Wednesday, August 6, 2008

UFC 87 - Two great fights

This Saturday UFC 87 will take place in Minneapolis. The card is nice, but two fights stand out as being really interesting to me. Georges St. Pierre will defend his title against Jon Fitch in the welterweight division. Georges St. Pierre is top 3 pound for pound in my opinion and would be a strong candidate for the no. 1 spot if he wouldn't have been upset by Matt Serra in 2007. Jon Fitch is no. 2 in the division and is on 15-fight win streak. Fitch is an excellent wrestler and has developed skills in the other aspects of the game. The problem is that Georges St. Pierre has made a career out of outwrestling wrestlers and putting them on their backs, who would have thought that from a "karate guy". St. Pierre is probably also the sharper striker. I'm picking St. Pierre but I think Fitch will be his toughest fight, not counting his two losses. The winner will be regarded as the best 170-pounder in the world.

The other of my two favorite fights on the card is Kenny Florian against Roger Huerta. These are two exciting and talented fighters in the lightweight division. The winner might be next in line for a title shot. Both fighters have shown well-rounded skills and has finished their opponents with both submission and strikes. A difference between them can still be seen. Florian is more of a technician, while Huerta is more on the brawling side of the spectrum. I'm still debating with myself who to pick. In his last fight Florian proved me wrong, I had picked Joe Lauzon to upset him. I thought Florian would be overwhelmed by the intensity of Lauzon. Florian dominated Lauzon and mounted him and punched him until the referee had to stop the fight. Maybe Huerta can overwhelm Florian. On the other hand Huerta tends to be a bit careless and find himself in some bad positions from time to time. Doing this against Florian can easily cost him the fight. This fight is my pick for fight of the night, watch it.

Also keep your eyes open for Demian Maia against Jason MacDonald.