8 for ‘08
The Top 4
4. Georges St. Pierre
(Pictures) vs. Jon Fitch (Pictures)
Don't misunderstand: I'm not counting out the chances of the ornery Matt Serra (Pictures) in his inevitable rematch with St. Pierre, but if the Canadian's performance against Matt Hughes (Pictures) in December was any indication, opponents sporting brass knuckles would only serve to make it a fair fight.
With a 7-0 record in the Octagon, Fitch might be the most underappreciated talent in the welterweight division. He packs power, wrestling ability and a formidable submission game.
With Hughes waning and Jake Shields (Pictures) tied up with EliteXC, a St. Pierre-Fitch bout would determine the promotion's single best 170-pound athlete. More than just a good fight, it seems almost mandatory.
3. Lyoto Machida (Pictures) vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures)
Watching Lyoto Machida (Pictures) fight is a little like eating your vegetables: You know it's good for you, it obviously has merit, but it's not exactly pleasurable.
Machida takes no undue risks, and he arrived at his undefeated record by being a methodical tactician who makes Ricardo Arona (Pictures) look like Mike Tyson on meth. But you can't fault the guy for winning.
Contenders to the light heavyweight title have done far less than Machida, so it seems only fitting that he'd be given the opportunity to vie for the belt following Jackson's bout with Forrest Griffin (Pictures) in the summer. That leaves a gaping hole of inactivity for the bulk of the year, and one that should be filled with a dangerous fight against Ortiz.
A win would give him a red carpet to Jackson, while an Ortiz victory would set up a highly profitable main event between two former training partners. Regardless, it's time to see Machida in the ring with the division's elite.
2. Winner of Anderson Silva-Dan Henderson (Pictures) vs. Matt Lindland (Pictures)
The match between Henderson and Silva for the UFC's middleweight belt will be one of 2008's truly great fights, important historically even if it turns out to be a dud of a bout. It's a real test of Silva's ground game against Henderson's mauling ground control, and the PRIDE champion's chin against Silva's razor-edged strikes. (He should be sponsored by Gillette.)
But Lindland remains the real enigma of the division, and any title that hasn't been tested against him seems a bit fraudulent. He's submitted BJJ black belts in Carlos Newton (Pictures) and Travis Lutter (Pictures), gone five tough rounds with the current light heavyweight king in Quinton Jackson (Pictures), holds an Olympic medal in wrestling and once stepped into the ring with Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) for the seeming sheer hell of it.
In a perfect world, he'd battle Paulo Filho (Pictures) in the WEC, with the winner going on to a unification bout against the UFC champ. But Silva allegedly won't fight Filho, so that seems like a road with more than one bridge out of service.
Here's hoping the UFC and Lindland can mend fences and make the promotion's middleweight title an accurate representation of the sport's best.
1. Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) vs. Josh Barnett (Pictures)
Though this space is oft accused of having little basis in logic or reality, I'll make an exception here and avoid the obvious example of wishful thinking.
Fact is, it will be no small miracle if Randy Couture (Pictures) is able to navigate the legal morass promised by Zuffa and free himself of contractual manacles before he turns 50. The promotion keeps lawyers on retainer, and Couture's desire to fight Emelianenko will not go unchallenged. Hopes of the fight happening this year are optimistic at best, delusional at worst.
Following a bout with mammoth Hong Man Choi (Pictures) in which he literally had to jump to punch his foe in the face, a veritable Russian Little Mac delivering a looping right to Glass Joe, Emelianenko finds himself awash in a sea of criticism. He hasn't been in a substantial fight since a New Year's Eve clash with Mark Hunt (Pictures) in 2006; his stature as the sport's king is growing increasingly dubious.
It's a bit disingenuous for M-1 Global, the Russian's new exporters, to build its infrastructure on having the best fighter alive without doing anything to substantiate that claim. That's why a bout with free agent Josh Barnett (Pictures) is an obvious choice for '08.
This isn't a fight that needs years of preamble; it's simply an expected meeting between two decorated heavyweights. With the UFC holding a monopoly on the talent, it's also the meeting that will keep M-1's star relevant.
Unless, of course, Manute Bol decides he wants a crack at the title.
