Fighter Profiles

Anderson Silva
MMA Record : 19-4
UFC Record : 4-0
Title : UFC middleweight title

Anderson Silva has been in the UFC for just over a year now. His first UFC fight was against Chris Leben. Leben is known for his heavy hands and good chin...until he met Anderson Silva. Silva took just 49 seconds to finish off Leben in spectacular fashion, announcing to the UFC faithful "I have arrived".

Silva's 7 career didn't start with the UFC, he's fought to a 19-4 record in the process facing some of the all time greats. He's faced Carlos Newton and won. He also won over Lee Murray, if you don't remember who Lee Murray is, he was the guy who claimed he beat up Tito Ortiz outside of a bar...there was a lot of noise about a possible matchup between Murray and Ortiz, but it never materialized.

Anderson Silva also holds victories over Jeremy Horn, one of the best known submission guys in MMA.

I'm sure most know Anderson Silva by his UFC career though, which includes wins over Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (for the middleweight title), Travis Lutter and Nathan Marquardt. Silva still holds the UFC middleweight title belt and is expected to defend the belt later this year against Franklin.

We always look toward and exciting fight when Anderson Silva steps into the ring, he has outstanding stand up skills. He uses the clinch well (as shown against Rich Franklin) and his punches are pin point accurate. But there is something more to his stand up...something hard to put your finger on. It's his comfort level, his willingness to take risks and by the looks of it, his natural ability. We've all seen boxers with knockout power, fighters with fast hands or fighters who hit hard. Fighters who can hit from all angles and throw with confidence naturally are harder to come by. Chuck Liddell is one fighter like that, Anderson Silva is another.

One thing that gives Anderson Silva the ability to take chances that other strikers don't, chances like flying knees, is his ability on the ground. Travis Lutter and Nate Marquardt are both excellent ground fighters, but in the end neither of them mounted an effective attack, in fact Lutter ended up getting submitted by Silva.

Eventually, the changes that Silva takes will catch up to him and he'll loose a fight because of it. However, I would expect that he will come back in a rematch and win...possibly even using the same technique, he's that good. We can expect to see Anderson Silva in the Octagon for a long time, at the top or near the top of the 185 pound division.

Next Fight: Rich Franklin

Fighter Name : Sean Sherk
Nickname : Muscle Shark
Title : UFC Lightweight Champion
Record (as of July 8, 2007 ) 32-2-1
Next Fight : Unknown (perhaps BJ Penn)

Most newer UFC fans were introducted to Sean Sherk in his gutsy ground and pound victory over Kenny Florian as they re-introduced the lightweight division to the UFC. Sherk won a 5 round decision in that fight in spite of having a gushing cut for almost the full 5 rounds. I found myself wondering if Sean would be too weakened by the weight cut, combined with the blood loss to continue, but Sean showed his true heart by finishing and finishing strong.

As his record shows, Sean Sherk has a wealth of Mixed Martial Arts experience and if we look a little deeper, we can see that it isn't one of those padded records. The "Muscle Shark" has faced some of the top fighters in the world (mostly at 170 pounds).

Sean Sherk holds two victories over highly regarded welterweight Karo Parysan as well as a win over Karo's cousin Manny Gamburyan. Manny has gained fame as of late by his performance in the Ultimate Fighter season 5 where he ultimately lost to Nate Diaz in the finale because of a recurring shoulder injury. Sherk also has wins over Benji Radach, Nick Diaz and Kenny Florian.

Sean never could crack the top of the welterweight division, with his two losses coming to Matt Hughes and Georges St Pierre. Seans performance against Hughes should get some honorable mention as it went the distance, but St Pierre was just too much for Sean, probably being the deciding factor for Sherk to cut to lightweight.

Speaking of cutting weight, Sean Sherk must be the largest 155lb fighter that I've ever seen. He was a monster at 170 (but short) and is just hulkingly huge for a 155er. The weight cut didn't seem to bother him against Kenny Florian though as he seemed to have full energy for the full 5 rounds.

Sean Sherk's next opponent is Hermes Franca. Hermes has been on a tear lately and literally begged Dana White for a title shot (a la Georges St Pierre). Win or lose, I expect Sherk to be a factor in the UFC lightweight division for quite some time.

Here are some interesting fantasy fights for the "Muscle Shark":

• BJ Penn
  
• Takanori Gomi
  
• Spencer Fisher
  

Although I personally think that Sherk would destroy Spencer Fisher, the other two would be excellent matchups. I see Sherk defeating Gomi (widely regarded as the #1 lightweight in the world), but having a very hard time with BJ Penn.

Sean Sherk's last fight he defeated Hermes Franca in a 5 round unanimous decision. Franca was a game opponent, but Sherk's superior wrestling, conditioning and strength made for a bad night for Franca. Franca did land a number of good knees, but Sean Sherk obviously has a granite chin.