May 24th, 2008
UFC 84: Ill Will Predictions
BJ "The Prodigy: Penn vs. Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk:
Penn is a better striker than Sherk, although Sherk's not horrible. We all know that Sherk is a cardio machine and wil have the pure strength advantage in this fight.
That being said, BJ can obviously handle himself on the ground in the event that Sherk can score a takedown. I see Penn utliizing his height and reach advantages to win the stand up battle, and if the fight goes to the ground I think Penns' jiu-jitsu will prevail over Sherks' wrestling—so long as BJ doesn't let the fight go on for too long.
End result: BJ win's by TKO late in the first or some time in the second round.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murder" Silva vs. Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine:
I think both guys will come out hard and fast, and land some shots in the early going. Jardine will look to mix it up with some punches and the kicks the were so effective in his fight against Liddell.
Wanderlei certainly has no quit in him, and I think we will see more of the real Axe Murderer in this fight. I see Wanderlei pushing the pace throwing those wild looping punches that we're all accustomed to seeing.
I think Wanderlei will be able to close the gap through Jardines' kicks, much like he did the first time he fought Mirko Cro Cop, and being able to land a number of good punches to the head and body.
End Result: We're going to see a vintage Wanderlei KO(TKO)! Wanderlei will win via KO/TKO in the middle-to-late second round, with a possibility that the fight goes to the third with the same result.
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida vs. Tito "The Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz:
I covered this fight in my last article, so I'll make this short and sweet. Tito has the pure strength and wrestling advantages while Machida is a better striker, a better jiu-jitsu fighter, and has a better all-around game.
Tags: ill, ufc