For comments, e-mail jrossen@sherdog.com
Don't misunderstand: I'm not counting out the chances of the ornery Matt Serra (Pictures) in his inevitable rematch with St. Pierre, but if the Canadian's performance against Matt Hughes (Pictures) in December was any indication, opponents sporting brass knuckles would only serve to make it a fair fight.
With a 7-0 record in the Octagon, Fitch might be the most underappreciated talent in the welterweight division. He packs power, wrestling ability and a formidable submission game.
With Hughes waning and Jake Shields (Pictures) tied up with EliteXC, a St. Pierre-Fitch bout would determine the promotion's single best 170-pound athlete. More than just a good fight, it seems almost mandatory.
3. Lyoto Machida (Pictures) vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures)
Watching Lyoto Machida (Pictures) fight is a little like eating your vegetables: You know it's good for you, it obviously has merit, but it's not exactly pleasurable.
Machida takes no undue risks, and he arrived at his undefeated record by being a methodical tactician who makes Ricardo Arona (Pictures) look like Mike Tyson on meth. But you can't fault the guy for winning.
Contenders to the light heavyweight title have done far less than Machida, so it seems only fitting that he'd be given the opportunity to vie for the belt following Jackson's bout with Forrest Griffin (Pictures) in the summer. That leaves a gaping hole of inactivity for the bulk of the year, and one that should be filled with a dangerous fight against Ortiz.
A win would give him a red carpet to Jackson, while an Ortiz victory would set up a highly profitable main event between two former training partners. Regardless, it's time to see Machida in the ring with the division's elite.
2. Winner of Anderson Silva-Dan Henderson (Pictures) vs. Matt Lindland (Pictures)
The match between Henderson and Silva for the UFC's middleweight belt will be one of 2008's truly great fights, important historically even if it turns out to be a dud of a bout. It's a real test of Silva's ground game against Henderson's mauling ground control, and the PRIDE champion's chin against Silva's razor-edged strikes. (He should be sponsored by Gillette.)
But Lindland remains the real enigma of the division, and any title that hasn't been tested against him seems a bit fraudulent. He's submitted BJJ black belts in Carlos Newton (Pictures) and Travis Lutter (Pictures), gone five tough rounds with the current light heavyweight king in Quinton Jackson (Pictures), holds an Olympic medal in wrestling and once stepped into the ring with Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) for the seeming sheer hell of it.
In a perfect world, he'd battle Paulo Filho (Pictures) in the WEC, with the winner going on to a unification bout against the UFC champ. But Silva allegedly won't fight Filho, so that seems like a road with more than one bridge out of service.
Here's hoping the UFC and Lindland can mend fences and make the promotion's middleweight title an accurate representation of the sport's best.
1. Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) vs. Josh Barnett (Pictures)
Though this space is oft accused of having little basis in logic or reality, I'll make an exception here and avoid the obvious example of wishful thinking.
Fact is, it will be no small miracle if Randy Couture (Pictures) is able to navigate the legal morass promised by Zuffa and free himself of contractual manacles before he turns 50. The promotion keeps lawyers on retainer, and Couture's desire to fight Emelianenko will not go unchallenged. Hopes of the fight happening this year are optimistic at best, delusional at worst.
Following a bout with mammoth Hong Man Choi (Pictures) in which he literally had to jump to punch his foe in the face, a veritable Russian Little Mac delivering a looping right to Glass Joe, Emelianenko finds himself awash in a sea of criticism. He hasn't been in a substantial fight since a New Year's Eve clash with Mark Hunt (Pictures) in 2006; his stature as the sport's king is growing increasingly dubious.
It's a bit disingenuous for M-1 Global, the Russian's new exporters, to build its infrastructure on having the best fighter alive without doing anything to substantiate that claim. That's why a bout with free agent Josh Barnett (Pictures) is an obvious choice for '08.
This isn't a fight that needs years of preamble; it's simply an expected meeting between two decorated heavyweights. With the UFC holding a monopoly on the talent, it's also the meeting that will keep M-1's star relevant.
Unless, of course, Manute Bol decides he wants a crack at the title.
For comments, e-mail jrossen@sherdog.com
Related Articles