Vicious Kneejerk: Reactions to UFC 82

Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson:

What else is there to say? Anderson Silva is simply the man at middleweight. The first round was textbook Henderson with some wild strikes and a takedown into halfguard where Hendo peppered away with punches to the cranium for the better part of the round. Henderson wins the round. The second round rolls around and it's all Silva, with pinpoint strikes that set up back control on the ground. Anderson then nailed Henderson 2 or 3 times on the side of the head with half-moon arced punches that rattled Dan. With only a dozen seconds in the round, Anderson sunk in a rear naked choke and Dan was forced to tap out. Silva wins the fight. That pretty much says all that needs to be said, Henderson won a round, but Silva won the fight. While Silva certainly isn't invincible nor the best p4p fighter in the world(still belongs to Fedor until an opponent shows otherwise), it's hard to see Anderson being beat by anyone other than himself.

Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo:

So much for my prediction of a standup fight, and who would've thought that it was Kongo's fault that it was a mostly ground affair. While Cheick looked vastly more improved on the ground, it wasn't enough to secure the decision victory. Looks like Cheick seems to have figured out the ground game but not how to escape from side control, where Herring was able to score 90% of his points by knees to the body. Herring ran away with decision, leaving the heavyweight division looking murkier than ever.

Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Leben:

Oh, Alessio, how I so desperately want to be a fan. While his showing wasn't terribly disappointing, he failed to implement a good gameplan. He was backed up and pushed around all of the octagon and lost any reach or technical advantage. While he was able to land some very good clean shots, Leben is just too tough and throws too hard for Sakara to handle. Who knows what the future holds for Sakara, but for Leben...it's surely more brain trauma.

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner:

Man, do I feel bad for Tanner. Tanner was outstruck on his feet and knocked out by a knee that come almost at a perpendicular angle to his temple. Not sure what Tanner did to deserve a fight after a two-year hiatus against at top-5 middleweight. Looks like we have an Okami vs. Silva rematch for July, or so, in the future.

Chris Wilson vs. Jon Fitch:

Hello Chris Wilson as a new force in the welterweight divison and goodbye to Jon Fitch as a legit title contender. This match basically exposed Fitch as a wrestler with moderate striking that can easily be taken advantage of by utilizing superior striking and implementing takedown defense. Fitch walked away with his decision victory, but his hopes of beating top-tier talent at welterweight left that night as well.

Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O'Brien:

While Arlovski impressed with his takedown defense, the prospect of his former glory still seems out of reach. And with rumors of his imminent departure from the UFC, it makes his victory that much more bittersweet.

Luigi Fiorvanti vs. Luke Cummo:

Damn you, Luigi! Not only did you rob Cummo of a victory, you also robbed my interest in watching this fight. From all the play by plays I've read, it sounded like a lay and pray fest, and that's just too depressing for me to watch.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Josh Koscheck:

Is Koscheck turning into the Chuck Liddell of the welterweight division? Some of those strikes were so wild, I was led to believe he was aiming for whatever magical fairies were giving Dustin Hazelett so much success in the first round. While I would've loved for McLovin' to have secured the victory, simply by name alone, Koscheck's wild strikes finally found a home on Hazelett's head and secured the second round tko. Man, somebody should've given McLovin' a hug after that fight.

Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden:

This looked like a Diego Sanchez fight of yesteryear, with signature ground n pound, greasy hair, and thorough domination. Next time, please show his fight...please????

John Halverson vs. Jorge Gurgel:

Honestly didn't watch the fight and not sure if I should've. Gurgel's only lifeline in the UFC is consistent events in his home-state...or the fact that he won again by decision.

And as a reward for all that reading check out genghiscon.wordpress.com for a tremendous amount of quality mma highlights. Good day!