sakurob
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 Posted: 06 Sep 2007 03:00 PM Post subject: The Start of a New Era: Jackson, Henderson to Unify Titles |
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What is the single worst thing
about boxing?
Remember, I am a lifelong boxing fan, and I still love the sport to this day. My esteemed editor, Thomas Gerbasi, is also a lifelong boxing guy, and he, as well as any other recognized expert worth his salt, will also agree that it is the split title system.
That list also includes UFC president Dana White, another lifelong boxing guy.
At any one time, boxing fans struggle to figure out who is the true world champion. In 17 weight classes, there are exactly zero – yes, you read that correctly – zero undisputed champions. Jermain Taylor, the reigning middleweight champion, can make the argument, as he is undefeated since winning the undisputed title from Bernard Hopkins. Nevertheless, Taylor vacated two belts because of alphabet sanctioning body politics, rules and his own refusal to fight mandatory (albeit joke-level, at times) challengers.
Love him or hate him, White is a true fan-friendly promoter/owner. Why? He refused to let competing promotions, silly sanctioning bodies and embarrassing politics get in the way of determining who the baddest man on the planet in each weight class is. With only one true global competitor, White and his partners, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, purchased Pride Fighting Championships.
Sure, it was great when guys like Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira signed with the UFC. But all that pales in comparison to what is about to go down on Saturday night.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the reigning UFC 205-lb champion, will square off against Dan “Hollywood” Henderson, the reigning Pride 205-lb champion, to determine who, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the king of the light heavies. The winner of this fight will hold the undisputed belt. Sure, there will be mid-major shows or other minor league promotions who claim to have a 205-lb titlist. But that is no different than the Arena League crowning a champion after the Super Bowl.
Folks, this is history in the making. It is possibly the most significant fight in the history of the sport. The question is who will come out on top?
Let’s break down the match up.
STANDUP TECHNIQUE
From a pure boxing or kickboxing perspective, Rampage is the cleaner, crisper striker. He throws most of his shots straight down the middle with serious snap. Granted, from time to time, Rampage unleashes a leaping right hook, a very unusual punch for an orthodox fighter, but it carries very real juice, as former champion Chuck Liddell learned at UFC 71 three months ago. Regardless, from a boxing standpoint, it is extremely clean.
Henderson also has a serious standup game, but he tends to throw his homerun punch – a very long overhand right – over the top like a Jonathan Papelbon fastball, with his chin tucked and his eyes looking straight at the canvas.
Neither man brings any sort of kicking game to the table, whether truly damaging leg kicks or high kicks. The same thing applies to knees. Thus, the UFC champion’s boxing technique carries the “standup” day. Advantage: Rampage.
POWER
Rampage is not, nor has he ever been, a one-punch knockout guy. The shot he landed against Liddell was the perfect punch thrown at the perfect time. Anyone weighing over 200 lbs can drop an opponent with the perfect shot. That is the sport’s great equalizer. But at the end of the day, Jackson has “wear down” power, not knockout power.
The same thing applies to Henderson. Sure, he sent Silva to the realm of the unconscious with a big left hook, but he landed similar shots against Vitor Belfort just a few months earlier and they did not have the same effect. The ultimate outcome of that fight had as much to do with Silva being in the ring too soon following a vicious knockout loss to Mirko Cro Cop as it did with Henderson’s knockout power.
Let’s be clear: Henderson can dent anyone’s grill with a single right hand. In fact, he will drop most if he lands that bomb. But the blow doesn’t carry the same sort of detonation as a Liddell right hand. Guys don’t typically crumble under it as if they had just been shot in the head with a shotgun.
At the end of the day, Henderson probably has the single biggest punch between the two, but Rampage brings more power with the majority of his punches. Advantage: None.
DEFENSE
Neither man is known as an elusive standup fighter. Both guys get hit a fair amount when they engage on the feet. Rampage has the better head movement, but he absolutely has no clue on how to defend knees. Each of his last three losses was the result of vicious knee attacks. Fortunately for Rampage, Henderson doesn’t have devastating knee strikes. So, even though Henderson probably defends better against kicks and knees, the standup portion of this fight will be decided by punches, not kicks or knees. Advantage: Rampage.
