UFC 101-Declaration: Predictions and Previews Part 5

205 lbs: Forrest Griffin vs Anderson Silva
In my opinion, this fight has the potential to be the fight of the year. We are seeing the current Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva step up in weight once again, to face fan favorite and former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Many fans believe that Anderson Silva is a huge favorite to win but he has seemed to lose some steam in his last two fights. Forrest Griffin on the other hand, is coming off of a TKO loss in his first title defense against Rashad Evans. We will see who has the heart of a champion in this fight.

Forrest Griffin is best known as being the lovable, laughable, self-proclaimed dork who ended up winning the original Ultimate Fighter. His fight with Stephan Bonnar during the finale of TUF 1 is regarded as the single, most important moment in the history of MMA and the UFC. He is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who trains with Extreme Couture. He has a professional record of 16-5, with wins over Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar(twice), Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson. His only losses have come to Dan "The Beast" Severn, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans. Of his 16 wins, 3 have come by KO, 7 by submission and 6 by decision. Out of his 5 losses, 3 have been by KO and 2 by decision. He has never been submitted. When you take a look at his losses, he lost to Dan Severn who is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, in what was his first professional fight. He went on to win his next 8 fights before being defeated by Jeremy Horn via TKO. He won one more fight before joining the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. On the show, he defeated Stephan Bonnar to win the show. He then went on to win fights against Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic before being derailed by a controversial split decision loss to Tito Ortiz.(Most fans and mma experts feel Griffin won that fight) He then defeated Stephan Bonnar once again. In his next fight, Griffin was caught and defeated via TKO by Keith Jardine. He would then go on to win his next 3 fights against Hector Ramirez, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rampage Jackson before losing his title at the hands of Rashad Evans by way of TKO. This will be his first fight since his knockout loss and you better believe Griffin is looking to redeem himself.

Anderson Silva is a very well-rounded fighter. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, as well as holding the records for most consecutive UFC wins with 9 and is tied for most consecutive UFC title defenses with 5. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do and Judo. He is a great all-around fighter but is most well known for his vicious striking. He has a professional record of 24-4 with wins over Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Roan Carneiro, Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Lee Murray, Jorge Rivera, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin(twice), Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson among others. His losses have come to Luiz Azeredo in his first professional fight, Daiju Takase in a fight he was dominating but got caught in a triangle choke, Ryo Chonan who caught him with a flying heel hook submission and Yushin Okama via DQ due to illegal kick to the head of a downed opponent. Silva is dangerous in all aspects of the fight game. He is widely regarded as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. However, his two most recent fights have been very disappointing to say the least. After his last fight, Dana White said that he was "embarrassed" by Silva's performance. Silva will no doubt, be looking to prove the nay-sayers wrong. He has also challenged Roy Jones Jr to a boxing match when his UFC contract is up. There will be added fuel to Silva's fire due to the fact that Jones Jr will be ringside to watch the fight. Silva has stepped up in weight once before to defeat James Irvin via KO but make no mistake about it, Forrest Griffin is no James Irvin.

Prediction: Anderson Silva is the more well rounded fighter and probably the more dangerous fighter. However, I have learned to NEVER doubt the heart of Forrest Griffin. If Silva fights the way he has in his last two fights, Griffin will dominate the fight. If Silva returns to form and attacks like he did against Franklin and Leben it could be a short night for Griffin. In the end, I have to go with the upset and pick Forrest Griffin to win via decision. Griffin is a huge Light Heavyweight and at the weigh-ins yesterday appeared much bigger than Silva who looked as if he had literally just gained fat to take the fight. This could have an immense impact on his cardio and as we have seen time and time again Griffin is a cardio machine. Griffin wins