Dream Middleweight Tourney Round 1

ALL-Time Dream tournament!

Middleweight!

Previous Round 1s

Don't forget: we are considering these fighters in their primes!

(Editor's note: We changed things up a little bit again here- this time we simply decided to the brackets as if it was a fight card - and cast our own votes.)

Also- GSP is not in this grouping- we decided that since he is still a bit new for this- and if we have a choice in bringing in an "older" fighter or the new hot fighter, we skew old school.

Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs Royce Gracie

David: This is going to headline this tourney right now- The Best that was vs the best that is.

Advantages Royce:

- Does not show pain- you could smack Royce in the knee with a shovel and he won't even flinch- Anderson might throw 30 knees into Royce and he MIGHT blink.

- Total reliance and belief on his Ju-Ju. Most fighters want to start out one way- then go to there bread and butter later or if needed- Royce would start the fight on the ground in guard if he could.

- Grip- A little bit overlooked, but when fighters get sweaty or bloodied, they can’t grapple as they did- Royce had a MONSTER Grip guy could palm a Volleyball covered in KY in the pouring rain.

- Corner- You have appoximately 187 Gracies in the corner- and they are of one mind and one discipline- almost like a QB on the field- you could almost see Rickson yell - Use move 187-B-Yellow and Royce knowing on instinct where to place his elbow to begin to execute that move- and his entire corner plotting the next move, Anderson will not have that advantage.

Advantages Anderson:

- Gameplan - Royce's Prime was at a time where tournaments were the way to go- So watching Films wasn’t really done- you went out and depended on your skill to overcome anything that happened- even on known fighters the plans changed between fights (I.E Pat Smith from UFC 1 to 2) Anderson will know Gracie’s tendencies and what he likes to do in almost every fight he does.

- Striking - Anderson can dot the I on a tattoo of his opponent at any angle- putting 20 elbows in the exact same spot might- just might- get Royce's attention.

- Power - I have to think that Anderson is the stronger of the two- having bulked to 205 and with devastating results- Royce at 205 might have a monster Belly.

- Corner- Yes, Royce will be able to draw upon a nation of millions to gameplan mid-fight, Anderson will have 2-3 different people around him all looking at different disciplines to do that- Royce is not going to break out Dirty Boxing or a flying cross-arm, Anderson will. There is a reason Ground Guys learn to strike and Boxers learn Ju-Ju in today’s MMA.

This fight is a chess match- Anderson is going to throw 100 different ways to beat Royce- Royce is going to simply work on a body part like Arn Anderson and wait for it to break. The Crowd may get a bit restless- but neither man is going to worry about that as Royce knows that winning is the thing and Anderson is of the same mind.

I would take Royce here- If Anderson makes a mistake, Royce might break his arm and I don;t think Anderson can get out of a kimura or even a body triangle from Royce- Royce can make a mistake and might lose part of his face- but you won;t be able to tell- Anderson would keep trying different things to do Damage and that might leave an opening, all Royce needs is one.

Royce, Submission, Round 3.

João: Last year I attended a Royce Gracie BJJ seminar here in Portugal. I was able to see in the flesh what I already knew in theory: Royce’s BJJ techniques are severely outdated. He uses basic sweeps and submissions, but BJJ as a sport has evolved tremendously in just over a decade. Royce was the best fighter in the early days of the UFC because his opponents didn’t know what he was going to do, didn’t know how to defend against those techniques, those submissions.

But nowadays any legitimate BJJ black belt knows those techniques and far beyond that. Anderson Silva’s BJJ is technically better than the BJJ Royce Gracie had in his prime. And we saw this evolution on display when Royce lost to Sakuraba.

Gracie is going to try to take this fight down, using low front kicks to close the distance. I don’t think he can take the Spider to the ground; even if he does, I don’t see him submitting Anderson Silva.

On the other hand, Royce’s striking is, well, pathetic (sorry Royce!) when compared to Anderson’s.

This is going to be a short night for Royce.

Anderson Silva (T)KO Round 1.

Robert: This might the the easiest fight Anderson could've drawn out of this pool. No disrespect ot the great one, Royce Gracie, but Anderson might as well be a T-800 to Royce's T-600. (You love the Terminator reference, don't lie) Anderson is that much better than Royce. Let's face it, Royce is a pure ground fighter. Anderson knows what he knows on the ground, and his striking might be the best ever. Royce would be in for a quick night, unless he went the route of Thales Leites.

Anderson Silva, Rd 2, KO.

Murilo Bustamante vs Matt “The Law” Lindland

David: Here we GO! UFC 35 in the House!!

Right down the street from where I lived in Bossier City LA!! - problem was, I didn’t even know what the UFC was at the time.

Oh well.

This is at Lindland’s prime - but the problem is- If on his BEST day- he already lost. This is also Murilo's high point- so we saw this fight already Murilo was 9-1-1 at UFC 37, and would be 5-6 after that

Fun part about that fight? Murilo made him tap not only ONCE- but TWICE.

Bustamante, Submission, R3

João: BJJ versus Wrestling, a classic. Bustamante is one of the founders of the great Brazilian Top Team. Matt Lindland also hails from a traditional great team in Team Quest.

