UFC 84 Preview and Picks

Main Event: Lightweight Title Match

BJ Penn (13-4-1) Vs Sean Sherk (35-2-1)

Sean “the muscle shark” Sherk is just back off suspension for steroids. Before the suspension had successfully defended his championship belt numerous times, but one has to wonder how much that extra power came into play. His only losses in his career are to George St Pierre and to Matt Hughes to give you an idea how good he is. Sherk is a ground and pound machine and has great cardio. He will try to lay on Penn for the 5 rounds and try to get his belt back by decision.

For those unfamiliar with MMA, BJ Penn is like the Rasheed Wallace of UFC. All the talent in the world earned him the nickname “the Prodigy,” however after winning his first UFC title at age 19 he got full of himself, over weight and lost in a couple matches where he was in control in the beginning and gassed in the later rounds. Penn is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and is the superior striker.

Prediction: I think either Penn wins by TKO or submission in the second round. Sherk looks skinnier since his steroid suspension, and one has to wonder if he will feel quite as strong without that extra juice.

Undercard:

Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) vs Keith Jardine (13-4-1)

Silva is the “Axe-Murderer,” but he is way past it. He looked old and slow in his last bout versus Chuck Liddel and Liddel was just dominated by Jardine. I look for Jardine to use leg kicks to wear down Silva, and the fight to most likely end in a TKO one way or the other in the third round. Both of these guys like to exchange and aren’t scared to mix it up, but Jardine is usually a little more intelligent about it. I know the UFC is trying to set up Silva to return to form and then take on the winner of Rampage vs Forrest Griffin, but I like Jardine in this one.

Tito Ortiz (16-5-1) vs Lyoto Machida (12-0-0)


Lyoto Machida is one of the least known but best fighters in the world. He has a very methodical style that is unpopular among some fans but the fact is he always gets the job done.

Ortiz of course is a fan favorite and dating Jenna Jameson which is almost as impressive as anything he has ever done inside the octagon. Ortiz got totally dicked by the egomaniacal Dana White who didn’t like the fact that Ortiz was almost as big as the UFC itself, so with Ortiz in the final bout of his UFC contract, White tried to feed him to the “Dragon” which happens to be Machida’s Nickname. I think that while Machida has to be favored because of his youth and overwhelming victories in his last few fights, Ortiz may just hate Dana White enough to be able to pull this one out.

Prediction: Machida by split decision.


Final Thoughts: Thiago Silva, one of my personal favorite fighters, and one to keep an eye on for the future is also fighting on this card. He fights at 205 and is just a beast athletically. You might remember him out beasting Houston Alexander the last time he fought. He also has the look of a killer, and I think an impressive win should put him only one or two more victories from title shot consideration. I know the light heavyweight division is filled with contenders, Liddel, Wanderlei, Jardine, Griffin, Machida, Rashad Evans, etc, however I think Thiago Silva might just be the best of the bunch. Check him out.