Liddell vs Franklin

We originally thought we would be witnessing a clash between the current “TUF” season coaches but as it turns out, it will be Rich Franklin that will be taking on the “iceman” Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 in Vancouver, Canada. As for why the bout was changed, well, Dana White says that “something” happened during the filming of the show and that we’re all going to have to follow the series to find out what that “something” is.

Regardless as to why the original Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell fight has been called off, I think that Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell is much more interesting. Reason being is that we’ve already seen Chuck Liddell outclass Tito Ortiz not once, but twice! A third fight between them when Chuck dominated him twice (the previous fights weren’t even close) doesn’t make any sense at all.

There’s name recognition and the casual fan might not have a problem paying 50 bucks for the pay per view, but those who have been following the sport for a few years (and who have already witnessed the two previous fights), we’re not impressed with the announcement of the Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz trilogy.

However, now we get Rich Franklin thrown into the mix and things get a lot more exciting. The name recognition is still there (so this will likely draw a lot of buyers) and not only that – it’s an intriguing match up as well. Both guys are legends who have been in the octagon with a who’s who list of fighters. And while both of these guys have racked up an impressive list of wins throughout their careers, both of them will be looking to rebound from devastating knockout losses.

As for how these two guys match up, well, they’re two of the most well rounded fighters in the sport. Despite popular belief, Chuck Liddell actually has a decent ground game. We just never get to see it as he uses his wrestling skills so well defensively to keep his fights standing – which is where he excels. I doubt Chuck Liddell will change his fighting style after all these years so you can expect him to come in with his usual “sprawl and brawl” mentality.

Fortunately for him, his “sprawl and brawl” approach may just work against Franklin. Rich Franklin is extremely well rounded, but he doesn’t excel at a certain aspect of the game. He doesn’t have a “weakness” per say, but his “strength” isn’t in a certain aspect of the game. Rather, his strength is how well rounded he is and how he puts all the aspects of fighting together so well.

That being said, Franklin has never been an extremely dominant wrestler and because of that, I think that Chuck Liddell will be able to dictate where this fight takes place. So, it’s most likely that this fight will take place on the feet and in that situation, Chuck Liddell has the slight advantage simply due to his knockout power.

That being said, the Chuck Liddell of today is NOT the Chuck Liddell that went undefeated for over 2 and a half years during his reign as the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. He’s taken some devastating shots and it looks as though his reaction time is on the decline. Dana White apparently feels the same way as he attempted to force Chuck into retirement as he was concerned for his safety.

Does Chuck still have it? If he’s able to pull off a victory over the always hard-fighting Franklin, then the answer is yes. If not, and if he drops his 5th fight in his last 6 outings, it may be time to hang up the 4 oz gloves forever.

Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson

Now that the UFC has such a rich talent pool, we (the fans) are able to witness some really competitive match-ups. Joe Silva – the matchmaker for the UFC – now has a lot to work with and this Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson showdown is a perfect example of what we should be seeing more of. Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson have a lot in common with each other. Both are former champion fighters who at one point, were seemingly unbeatable. Since then, both fighters have experienced some hard losses and both “one-time supermen” seem to share the same kryptonite in Anderson Silva.

However, this fight is taking place in the light heavyweight (205lbs) weight class. New fans of mixed martial arts may not be familiar with Dan Henderson’s accomplishments overseas in the now-bankrupt PRIDE organization but Dan Henderson knocked out Wanderlei Silva to become PRIDE’S light heavyweight champion. As a matter of fact, Dan Henderson held both the middleweight and light heavyweight titles at the same time. Of course, since coming over to the UFC, he lost his light heavyweight title to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a hard fought five-rounder and in his very next fight, Dan Henderson dropped his middleweight title as a result of getting choked out by Anderson Silva in the second round.

Rich Franklin has been a very successful fighter in his own right. The former UFC middleweight champion has been demolishing every opponent put in his path. That is of course, with the exception of Anderson Silva who has knocked out Rich Franklin not once, but twice with devastating knees from the clinch. Rich Franklin’s losses to Silva are most likely his reason for moving up a weight class. Rich Franklin’s choice to change divisions has been a good one so far as he’s already earned an impressive stoppage victory over the highly touted Matt Hamill in a fight where Rich Franklin displayed his much improved striking – particularly Thai-style kicks to the body.

So How Do Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson Match Up?

Both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are so well rounded that it is going to be tough for one to exploit the weakness of another. Dan Henderson – who trains out of team quest – is a former Olympian wrestler turned MMA fighter so his Greco-roman fighting style should give him an advantage in the tie-ups. It’s tough to tell who has the better striking in this one. Rich Franklin displayed excellent striking ability in his last fight (as he usually does) while Dan Henderson is known for his aggressive style and powerful overhand right. Anyone who is able to knock out Wanderlei Silva with a spinning back-fist the way Dan Henderson did should never be underestimated.

If you look to the ground game, well ..there’s no decisive winner here either. Dan Henderson is the better wrestler so he should be able to dictate where the fight takes place. If he wants to take Rich Franklin down, it’s likely that he’ll be able to do so. However, with Rich Franklin’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu background and submission defence, it’s unlikely that he’ll be submitted and its here where he may even catch Dan Henderson with something (although it’s still quite unlikely). I imagine if Dan Henderson is able to secure a takedown, he’ll be looking to just pound Rich Franklin out.

Skill-sets aside, the most important characteristic a fighter can have is “heart” and in this case, both fighters certainly have it. I don’t see either fighter giving up in this one and I especially don’t see either fighter fatiguing as both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson have gone the distance before in five round, championship fights. This fight will only be 3 rounds. This is a really tough one to call, which is a good thing as it goes to show just how evenly matched Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are. If I was to predict anything, I have to say that this will likely go to the judges scorecards. As for the winner, it can really go either way so I would just throw my money on the underdog (if their even is one).

