UFC 101 – Declaration Weigh-In Results

Here are the weigh-in results:

* Danillo Villefort 170.25 lbs. vs. Jesse Lennox 171 lbs.

* George Sotiropoulos 155 lbs. vs. George Roop 154 lbs.

* Matthew Riddle 170 lbs. vs. Dan Cramer 169.5 lbs.

* Alessio Sakara 185.5 lbs. vs. Thales Leites 185 lbs.

* John Howard 169.5 lbs. vs. Tandam McCrory 170 lbs.

* Aaron Riley 154 lbs. vs. Shane Nelson 156 lbs.

* Johny Hendricks 171 lbs. vs. Amir Sadollah 166.5 lbs.

* Kurt Pellegrino 154.5 lbs. vs. Josh Neer 155.5 lbs.

* Ricardo Almeida 185 lbs. vs. Kendall Grove 185.5 lbs.

* Anderson Silva 205 lbs. vs. Forrest Griffin 205 lbs.

* Kenny Florian 155 lbs. vs. B.J. Penn 155 lbs.

Amir Sadollah got a nice entry. He came in at 166.5 lbs. He’s only fought once as a professional and that was in the “Ultimate Fighter” finale where he submitted CB Dollaway, but it’s been over a year. Hendricks on the other hand is 5-0 with a couple of quality wins in the WEC before they disbanded their Welterweight division. It will probably be a tough fight, but I have to assume that Sadollah’s submission game is even slicker now than it was last June.

Silva vs. Griffin:

I think Silva should try and take it to the ground and utilize a GNP strategy. Forrest sometimes struggle to defend strikes from his back (Jardine and Evans being good examples). I don’t know if Silva has faced anyone as physically big as Griffin so, although Silva’s standup is the among the most accurate in UFC, it may not work in his favors this time. Silva’s striking game is just too versatile for Forrest to deal with. I’m thinking TKO sometime in the first or second round. Forrest is big and aggressive, yes, but those things just play into Anderson SIlva’s strengths. It should be a good fight though. Anderson is getting used to fighters being tentative around him though, he hasn’t faced anyone in a while who has looked to come out and bang with him.

Thats why I can’t decide between a decision or an early TKO, Forrest’s aggression is either going to play right into Silva’s gameplan or hes going to upest his rhythm. Now look, I like Griffin a lot. His battle with Bonnar still echoes in my mind. He’s smart, he can fight 3 rounds, he can fight his way in the ground to a very acceptable level.

With that said, giving him the advantage in this fight is pure nonsense. He has reach, but Anderson is the most fluid fighter ever, so he’ll just surpass it. Griffin’s bigger, but that only means that Silva has a bigger target to hit punches, kicks and knees.

Of course it would be awesome to see an upset, but unless Forrest makes the fight of his life, this one will end by the books: a swift Muay Thai clinch and a murderous knee to the head. I’m picking Anderson to get the highlight reel KO in this one. Forrest isn’t stupid, but I think Spidey will frustrate him into being aggressive. Spidey is a counter-fighter. If Forrest’s accuracy and speed are not at 100% during the fight he’s gonna get rocked and finished by the Spider. Keep your hands up Forrest, and clinch, clinch, clinch.

BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian:

This is a tough fight for me to call and I’ll tell you why. I think B.J. might be out to prove a point this time and that’s a plus for him. On the negative side, I think, despite what he said in his promo piece they have on the front page, he’s not taking Kenny Florian 100% serious. As a champion, we’ve seen it before, you have to come in deadly earnest in your pursuit of victory and not take your supremacy for granted. It seems like, at least when it comes to the 155-pound division, Penn takes it a bit for granted. Again, maybe the second fight with GSP smartened him up, but only time will tell.

Kenny Florian probably wants to shut all his naysayers up and prove that 155-pound BJ is not an MMA demigod. That’s huge motivation for a man that has to look at himself in the mirror everyday and honestly question if he has what it takes. That can work both ways though. As long as he’s gone without a fight, that sort of mental pressure can start making a fighter crack. We’ve all seen it before with long layoffs and people trying to come back and prove something.

Personally, I don’t have much of a stake in this match. Penn and Florian both annoy me to no end for very different reasons. On paper, it’s Penn all the way. But if you go by hunger for the title, then I’m going to go with Florian. So, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Florian by UD.