“Any Given Sunday”, that’s the old saying in the NFL, but it certainly pertains to MMA. Sure most fights occur on Saturday but you get the point. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. That brings me to the two main fights going on this Saturday night at separate venues. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia on the Affliction card and Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin in the UFC. First we’ll look at the Silva – Irvin match.
Let’s be honest, Anderson Silva is the best striker in the UFC, maybe in all of MMA. Yes, he’s moving up a weight class to light heavyweight but he walks around at over 200 pounds so I don’t see this being a problem for him. James Irvin is also a very good striker (knocking out Houston Alexander in 8 seconds in his last fight) but he’s not at the level of Silva. However, we have yet to see Silva’s chin get tested, sure he’s taken some shots but nothing that’s put him in any major trouble. Irvin has proved he has the power to do just that. When it comes to the ground game it’s a no brainer, the advantage goes to Silva. All that being said, this is still a very intriguing match. How will Silva do against a stronger opponent? If Silva walks through Irvin like he has everyone else, where does he go from there? What if Irvin KO’s Silva like he did Alexander? Lot’s of questions will be answered Saturday night. My prediction: I stopped second guessing Anderson Silva after the Dan Henderson fight (yes it took me that long) and James Irvin is not a top ten light heavyweight. I believe Silva will win, and no, it won’t go past the second round. Sure anything can happen but some things I’m fairly certain about and Anderson Silva continuing his dominance is one of them.
Now for the fight that’s so big, Dana White had to give us the Silva –Irvin match for free. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia is as big a fight as we’ve seen in quite sometime. My only wish is that this would take place in a cage and not a ring (not a huge fan of the ring). Emelianenko is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, the only problem is he doesn’t fight that often and the fighter’s he’s taken on recently haven’t been top-level guy’s ( Matt Lindland is the exception, he however was much smaller than Fedor). Still, Fedor is a beast that just keeps coming at you. His striking is very good but his ground-and-pound maybe the best in MMA. Add that to that the fact he never panics and always seems to have a great game plan. Tim Sylvia is a monster at 6’8” and takes on the best the heavyweight division can throw at him. He doesn’t always put on the best show and he doesn’t always win but he’s willing to fight anyone. Sylvia has good stand-up and a decent sprawl. He may be able to keep Fedor at a safe distance with his jab but that didn’t work against Randy Couture. A lot of people are picking Sylvia in this one even though he’s the underdog, let me tell you there’s a reason he’s the underdog. “Big Tim” likes to fight at his pace, which is a slow pace, Fedor likes to push the pace unlike any heavyweight out there. That could cause problems for the big man. My prediction: Emelianenko by TKO round 2.
Like I mentioned earlier, of course there’s a chance Sylvia can win, anything can happen on any given day. I feel as certain of Fedor and Silva winning on Saturday as I did the New England Patriots beating the Giants in the Super Bowl. OH wait….
