After five consecutive trouncings, Sherdog.com columnist Mike Sloan has decided to lick his wounds and take on a Great Sherdog Debate novice, popular Beatdown Radio host TJ De Santis.
Desperate for a win, Sloan brings his pedestrian 13-13 record -- though he is the winningest debater in GSD history -- to the battlefield in a confrontation with De Santis over who will prevail at UFC 76: former light heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell or opponent Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine.
Hey TJ, I am thrilled that you are breaking your proverbial cherry on the popular GSD. I guess you should thank that lucky winner Mike Fridley for claiming to be "too swamped with work" to defend his crown against me. Oh well. I was hoping to get back on track by putting an end to his five-debate winning streak, but trouncing you in your maiden argument will have to suffice.
The peculiar aspect of this debate, however, is that I believe I'm the only person "in the know" to put his name on the line and pick
Keith Jardine (Pictures) to pull off the unthinkable and topple
Chuck Liddell (Pictures).
I know, I know. Before you try to smack me across the forehead from your frigid home in Minnesota, listen to me very carefully (or, for that matter, read what I type): Liddell is primed to be taken out. If ever there were a time in Liddell's career to score a huge victory over him, this is it.
Obviously Liddell has the advantage over Jardine in literally every aspect of the game -- chin, power, stamina, experience, style, strength, hairdo, etc. On paper and in the eyes of virtually everyone who follows the sport, Liddell should steamroll Jardine and jump back in the title hunt.
But, unfortunately for Liddell, it's not going to happen. Jardine will -- mark these words -- stop Liddell early in the fight.
Sorry, TJ. I bet you expected to walk in here and get your ass handed to you. I guess you were right.
You know, Mike, I am a team player. I hear you need some new blood in the GSD because my boy Mike Fridley has been owning you hard. I am fine with coming in and maybe taking a loss. But to see you're picking Jardine makes me think either the Las Vegas sun has finally fried your brain or the beatings that Fridley laid down on you are making you desperate.
I mean, let's look at this fight logically. You have a guy who is arguably one of the best fighters in the history of the sport in
Chuck Liddell (Pictures). Are you forgetting about his dominations of
Tito Ortiz (Pictures),
Randy Couture (Pictures) and Renato "Babalu" Sobral?
The former UFC light heavyweight champion made one mistake, and you are ready to write the guy off like he is an 0-3 Notre Dame football team? Not only is Liddell going to win this bout, it will end so quickly the UFC will have time to show all the preliminary fights.
To pick against Liddell and take a fighter who has never been in the main event on a show of this caliber, has never shown a skill set anything like Liddell's, and is coming off an embarrassing loss in what was supposed to be a showcase fight -- that's asinine.
Jardine is a solid fighter who could make something of himself. But a win over Liddell is not happening Saturday.
I sort of feel bad for you, Sloan. Let's be honest: Another loss is on the horizon. After this defeat maybe it will be time to bring back Greg Savage. You'll definitely need some help after this embarrassment.
It looks as if you only read where I declared that Jardine would win. Listen to me and listen good, young one: If ever there were a time for Liddell to take a fluke loss, now is it.
I have seen this situation unfold in the fight game way too many times. I'm not going to run down a massive list in which elite fighters have suffered embarrassing or unexpected losses due to overlooking opponents because that would take too long (see Erik Morales, Cro Cop, Tyson,
Mark Coleman (Pictures), Juan Manuel Marquez and countless others).
Is Liddell a harder striker? Of course. Is he a better all-around fighter? Obviously. Has he been in the spotlight many times before? Certainly. Should Liddell obliterate Jardine, a B-level fighter? Definitely.
But will he? Nope. Not this time.
I've seen it happen more times than Dennis Miller has told lousy jokes. It's OK that you think I'm delusional or crazy, but when this fight's over, I fully expect to read a text message from you that says something like, "Damn, Sloan. How did you know? How do you do it?"
Listen, kid. I don't have 13 wins in the Great Sherdog Debate -- something I created by the way -- for nothing. Over time you'll learn not to take me lightly. Savage eventually learned his lesson, and Fridley, well, I have no comment on that. Soon you'll rightfully join Gross and Sherwood in the rankings with an 0-1 record.
My prediction may sound crazy, but so did Albert Einstein's theories of relativity when he introduced them.
