill and Evans deserve a lot more credit than. Yoshida's wins over Akira Kikuchi and Katsuya Inoue are really good wins. I think he is going to give Karo fits. He's got a lot to prove after getting KO'd by Alves. Palhares is a submission machine. I know Hendo has only gotten caught in subs three times in his career (twice by Big Nog, once by Anderson), but this kid is special, and could pull off another slick submission like he did against Ivan Salaverry. Henderson is on a two fight losing streak, and will be 38 in August. Toquino is 10 years younger. Matt Hamill has been solid since being on the Ultimate Fighter. He hasn't been pushed too hard so far, with wins over Jesse Forbes, Seth Petruzelli, Rex Holman, and Tim Boetsch, and the controversial loss to Michael Bisping. He is not the most exciting fighter, but he does enough to win most nights. Franklin has only lost to Machida and Silva. It's gonna be a tough fight for Hamill, but couldn't you see him grinding out a decision? Same with Evans. He's not going to engage Chuck on his feet, and Chuck is a star with his takedown defense. It's really going to be a tough fight for Rashad, but I could totally see him hanging on for a decision win. And I want to see an angry Anderson Silva. I want to see what he can do in an inspired fight, against a guy who has a (controversial) win over him. Granted, most of these fights are going to go the way of the favorite, but I think the line-up is really strong, and there is some semblance of back-story. I've got to figure that if both Franklin and Henderson win, they are on a crash course, with the winner getting another shot at Silva, if they want to fight at 185. And the winner of Liddell-Evans should be in the running for a shot at the Rampage-Forrest winner. I think it has the makings of a truly special card.
It certainly makes up for
It certainly makes up for having Leben and Bisping be the main event for 89...
Isn't Matt Hammill a LHW?
Isn't Matt Hammill a LHW? And Anderson Silva is fighting in July so I can't see him fighting so early. I think its wishful thinking.
Wardog
RIP George Carlin
Wardog - It looks like
Wardog - It looks like Franklin is talking about moving up to 205. I saw an article on the front page of fightticker.com yesterday that said Silva wants to fight two or three more times this year, including the July 19 card, so that would put him right on pace for that. Here is the link.
http://www.fightticker.com/story_0704081435_anderson_silva_wants_to_figh...
I guess I am not giving this
I guess I am not giving this card enough credit... really I look at a card and ask myself if I want to pay $55 and watch it live or would I rather just watch them on the internet later. Chuck and Silva on the same card with a long-time favorite of mine in Hendo and I guess it teeters on getting all my casual MMA fan friends together to drink a few and watch it. It's borderline.
I know in the world of MMA that upsets are the norm... but there are 4 and arguably 5 fights with huge favorites.