Intriguing Fights Keep Coming in a Stacked Summer for MMA
Summer is not a great time for every form of entertainment. Sitcom and TV drama enthusiasts have nothing to watch on the tube, many of the most popular spectator sports are on hiatus, and the only refuge for many is the movie theater, where summer blockbusters are never in short supply.
This year, there are some summer blockbusters on tap in the MMA world, and a few new fights have been added to an already stacked season of bouts.
Most notably, the rumored Forrest Griffin- Thiago Silva bout has been tossed to the wayside in favor of something much more interesting. Griffin will be facing a different Silva, albeit one who’s even more dangerous, in Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. UFC president Dana White had said at the UFC 97 press conference that a fight in the light heavyweight division might be just what Silva needs to get back into the groove he was in before the Patrick Cote fight, where he was making a habit of demolishing opponents each time he competed.
Will Forrest be able to take Silva out of his shell? It would appear that he’d do a better job of it than Cote or Thales Leites could. Griffin, while no threat to knock out Silva, has always moved forward in his fights, and though he’s not the brawler he once was, he’s not one to stand idly as Silva dances around the cage for three rounds, either. The real question here may be whether Silva will take the fight more seriously than his last two, which would seem to be the real determining factor for how hard he pushes for a finish. On a side note, it is pretty unfortunate when you wonder more about whether Silva will attempt to finish the fight than whether he will win it. Still, this fight is more about seeing where Silva’s head is at then whether Silva can overcome Griffin, which he should surely be able to do.
With Thiago Silva freed up, a matchup of two light heavyweights who desperately need to move towards the top of the weight class has been constructed. Silva will apparently face Keith Jardine, who has always worked hard and impressed, despite a couple of disappointing early knockout losses in his last several fights. It will be great to see whether Jardine will once again have a great game plan for his opponent, and also to see whether Silva can rebound from being absolutely dominated by the unbeaten Lyoto Machida.
Of course, the UFC doesn’t have a complete monopoly on great summer bouts, as Strikeforce has announced what should be a very exciting fight, as well. Nick Diaz, fresh off of his destruction of Frank Shamrock, will take on Scott Smith, who always comes to fight and puts on a great show. It will be interesting to see whether Diaz, buoyed with confidence by the success he’s had with his boxing thus far, will attempt to strike with the heavy-handed Smith or not. I’m not usually a huge fan of striker-grappler matchups, but Diaz has a dynamic enough game to make this more compelling, and Smith does have a strength advantage as well.
Finally, we’ll get to see Takeya Mizugaki again against Jeff Curran at WEC 42 in August. I’m really looking forward to seeing Mizugaki again, as his performance against Miguel Torres, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, was very impressive. Curran will be bringing his absolute best to the cage that night, as he’s coming off of three straight losses and desperately needs to get his career back on track.
by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com
Tags: Anderson Silva, Dana White, Forrest Griffin, Frank Shamrock, Keith Jardine, Lyoto Machida, Miguel Torres, Nick Diaz, Patrick Cote, Strikeforce, Thiago Silva, UFC, WEC