Is Einstein as smart as me? Nope. He never watched the UFC.
By fight sports do you mean pro wrestling?
The world of mixed martial arts is far from scripted, my friend. Sure it may seem like a good time for Liddell to fall hard and get phased out, but the UFC is trying to do the exact opposite in getting Liddell to where he was before his May showdown with "Rampage."
Jardine is nothing more than a gift to Chuck. A menacing-looking, goateed gift, but he's a gift nonetheless.
Your last five losses to Fridley have hurt you worse than I thought. The fact that you are picking Jardine over a man that you say is a better overall fighter, has better strikes and has more experience in the spotlight -- that's completely absurd.
You're so blinded by your need to win, you have thrown common sense out of a game that is common sense. Barring another pneumonia-influenced type of appearance from "The Iceman," this is going to be a hard Saturday night for you, buddy. Your claim to being smarter than Einstein is as hysterical as your picking a "B-level" fighter, as you called Jardine.
Check back Monday, Sherdoggers, as we will be looking for anyone we can get to lie down for Sloan in the next Great Sherdog Debate!
Tavares is a good fighter with brilliant submission skills, but Griffin is the real deal. He beat
Clay Guida (Pictures), and he'll be out to keep his unbeaten record intact. Griffin will win by stopping Tavares in the second.
Tavares is an enticing pick. The destruction of
Jason Black (Pictures) was impressive. However, that fight would have been a lot more interesting and informative if Black had been anywhere near the fighter he was in 2000 to 2005. As much as I hate to say it, you're right here, Sloan. But it won't be a stoppage. Look for Griffin to win a decision.
Wow, what an easy fight to pick. If you think Forrest will win, you should be taken off the air and replaced by Todd Bridges. Rua by spectacular second-round KO.
Take away
Quinton Jackson (Pictures), and all you have is disappointment from PRIDE fighters that have come to the UFC. A tentative, beaten-up Cro Cop looks to have no passion left, Nogueira was almost defeated by a shell of what
Heath Herring (Pictures) once was, and
Marcus Aurelio was clearly not the same guy who fought
Takanori Gomi (Pictures) twice. "Shogun" will break the trend and pick up a win, but it won't be as spectacular as MMA fans and the UFC hope for. Look for Rua to take a late TKO stoppage or a decision.
Is this a PRIDE matchup? What's going on here? Either way this is an intriguing fight. My bold prediction is that Nakamura out-mauls Machida en route to a dubious decision.
It will be a split decision with Machida frustrating the product of
Hidehiko Yoshida (Pictures). Staying outside, away from takedowns, and showcasing kicks will win this fight for Machida.
Boy, Diego needs a win after his dreadful non-performance against
Josh Koscheck (Pictures). Too bad for him he's fighting an absolute stud in Fitch. Too bad for Fitch he's fighting Sanchez when "The Nightmare" will be seeking vengeance. Sanchez by second-round slaughter.
Slaughter? Give me a break! Sanchez is shaken, rattled and rolled. The first loss of his career hurt him bad. Add staph infection, a departure from the Jackson camp and an even tougher opponent than
Josh Koscheck (Pictures), and this fight will be anything but the mauling you're expecting.
Fitch will stay on his feet and land better strikes than Sanchez. Let's face it: The American Kickboxing Academy has the playbook on how to defeat Diego. It's not as if they're not going to use it again. Fitch takes a decision, but it will be a lot more entertaining than Sanchez-Koscheck.
Saraiva hasn't won inside the UFC, so why would Saturday be any different? Wait ... Stephens hasn't won either. Stephens, however, is a better all-around fighter and will catch Saraiva in a rear-naked choke in the second.
Saraiva will use a better ground game to take this fight. Triangle CHOKE! Round one.
Junk is a wide dude who looks like a human fire hydrant. Wellisch ... not so much. Still, Wellisch will win a unanimous decision.
At times like this, I wish our very own Josh Gross was a heavyweight in the UFC, fighting
Scott Junk (Pictures). Then we could talk about a Gross-Junk fight. Wellisch takes this one by TKO in the third.
Wiman is the poster boy for the female MMA fans out there and looks as if he has some real talent. I don't think Omigawa is as bad as his 4-3 record suggests. In the end Wiman will eke out a hard-fought decision.
The ladies love him and so will the judges: Wiman by unanimous decision.
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