These two met at UFC 35 and Bustamante came out on top. Murilo then decided to vacate his title and take his game to PRIDE, which was a huge mistake as he had a terrible run in Japan. Matt Lindland had a very successful overall career in the UFC.

At UFC 35 both men were at their respective primes, which makes this fight easy to predict. This fight was, after all, for the title, with Lindland coming in after impressive wins over Pat Miletich, Phil Baroni and Ricardo Almeida.

There is no reason to believe the fight could have gone any differently. Sorry Matt, you aren’t going to lay down the law this time (this was so cheesy!).

Bustamante, Submission, Round 3

Robert: Well, I guess everyone knows how this will end, Round 3 Guillotine Choke, Bustamante retains his UFC Middleweight Title and then goes off and signs with Pride/FC. At least that's what happened way back in 2002 when the met for the first and only time. I would like to think it could go different this time around, but when they met they both had stellar records and we right in their respective primes.

Bustamante, Rd 3, Submission.

Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Frank Shamrock

David: Here we go! I think this is going to be the WORST fight of the first round- Rich has a range that is going to keep Frank away with jabs- Rich has a 3 inch height advantage and a 4 inch reach advantage. Rich has never really been threatened on the ground- and has never been submitted. Rich has only gone to the scorecards 3 times- and has above average Cardio. Shamrock counters this with a definite strength advantage and a better takedown- but I simply do not see Rich getting pounded out. Frank is a tougher fighter than his brother- but Rich beat Ken in his final fight as a credible challenger. Even if the Frank that beat Ortiz shows up- Rich will Jab him for 15 minutes and pop a leg just to show him how slow he really is.

Rich Franklin by Decision

João: Interesting fight indeed. Rich Franklin brings in good cardio, good stand-up and what is probably an underrated ground game (and it is underrated because he prefers to keep the fight standing). Frank Shamrock is a fighter than had skills ahead of his time; he brought great conditioning, submissions, slams, heart and decent striking.

The difference makes in this fight, I think, would be Rich Franklin’s height and reach advantage. He shouldn’t try to overcommit himself to the striking game though, as Frank would try to find openings to get the takedown or slam.

Rich Franklin, Decision

Robert: Now here's an interesting match. Frank was the first "modern" MMA fighter. He brought it all together, and so dubbed "The Legend". He won and defended his UFC title and then retired. No one took it from him, because no one could. Rich, on the other hand, would probably "Anderson Silva" the Middleweight division right now if it weren't for, well, Anderson Silva. He's lost to 3 guys: Lyoto Machida, Anderson Silva (2x), and Dan Henderson (He got robbed, and you know it!). This fight is literally a coin flip and would probably call for Franklin/Shamrock 2 and 3 after this. Rich likes to stand and strike but can go to the ground and win. Frank loves the ground, but can strike. These two are so close I almost hate picking this fight.

(Ed note: Frank Shamrock left the UFC because they could not afford his contract- they gave the "retired with no competition" clause so Frank could go to Japan ~David)

Shamrock, 29-28 28-29 29-28 Split Decision. (Damn you for making me choose!)

Kazushi “Gracie Hunter” Sakuraba vs Dan “Hendo” Henderson

David: The Gracie Hunter - Beats 4 different Gracies, Rampage, Carlos Newton, Kevin Randleman and Ken Shamrock- But loses to KIMO?? by Submission?? True his only Submission loss, and in his debut- But this guy has lost to a TON of Hall of Famers- 6 of them, accounting for 7 of his 12 losses- Henderson, Seems to have about the same problem- He losses to the REAL big names on the list.

But this comes down to wrestling- and Sakuraba might be one of the best ever in catch wrestling.

Sakuraba, G&P, Round 2

João: Sakuraba’s one of those guys who kept fighting long after he should have retired. In the process he has received tremendous abuse over the years. But make no mistake about it: in his prime he was one of the world’s best, a very exciting fighter and an innovator.

Henderson, like Sakuraba, has fought a who’s who of opponents. He relies on power punches but his wrestling is truly his bread and butter, bringing Olympic-caliber wrestling into MMA.

This is a fight that should have happened, somehow never did. Very strange.

There is one thing that I am looking at here: both men have had losses against bigger opponents, somehow they like to fight bigger guys; they would actually be perfect opponents for each other. Have I mentioned that it is strange this never happened? Can we go back in time and have this?

Dan Henderson is prone to getting caught in submissions. Sakuraba is prone to getting punched in the face by aggressive opponents. This is close.

Sakuraba, Split Decision

Robert: I can't believe this fight never happened. Who ran Pride/FC? Oh right, the Yakuza. Why didn't they want to see Sakuraba vs Henderson? Weird. Anyways...Sakuraba was a submission wizard, winning 16 of 24 by making his opponent tap. Nuts. Dan is a heavy handed s.o.b. and throws a wide variety of punches. Remember the spinning backfist he put on Wanderlei? Daaayuuum! And I think that's going to be the equalizer. Sakuraba has 8 (T)KO losses. Not good when you are going up against someone like Dan. Dan would use his wrestling to control Sakuraba and eventually get the TKO. I have no doubts.

Henderson, Rd 2, TKO