CHIN
Henderson eschews any adherence to weight classes and fights anyone from 185 lbs to heavyweight. Yet, in 27 professional fights, nobody has knocked him out. The fearsome former Pride champion, Wanderlei Silva, who is a fearsome knockout striker, hit him with everything in his arsenal, including the kitchen sink, back in 2000, and caught him twice with good, clean shots in their February rematch. Yet, Henderson survived.
Jackson, by contrast, suffered a pair of horrific knockout losses to Silva, due to some of the game’s
most damaging knee strikes. Then, Shogun stopped him with strikes after a furious opening bell exchange.
There is no shame in losing by knockout to anyone. But anyone with any exposure to Henderson’s career will agree that the former Olympian has the sturdier set of whiskers in this fight – period. Advantage: Henderson.
TAKEDOWNS AND TAKEDOWN DEFENSE
Rampage is known for his majestic, awe-inspiring slams, but Henderson is a two-time Olympic wrestler. Can Rampage slam Henderson if he winds up in the perfect position? Of course! But is it more likely that Henderson will be the one deciding whether the fight unfolds on the feet or on the ground? Absolutely!
Comparing Jackson to an Olympian when it comes to wrestling is almost an insult, so there is no need to dig any deeper. Advantage: Henderson.
SUBMISSIONS
While Henderson is undoubtedly the better wrestler, neither man is a submission guy. Neither can sneak a fight-ending hold into the mix, unless the other makes a very bad mistake. If someone shoots for a takedown with their neck exposed, a guillotine certainly could follow. But this won’t be a fight decided by arm bars, Kimuras, anaconda chokes, or knee bars. It will be a bout decided with fists, whether standing or on the ground. That is why we will not explore their respective defensive ground skills. Advantage: None.
GROUND AND POUND
There are more methodical ground-and-pound artists in the game. Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Sean Sherk and Randy Couture immediately come to mind. But few guys rain down blows with more devastation than Rampage. The UFC champion sells out with extremely powerful strikes from every ground position. Elbows on the ground are legal in the UFC, unlike in Pride, so Rampage has even more fight-ending weapons at his disposal now that he fights exclusively in the Octagon.
Henderson isn’t that different on the ground. He also throws shots with extremely bad intentions. Yet, Henderson tends to throw those shots with less balance than Rampage, which is why Belfort swept him repeatedly in their October 2006 bout.
Again, neither man has any illusions of winning this fight from his back. If the fight is decided on the ground, it will likely be the guy who spends more time on the top. Based on recent performances, one would assume that would be Rampage – assuming, of course, that he can actually put the Olympic wrestler on his back. Advantage: Rampage.
INTANGIBLES
One can break down every aspect of a fight and it is little more than water cooler fodder. At the end of the day, the man with more heart often comes out on top when two evenly matched opponents battle it out inside the Octagon.
Trying to break down which man has more heart is a very tough task for this bout. Rampage grew up in a violent environment where he fought to survive. That is a huge advantage for most.
Yet, Henderson is a two-time Olympian. His commitment to winning cannot be challenged. When it is all said and done, Henderson wants to win as much or more than anyone in the game today. His heart and intestinal fortitude cannot be questioned. Advantage: Henderson.
Rampage Jackson versus Dan Henderson is the perfect bout to begin the UFC-Pride unification process. It is a very evenly matched bout between two elite athletes. Both men have their strengths and weaknesses, but their dedication to pleasing the crowd means that this one will almost certainly turn into a slugfest.
Who will benefit? Conventional wisdom says that when all else is equal, the bigger man typically wins. Rampage is without a doubt the much bigger man. But Henderson has made a career out of beating bigger guys.
So, what will happen? Despite the even match up, this fight has Henderson written all over it. Then again, Liddell versus Rampage was no different, and the man from Memphis overcame the odds to win the UFC title.
The outcome may be a bit up in the air, but the one thing that is certain is that both men will remain friends after Saturday night and the winner will be the most sought after 205-lb fighter in the game. |
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