Getting ready for UFC 87
We are days away from UFC 87 and this is the card I’ve been looking forward to all summer. Affliction: Banned should go down as the most important event of the summer because it showed that Fedor is still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but Saturday’s pay-per-view in Minnesota has some very interesting bouts.
The main event is Georges St. Pierre defending his welterweight championship against Jon Fitch. Most people don’t know a lot about Fitch, but hopefully that doesn’t make them take him lightly. Fitch is a very good fighter and one of the best welterweights St. Pierre has faced in awhile. Depending on your point of view on Matt Hughes, Fitch may be the best opponent St. Pierre has faced since B.J. Penn. I'm leaning towards St. Pierre, but it could be closer than a lot of people think.
The Kenny Florian-Roger Huerta fight should be excellent, but the fight I find the most intriguing is Brock Lesnar against Heath Herring. Both fighters desperately need a win. A lot of hopes are pinned on Lesnar for the UFC’s heavyweight future and he could be a terrifying fighter. Herring also needs a win because his UFC run has been less than impressive. Lesnar is no Fedor, but a win over him would be Herring’s best UFC win.
Of course, Lesnar excels at one key area -- wrestling. Herring’s big flaw is wrestling and he’s not very good on the ground. On paper, Lesnar should be able to defeat Herring handily. Herring isn’t a bad fighter though and he’s working with some smart people, so I think this could be a closer fight than people think. Lesnar is a fighter with plenty of flaws, but I’m not sure Herring will have the tools to execute. With three big fights, this weekend is shaping up nicely.
I’m turning my picks in on Tuesday -- who do you take?
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
I think Lesnar could win early by TKO or KO which most likely won't happen because Herring is a experienced fighter. I see this going long and Lesnar gassing out and Herring taking advantage by TKO or more likely Submission.
Posted by: Anachron5 | August 4, 2008 3:58 PM
GSP via Unam Decision. The gameplan for GSP will be the same for Kos. GSP will take down Fitch and try to defeat him on his back. I think Fitch is a tough as nails guy, and I hope GSP is not over looking him.
Kenny Florian finishes fights. Period. I think Roger Huerta will finally get exposed and people will see that he is great against B level fighters. I think Florian works the takedown, cuts open Rogert and then works a RNC for a submission in round 2.
Brock Lesnar/Heath Herring, in the last fight with Heath Herring, Heath got taken down by Kongo repeatedly. That makes me nervous for Herring, who is a tough as nails guy. But when Frank Mir gets taken down and almost loses, and pulls a submission off like crazy to save his life, is something that Heath Herring will not be able to do. The jitsu game is very far from those two, and I think Brock will take down Herring smash him, probably get gassed heavily in the 2nd round, but still winning 2 rounds to 1, Lesnar takes it 29-28.
Mark, you need to talk WEC, that event last night was phenominal.
Posted by: Drew Chalfioux-Cryus | August 5, 2008 12:35 AM
i have never seen anything about fitch so i can't comment on him...but if he is as tough as everyone says i think it will be a great fit. huerta is pretty tough and shows good explosion but kenny does finish fights and i have been pretty impressed with his ability to cut his opponent and pound them out. lesner will win this fight by overwhelming herring. herring never fights smart, at least not from what i have seen so far. lesner seems like he would use his head more this time around and use his wrestling to beat herring through the map.
Posted by: nell carter | August 6, 2008 8:52 PM