Anderson Silva-Dan Henderson Analysis

Styles make fights. It’s one of the oldest adages in sports. Nowhere is that more true than in Mixed-Martial-Arts, because of the wide variety of tactics fighters can employ. A great striker can be rendered powerless if his ground game isn’t good when facing a superior grappler; likewise, a great grappler can be overwhelmed if he’s unable to cut off the ring and is forced to trade with a superior striker. Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson, the 185 lb. Championship Main Event scheduled for UFC 82 on March 1st 2008, is stylistically the best match-up of fighters that I’ve ever seen.
Both fighters are easily on the short list of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. If you had to define each fighter’s bread and butter it would have to be striking for Silva and grappling for Henderson. But it’s the intangibles that really make this match-up intriguing. Even though Silva prefers to strike, he also has a good ground game. And even though Henderson’s foundations come from grappling, he’s a pretty good striker. Both have tremendous chins and have never been stopped by strikes. Both come from outstanding camps which are among the best in the world. Both are mentally tough fighters who do not beat themselves. Both are very exciting fighters who constantly bring the action and are always looking to finish the fight. From any angle you choose to look at it, this fight is compelling. When you add that the fight should crown a worldwide, undisputed champion (Henderson has the Pride Fighting Championship’s 183 lb. belt), and that the winner gets bragging rights over the other in the much debated pound-for-pound rankings, the fight gains even more importance. It’s very rare to have a match-up this juicy for both MMA purists and casual fans alike.
Anderson Silva is the best MMA striker I’ve ever seen, bar none. Unlike many big hitters he’s also extremely accurate. His timing is impeccable and his creativity allows him to exploit openings which simply do not exist for other fighters, as when he knocked out Tony Fryklund with a reverse elbow. He’s very versatile, being great with punches, knees, kicks and elbows. When you take all of those attributes and combine them with the reach he usually enjoys in being 6’2”, he’s a terror at long range. He may be the only fighter about whom I can honestly say that every moment the fight remains standing is a moment his opponent is in genuine danger.
What makes things even more daunting is that he may be even better at short range. His Muay-Thai clinch is simply devastating, as former 185 lb. champ Rich Franklin can attest to. The lean Silva is deceptively strong, and when he secures a clinch in back of his opponent’s head, he’s frighteningly tough to dislodge. In their first fight, as Franklin, one of the physically strongest 185-pounders in the world struggled to free himself from said clinch, Silva threw him around like the proverbial rag doll, tossing him from the center of the octagon to a corner, all the while maintaining a vice-like grip. And while you’re in that grip, you, my friend, are in for a world of hurt.
Sharp, debilitating knee strikes surgically rip into your rib cage and abdomen. When you lower your arms to protect against them (and lower your arms you will, whether you want to or not, self-preservation is a strong instinct), your head now becomes vulnerable, and Silva will attack it with punches, elbows, and sometimes kicks, swiftly stepping back to generate space before rifling a high kick at your cranium. But perhaps his deadliest weapon in that situation are his knees; with the clinch still intact and your arms lowered he’ll drive them straight into your unprotected head, like unblocked linebackers running free for blindside hits.
The knees are the shots that often end fights as they did against Chris Leben, and Franklin (twice). He destroyed Leben, a fighter known for his iron jaw, KO-ing him in 49 seconds. In his first fight with Franklin, a Silva knee broke Franklin’s nose so severely that it was literally pushed almost an inch across his face. Franklin called recovering from the surgery to repair it one of the most painful experiences of his life; it was the type of injury more often associated with car accidents than fighting. In their second fight a genuinely improved Franklin would this time make it into the 2nd round before succumbing to another fight-ending knee strike, and sustaining another broken nose.
Silva, who’s always very modest and polite, seemed almost sorry afterwards. Franklin, an accomplished striker and a very good, well-rounded fighter in his own right, has only lost to one other fighter, 205 lb. standout Lyoto Machida. But he was systematically dismantled by Silva; especially in their first fight, the disparity in striking skill was clear. Silva’s striking is not only extremely efficient (he hardly ever misses; if he throws it, it’s landing somewhere), it’s also beautiful aesthetically. “A ballet of violence,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan describes it as. The variety, creativity, and skill of his striking combined with his relentless, finishing mentality makes him one of the most exciting fighters in MMA.
In a just world, if you looked up “fighter” in the dictionary, you’d find Dan Henderson’s mug staring back at you. He’s well-rounded and his toughness is the stuff of legend. Like fellow Team Quest founders Randy Couture and Matt Lindland, Henderson is expert at making an opponent fight his fight. A member of the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling teams, Henderson is one of the best grapplers in MMA. Heavy-handed and relentless, he’s a pretty good striker also, holding stoppage victories over Pride fighters Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie, Murilo Bustamante, and Akihiro Gono. Amazingly, he has competed in Japan’s famed Pride Fighting Championship’s 205 and 183 lb. classes and been successful in both despite facing a natural size disadvantage in the larger division. He recently gave UFC champ Rampage Jackson all he could handle over 5 hard-fought rounds, often physically dominating Jackson, who’s one of the most powerful 205-pounders in the world. Henderson’s a master at “Dirty Boxing”, a technique utilizing a wide variety of strikes while engaged in a clinch. In addition to his wrestling and heavy strikes, Henderson’s jaw is legendary. No matter what he’s hit with he never seems to waver, like the Energizer Bunny he keeps going and going and going.
MMA purists may be looking forward to this fight more than any other in history. It’s simply very intriguing from many different aspects. It should be a very exciting fight for fans also; you’ll never find better skilled fighters who both love to bring it. Either man could win but if I had to pick I’d give Henderson an edge. That may surprise many who are in awe of Silva’s striking, but that’s a mistake many fans make, the factor which often determines MMA fights is who can dictate where the fight takes place, and I feel Henderson has skills which can neutralize Silva’s striking and bring the fight into his realm. Silva’s takedown defense, which has been average to somewhat above average in previous fights, may end up hurting him here. Even if he improves it by the time this fight comes around it shouldn’t be on the Liddell-esque level needed to stuff Henderson. He therefore gives Henderson a doable game-plan which should give him a good chance for victory. It’s the game-plan Randy Couture and Rampage Jackson followed to lead them to wins in their first fights with Chuck Liddell: punch to clinch, clinch to slam, ground ‘n pound, repeat. Henderson has the striking skills to engage Silva enough to get close enough for a clinch. Of course, Silva could really hurt him as he tries to come in for one, and even if Henderson got it, with Silva’s excellent Muay-Thai, Silva may be able to use the clinch to his advantage also. Are you seeing why this fight’s an MMA fan’s dream? There are SO many ways it could turn out. But in general, if Henderson’s able to secure a clinch he should be able to get a takedown. And once there, he’s one of the few 185-pounders strong enough and skilled enough to: a) keep Silva there, and b) hurt him while he is there. But again, Silva’s Jiu-Jitsu may be good enough to threaten Henderson with submissions also. The variables in this fight are endless. However, Henderson should have the advantage on the ground. I don’t know if he’d finish the fight, but even if he doesn’t, he should be able to do enough consistent damage to wear on Silva over 5 rounds. Even if Silva gets to his feet the ground ‘n pounding he’s sustained could affect his standup, and whether it does or not, Henderson should eventually be able to fight his way in to another clinch, and then take him down and repeat the process. Then again, Silva could damage Henderson and TKO him any moment while the fight’s standing up. But overall I’d go with Henderson. In the battle between an excellent grappler and an excellent striker who can be taken down it’s good to go with the grappler.
There are also intangible characteristics each fighter has shown which could influence the outcome. In order to maximize their chances of winning, they should remain aware of the aspects listed below:

1) Part of Silva’s aggressive style includes him using flying knees and kicks in a manner which suggests he’s unconcerned with being taken down, even when facing great ground fighters such as Travis Lutter. He seems to like a challenge and often willingly accepts taking fights to places other than his devastating standup. However, he should REALLY try to avoid the ground against Henderson; his advantage in standup and disadvantage on the ground are both significant. Even though Silva has skills off his back he had very precarious moments against Lutter from that position, and against Henderson that could prove deadly. Silva has good Jiu-Jitsu but he shouldn’t try to test Henderson in grappling, that cannot be stressed enough.

2) Likewise, the gutsy Henderson has shown a tendency to stand and trade with opponents instead of looking to get to the ground. But he SHOULD NOT try and strike with Silva just to trade with him, he should only use his striking to secure a clinch and work takedowns. Silva is so far above everyone else in this aspect that striking too long with him becomes as close to a guarantee as there is in MMA; you are just waiting to get knocked out.

3) Being an MMA fighter who’s a great wrestler can be a trump card; if getting the worse of standup you can go all out to get your hands on your opponent, and then essentially turn the fight into a wrestling match. Henderson should try to do this as much as possible, especially given that it’s the weakest aspect of Silva’s game. The more he’s able to take Silva out of his element by controlling his positioning, putting him on his back and pounding on him the better he’ll be. Sometimes fighters don’t want to wrestle too much because they may be considered boring but that shouldn’t be a problem for the experienced Henderson. Outwrestling and then ground ‘n pounding Silva is his simplest and surest route to victory.

I’m basically picking Henderson to win for a simple reason: he should be able to impose his type of fight on Silva while Silva should have more trouble imposing his on him. With his great clinch game and takedowns, Henderson should be able to negate Silva’s striking better than Silva’s able to negate his wrestling. So Henderson should be able to secure a clinch and a takedown to bring the fight into his world if he’s getting out-struck, but Silva doesn’t have as much of the same capability if he’s being outwrestled. He can accept the takedown and try for submissions or try to mount an offense from his back, but that position should still be better for Henderson than for Silva. I see Henderson’s advantages in these areas as being this fight’s single most important strategic factor. If Henderson sticks to a strike-to-clinch, clinch-to-slam, ground ‘n pound game-plan, he should win. He could always get TKO’d while the fight is standing, but with his great jaw and good striking, if he fights smart, that should be unlikely. One thing which could possibly (though I strongly doubt it) be a factor is age; Henderson is 37. Though he hasn’t shown any discernible signs of slowing, history shows us that this is the time where it may start happening. If Silva could avoid the ground I would give him the definite edge but I strongly doubt he’ll be able to. Henderson should be able to keep him on his back for extended periods of time and do some damage while he’s there, and I see that as being the difference in this fight.

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