Kimbo vs. Shamrock – Why?

The contracts are signed and it’s official. On October 4th, the bout between Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock will be the main event on Elite XC’s “Saturday Night Fights” set to air live on CBS. But why was Ken Shamrock selected as the next opponent for Kimbo Slice? The answer is simple – money!

Shamrock and Kimbo are two of the most well known fighters to casual fans. That name recognition is sure to go a long way when it comes to attracting viewers. As a matter of fact, Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock have been involved in two of the three most watched fights in the history of the sport.

Ken Shamrock’s third encounter with Tito Ortiz (which aired free on SpikeTV) drew an audience of 5.7 million viewers while the recent Kimbo vs. Thompson clash pulled in an audience of over 6.5 million. Shamrock vs. Slice, live on CBS – this fight is going to be huge. It makes money sense, that’s for sure.

But Is It Going To Be Competitive?

Ken Shamrock is certainly the more experienced of the two but at age 44, he’s clearly past his prime. His latest string of fights are evidence that he is no longer the fighter he once was. He’s 2-8 in his past 10 fights. He hasn’t won a fight in the last 4+ years and now he’s landed himself in the main event on a event set to air live on national television? Something just doesn’t seem right about that.

The motives here are clear. EliteXC needs the “Shamrock” name recognition to not only draw an audience but also, to build up their “cash cow” in Kimbo Slice. A win over Shamrock will further enhance the perceived legitimacy of Kimbo amongst the casual MMA fans. If you consider the controversy associated with last EliteXC event that featured Kimbo (read here), this new match-up seems a little suspicious to say the least.

Ken Shamrock has (on more than one occasion), been suspected of taking “dives” in some of his fights. In his fight with Franklin, he awkwardly drops to the mat before Franklins oncoming punch was even delivered. After that fight, Franklin went on to become a UFC “posterboy” for quite a while and Shamrock collected an unusually high payday.

He has also been criticized for his “performance” in his most recent fight with “Buzz” Berry. Shamrock, who is a veteran of almost 40 MMA fights, got dropped from a jab. A jab! Shamrock has never been known for having a “glass jaw” either so something about that doesn’t seem right.

Although, to be fair, Shamrock claimed to be sick during the fight and recently issued the following statement ..

“It was serious enough to where I lost 20 pounds and I was probably sick for about four weeks after I got back from England. I was hospitalized for about four days. It was a bad sickness. We got the right antibiotics and got everything cleared. I got myself back on the track again and going in the right direction and got my weigh back on. We started pursuing a fight, the Kimbo Slice thing came up and we said, ‘Wow, this is the perfect fight for me, man. You can’t gift wrap one better than this.’”

If that’s actually the case, it explains the lacklustre performance and if anything, he should be commended for stepping into the ring while he was that sick. As for his upcoming fight with Kimbo, UFC president Dana White had some interesting comments about the match-up..

“Another fucking joke from Gary Shaw. This fucker is so clueless that it’s laughable. First he thought we protected our guys, which is bullshit. Then he gave us shit for matching up Brock against Frank Mir. Which would he rather us do? Obviously he’s in favour of protecting guys since Kimbo doesn’t seem to be fighting a good fighter anytime soon. Bo Cantrell? Who the fuck is Bo Cantrell? Tank Abbott? He was never that good, he just looked tough and always got his ass kicked. Now Ken Shamrock? When is Kimbo going to fight a guy who was relevant past 1998? Tito Ortiz, who sucks, destroyed Ken Shamrock three times. It’s clear that Gary is going to milk his YouTube cash cow for all he’s worth but true fans know that Kimbo is a joke and he would get destroyed against any UFC Heavyweight. Maybe that moron Ken Shamrock will expose Kimbo and he’ll go back to fighting guys at the local Burger King. Gary Shaw and his 3rd rate promotion have no fucking credibility”

Not that I commend that fact that Dana is running his mouth and disrespecting some of the fighters that helped build the UFC into the MMA powerhouse that it is today, I think he’s right when he implies that EliteXC is protecting Kimbo and as he put it – “milking his YouTube cash cow for all he’s worth”.

Perhaps a better match up for Kimbo would have been Brett “The Grim” Rogers seeing as how he’s actually earned the shot by racking up a 7 fight win streak (he’s currently undefeated). Rogers, who extended a public challenge to Kimbo at the post fight press conference, has voiced his disappointment with the situation by issuing the following statement to five ounces of pain..

“As for Oct 4th; that was our spot. Shamrock with his name and giant ego butted in line to get a slice of Kevin. At 103 years of age Ken usurped our rightful place against the YouTube champ. Our sincerest hope is that Ken whips Kimbo and then we can finally euthanize the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” and relegate him to some MMA dinosaur exhibit. Maybe taxidermy him and Severn and place them on a rotating pedestal where they can endless circle each other.

If Ken proves to be more sham then rock and Fergi beats him, then the Slice hype grows even greater. Dude is already more of a myth then Sasquatch, Chupacabra and a fucking unicorn combined. Kevin is the black Yeti…So go ahead [Kimbo] and make us wait while you fight Tank and Shamrock. Hell, why not fight Hackney, Harold Howard, Fred Ettish and the rest of Jurassic MMA? And while your shuckin’ and duckin’ we will be hustlin’ and muscilin’ and when the bell finally tolls the only real question left is … do you wake up looking at canvas or arena lights?”

All in all, it comes down to money. Shamrock vs. Slice will draw a larger audience than a showdown between Kimbo & Rogers. Given the way EliteXC is protecting their “golden boy” investment, I’ll be throwing my money in Kimbo to win.