UFC 82 is less then a week away and I am pretty excited. The card is pretty strong and features a main event title unification match between Pride 185lbs champion “Dangerous” Dan Henderson and UFC 185lbs champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Love it or hate it, here is my fight analysis of the main card bouts.

Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara

Just when we thought Chris Leben was on his way out of the UFC, he rebounded with a vicious TKO victory over Terry “Bam Bam” Martin at Ultimate Fight Night 11. This match showed a definite maturation of Chris Leben’s fighting style. He fought a lot smarter and looked like a much-improved fighter in the win.

After going 3-3 in the light heavyweight division, Alessio Sakara will be dropping to 185lbs in this match. Sakara has never impressed me. The UFC always touts him as a former professional boxer with excellent striking skills. For a guy with an 8-0 professional boxing record, he hasn’t really shown superb striking in the past. I’m not saying he is a bum on his feet, but when the UFC constantly hypes you as a MMA fighter with excellent hands, I guess I just expect a little more knockout power. After being absolutely mauled by Houston Alexander, Sakara showed some improvement in his win over James Lee. His take down defense was pretty good. James Lee, however, didn’t show up to fight that night and Sakara ended the fight with hammer fists. Sakara and Leben both come into this fight off wins.

I’m going with Leben on this one, perhaps by split or unanimous decision.

Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner

I really wish Tanner took a different opponent for his UFC comeback fight. Evan Tanner is a warrior and a fan favorite. It is hard not to like this guy, but he hasn’t fought in almost two years. Aside from training for this fight, he has done nothing but tour the country , drink a lot of beer, and eat poorly since his departure from the UFC. Check out his blog if you don’t believe me.

While Tanner was exiling into MMA obscurity, Okami was making a name for himself by piling up a 5-1 fight record in the UFC. His only loss was to Rich Franklin, and he came a hair away from submitting him in the third round of the fight.

I’m not counting Tanner out. He has been training hard . I’d love to see him pull off a slick submission, but Okami is a resilient guy who tends to go the distance with some of the toughest fighters.

Prediction: Yushin Okami

Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson

Jon Fitch is always a game fighter. He is riding a 14-fight win streak with 7 of those wins coming in the UFC. There are not a lot of welterweights in the UFC that can say they are undefeated in the division. This is arguably the toughest weight class in the world.

I don’t know much about Chris Wilson except that he trains with Team Quest and has fought some pretty decent guys outside of the UFC. Taking on Jon Fitch is a pretty tall order for your first UFC fight, though.

I don’t see Fitch as a guy who will take a fight lightly. He should be first in line for a welterweight title shot if provided that he wins this match. It’s either Karo Parisyan or Jon Fitch for a welterweight title shot after Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre fight in April. Karo refused to fight Fitch because he already had number one contender status at one point in his career. He was stripped of that right when he injured himself and had to take a break from active competition. The UFC never put him against the welterweight champion when he returned, and he refused to fight Fitch before fighting for the title; Karo didn’t want to risk a loss because he would have to climb the welterweight ladder for the third time in his career. Intelligent, yes, admirable, eh.

When a guy like Karo Parisyan won’t gamble his welterweight contender status by fighting you, it’s pretty safe to say you are better then legit competition.

I expect Fitch to come in shape and make a definitive statement for a title shot when he steps into the octagon with Chris Wilson.

Prediction: Jon Fitch

Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring

How should Heath Herring approach this fight?

TAKEDOWN
TAKEDOWN
TAKEDOWN

If you want to know how to beat Cheick Kongo, just watch UFC 64. Kongo has a huge flaw in his fight arsenal and that flaw is exposed when he is taken to the ground. Carmello Marrero easily had his way with him when they fought on the “Unstoppable” card.

Heath Herring is a great fighter with 60 percent of his wins coming by way of submission.

One problem with this matchup is that Herring likes to stand up and give the fight fans an exciting fight. You have to respect that. He tends to keep his hands low, though, and Kongo’s kick boxing experience might help him take advantage of this flaw.

If Herring can get this fight to the ground, I see him pulling off a submission. Something tells me he won’t go for the take down, though, and if he does it will probably be after 10-12 minutes of a stand up exchange.

Prediction: Kongo wins via Herring stubbornness.

UFC 185lbs champion Anderson Silva vs. Pride 185lbs champion Dan Henderson

This is going to be an exciting fight with A LOT of buzz around it. The Columbus, Ohio MMA fans are pretty lucky. Last year they got to witness Randy Couture come out of retirement and win the heavyweight belt from Tim Sylvia. I was at that fight and the vibe in the arena was insane. I’ve never been to an event with so much excitement in my entire life.

Now they get to witness the middleweight title unification between two of the greatest fighters of all time.

I can’t really break this match down, but I’ll try.

Anderson Silva’s striking is on another level. Every punch this guy throws counts. His combos are flawless. His accuracy is amazing. His knockout power is definitive.

Dan Henderson has a chin made of iron. He wrestled in the Olympic games in 1992 and 1996. His striking isn’t too shabby and his competitors usually boast of the power he brings into the ring or cage. He is the only fighter in MMA history that held championship titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA promotion.

Dan says he is going to stand with Silva. He probably wants to make a statement. Even though Silva is a BJJ black belt, everyone knows he is one of, if not the best, striker in MMA today.

If Hendo stands and holds his own with Silva, he will further solidify his position as one of the greatest fighters of all time. If he gets picked apart standing up, Hendo can choose to take Silva down, provided he doesn’t eat a knee for his efforts. Here he will have to deal with the BJJ skills of Silva, which are usually untested. People always seem to think that Silva has a testy ground game, but when he locked submission specialist Travis Lutter in a triangle and submitted him with elbow strikes, the speculation was put to rest.

I don’t know how to call this one. I don’t want to see Hendo lose two times in a row. He put forth a great effort against Rampage Jackson, but couldn’t eek out the win. I don’t want to see Anderson or Henderson lose this match. When your greatest concern is that two of your favorite fighters are going to duke it out and one of them has to lose, I guess things aren’t that bad.

My gut says Henderson will win. My heart says Anderson will unify the titles. Take that for what it’s worth and enjoy UFC 82.

UFC 82: MARCH 1 IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

venue: Nationwide Arena

Main Card Bouts:

-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Dan Henderson (#3 Light Heavyweight in the World)*

-Cheick Kongo (#10 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Heath Herring

-Jon Fitch (#4 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Chris Wilson

-Yushin Okami (#9 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Evan Tanner

-Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara

Preliminary Bouts:

-Andrei Arlovski (#5 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Jake O’Brien

-Josh Koscheck (#5 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Dustin Hazelett

-Diego Sanchez (#8 Welterweight in the World)* vs. David Bielkheden

-Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti

-Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson