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Opinion & Analysis
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Staff Editorials
ENNIS BLOG: UFC News Analysis - Who Should Replace Shogun Rua at UFC 86?
By Shawn Ennis, MMATorch Columnist
Mar 4, 2008, 20:54
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Updated March 4, 2008 6:55 p.m.
As you've heard, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has re-injured his knee and has to withdraw from his (for me) highly anticipated bout with Chuck Liddell. So who's left to replace him? The answer: not very many fighters under contract with the UFC. There are plenty of intriguing matchups for Liddell, but most of them are already signed to fights.
The fighters currently scheduled or tentatively scheduled to fight up through UFC 86 are as follows: Tim Boetsch, Matt Hamill, Houston Alexander, James Irvin, Lyoto Machida, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva, Sokodjou, Kaz Nakamura, Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, and Wilson Gouveia.
Off the top of my head, that leaves Thomas Drwal, Stephan Bonnar and Dan Henderson (should he fight at LHW again) to fight "The Iceman." So who should do it? I assume that Bonnar will get the nod, but I wouldn't rule out someone outside the promotion coming in. I'd love to see Ricardo Arona or Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Little Nog is currently signed with the Canadian promotion Hardcore Fighting Championship, but who knows about how contracts are structured these days? Yet another possibility could be a fighter dropping from heavyweight or coming up from 185, but I don't know who would be available for that. We'll see what kind of replacement the UFC brings pretty soon.
And for the record, I think Liddell runs through any name on the list of available fighters. I'm just sayin.
Updated March 1, 2008 7:25 p.m.
Wade tells me I'd be totally cheating if I put my picks in my coverage tonight, since the event will already be airing, so I'll relent and get them in here at the wire. So here are the correct picks for tonight:
Gurgel over Halverson by Unanimous Decision (Both guys will look to prove something after their last UFC appearances, but Gurgel takes the home-state advantage. That didn't help him last time, but we'll see about now.)
Cummo over Fioravanti by TKO in Round 2 (Cummo takes it with a big overhand right after Fioravanti tries to bully him in the first.)
Sanchez over Bielkhaden by Submission in Round 2 (I know absolutely nothing about the debuting Scandinavian.)
Koscheck over Hazelett by TKO in Round 3 (Koscheck uses takedown defense and peppering strikes to keep Hazelett at bay, then gets him on the ground and pounds him out late.)
Arlovski over O'Brien by TKO in Round 1 (O'Brien has good ground skills, but I have a feeling we'll see the old murderous Belarussian tonight. One can only hope.)
Leben over Sakara by TKO in Round 2 (Sakara looks good early, but his chin ends up costing him. Remember both mens' fights against Drew McFedries.)
Okami over Tanner by Unanimous Decision (I'm rooting for Tanner as much as anyone because he's a likable guy, but too much time off combined with an opponent like Okami spells trouble for him.)
Fitch over Wilson by TKO in Round 2 (Fitch is too much for anyone outside of Georges St. Pierre these days.)
Kongo over Herring by Unanimous Decision (I like Herring, but he's not being matched very favorably. Unless he can score a bunch of takedowns and keep Kongo down, I don't see a way he can win.)
Silva over Henderson by TKO in Round 4 to retain the Middleweight Title (Henderson is a beast, and he'll score early, but I'm reasonably sure that Anderson Silva is not human. This will be won and lost in the clinch. Should be a great fight.)
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