MMA Junkie: Thiago Silva Will Fight Keith Jardine at UFC 102

by Michael Rome on Apr 28, 2009 8:42 PM EDT in News Comment 35 comments

Didn't take long to find Thiago Silva a new opponent:

Sources close to the organization have informed MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that "The Dean of Mean" and Siva have verbally agreed to meet at the Aug. 29 event.

Bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

MMAjunkie.com originally learned of the planned Thiago Silva vs. Griffin matchup in March, but those plans were scrapped today in favor of the former light heavyweight champ and "The Ultimate Fighter" winner facing off with current UFC middleweight title holder Anderson Silva in a 205-pound contest.

This is a pretty evenly matched fight. A lot of people expected Jardine to draw Anderson Silva, but the UFC threw everyone a curveball. With both guys coming off losses, it gives them a chance to get back into the thick of things at the top.

Stylistically this is a good fight for Jardine, and likely another frustrating outing for Silva, who couldn't figure out Machida in January. Jardine isn't the same kind of mystery, but he won't stand in front of Silva and slug it out. It should be a good fight.

The odd men out so far are Shogun and Luis Cane, so many are speculating that a fight between the two will be announced soon. There are other possibilities however for both men, including Rich Franklin and the loser of the UFC 98 title match. I'd like to see the two fight, it's a good test to see how good Cane really is, and whether or not Shogun is really back.

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Comments

don't want to see shogun vs cane yet

because I’m really starting to like cane and would hate to see him lose. I rather have shogun fight the loser of machida vs evans, but I’m clueless on who cane should get.

by orcus on Apr 28, 2009 9:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

How about Shogun-Machida/Evans and Cane-Franklin?

"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."

by AJB on Apr 28, 2009 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but won't that take too long?

with franklin being tied up with wandy?

by orcus on Apr 28, 2009 9:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, Cane just fought and he took some serious shots, and Franklin is fighting soon, so it wouldn’t be an unreasonably long period, I’d think.

"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."

by AJB on Apr 29, 2009 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cane-Hamill?

"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn

by Day Man on Apr 28, 2009 9:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hammill is facing Brandon Vera next, I believe.

by madiq on Apr 28, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep, darn

"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn

by Day Man on Apr 28, 2009 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hamill’s fighting Vera at UFC 102.

http://www.fourouncestofreedom.com

by Beer Monster on Apr 28, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also true, my bad

"Japan is half-Machida" - iiowyn

by Day Man on Apr 28, 2009 9:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m cool with Shogun-Cane, but only because it will help set up some potential challengers after Rampage gets his shot. However, if Franklin beats Wanderlei, I’d REALLY like to see Franklin-Shogun instead.

by madiq on Apr 28, 2009 9:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agree, that would be a great fight.

by Michael Rome on Apr 28, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jardine apparently has problems with aggressive fighters (Alexander, Wandy) so if Thiago comes out hard and fast, he might get another first-round KO. That said, War Jardine!

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by themachiavellian on Apr 28, 2009 9:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It’s true, but I think I wouldn’t read too much into getting caught by Wand and getting completely surprised by houston. I also don’t think Thiago is anywhere near the threat standing those 2 are.

by Michael Rome on Apr 28, 2009 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Silva’s less of a threat standing than Houston?

http://www.fourouncestofreedom.com

by Beer Monster on Apr 28, 2009 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Probably because no one knew Alexander, while EVERYONE knows Thiago’s style. It’s not that he’s an inferior striker, but he’s a known quantity.

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by themachiavellian on Apr 28, 2009 9:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mistyped…I meant he’s less of a threat now than Houston was when nobody knew who he was and he killed people.

by Michael Rome on Apr 28, 2009 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jardine for the win

This will definitely put him back in the win column as Silva is more like Liddell throwing the big bombs. Silva as of recent doesn’t have a ground game that can compete with Jardine. I’m calling it now.

by JAYGK95 on Apr 28, 2009 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know a lot of people subscribe to that line of thinking, but I am not one of them.

Alexander’s aggression didn’t cause Jardine any problems. He wrecked Alexander almost immediately on the first exchange, but then pulled a Pete Sell and left himself completely unprotected while going in for the finish. As soon as Houston landed that first hook to the temple, the fight was essentially over. Jardine was on rubber legs for the last 20 seconds of the fight while Alexander used him as a human heavy bag.

I don’t remember Wand backing him down either. I remember them being toe-to-toe in an exchange when Wand dropped him with a big shot. Obviously, Wand’s aggression took over after he had Jardine hurt, but that wasn’t the reason for the initial shot that put Jardine on Queer street. Jardine just got caught with a flush shot before he could land his own offense. Shit happens.

by Steve4192 on Apr 29, 2009 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jardine was the first guy to pop into my head when Silva was left without an opponent. That should be a good fight. Actually, it’s kind of hard to make a somewhat uninteresting match in the light heavyweight division. There are so many story lines at play. I think Cane/Shogun would be flat awesome.

by Cannon Jacques on Apr 28, 2009 9:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Completely Off-Topic but Awesome

Next week’s Deadliest Warrior is Mafia vs Yakuza! Fuckin’-A!

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett

by themachiavellian on Apr 28, 2009 10:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yakuza, TKO, round 2.

http://www.fourouncestofreedom.com

by Beer Monster on Apr 28, 2009 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bullshit seeding

They both should advance to the second round. Fix.

by subo on Apr 29, 2009 4:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who’s behind the fix if the Mafia and Yakuza are both busy fighting

by bigweeze on Apr 29, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Red Mafiya or La Cosa Nostra?

by Steve4192 on Apr 29, 2009 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Keith survives the first round, he has a good chance of winning. But I expect Thiago to come guns blazing and that is something that Keith has trouble with.

by Lynchman on Apr 28, 2009 10:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Silva v. Jardine is a good fight. But I would have preferred Cane v. Silva and Jardine v. Shogun.

by SamCupitt on Apr 29, 2009 12:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thiago Silva seems like an ideal KO victim for Chuck Liddell.

Keep firing Assholes!
Akiyama is the Japanese word for Sexify.

by Ubernoober on Apr 29, 2009 12:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Chuck is only into Nascar now.

I dislike Matt Hughes.

by MonkeyCHops on Apr 29, 2009 2:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and golf

He will be appering at the celebrity golf tounament at lake Tahoe.

Hello, Japan!

by Mr.Kib on Apr 29, 2009 3:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

UFC 102:

“glass chin”

Supporting all Las Vegas MMA.

'09 is the year of the FW's.

by ElliotMatheny on Apr 29, 2009 2:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Also on the card:

Andrei Arlovski vs. James Thompson
Terry Martin vs. Allessio Sakara
Kendall Grove vs. Jorge Santiago
Jonathan Goulet vs. Hironaka II

Supporting all Las Vegas MMA.

'09 is the year of the FW's.

by ElliotMatheny on Apr 29, 2009 2:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gary Goodridge vs Sean Salmon

by klown on Apr 29, 2009 6:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Impressed with this bit of UF C match-making

The UFC got this one right.

Griffin-T.Silva, as exciting a fight as it is stylistically, made little sense in terms of each fighter having a logical trajectory. Griffin is in the top tier of the LHW roster, while Silva has not yet earned this privilege. The top opponent Silva ever faced was Machida, who himself has never fought anyone else in the Top 10, except arguably Ortiz who is the gatekeeper to the Top 10. The first truly elite LHW fighter to test Machida will be Evans.

Griffin is a dethroned champion who should be only 2 good wins away from another shot at his title. Take Liddell. After he lost to Rampage, Liddell was given nothing but elite competition: W.Silva, Jardine, Evans and Rua. Griffin’s opponents need to be drawn from this crowd.

A.Silva certainly belongs in this category. His only fight at 205 was against the low-ranked Irvin, but Anderson also holds a victory over Henderson who I rank at #4, or #5 if you count Anderson above him, for his knockout victory over W.Silva and for going toe-to-toe with Jackson for 5 rounds. So by my rankings, Griffin-A.Silva is a #2 vs #4 fight, and therefore an extremely compelling match-up, logically and stylistically. It holds major credibility as a set-up to a title shot by the winner of this fight.

Jardine is interesting because he has definitely proven he can hang with the elite but his record remains inconsistent. This makes him something of a gatekeeper to the Top 5, and a better match-up for an up-and-comer like T.Silva.

For similar reasons, Rua-Cane makes sense. Rua is on the lower end of the LHW elite, somewhere near Jardine, so he is appropriate for a rising fighter like Cane. If Jardine and Rua overcome these challenges, I believe they are still one fight away from a title shot – perhaps against each other. I would be very excited for this fight, especially if both fighters win impressive victories over T.Silva and Cane.

by klown on Apr 29, 2009 6:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jardine wins this fight. Thiago Silva is slow, and his standup is not very good. Jardine’s awkwardness will be perfect in this fight, and he’ll beat up Silva.

by Hardcharger on Apr 29, 2009 9:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs