UFC 84 Breakdown- Silva vs. Jardine

Silva vs. Jardine

I’m sorry, I have never been sold on Jardine. He lost to Rashad Evans on TUF, lost to Stephan Bonnar and lost to Houston Alexander. His win against Forrest was legit but it didn’t really show anything other than he has some power. It did more to show that Forrest needs to stay out of the pocket rather than drop his head and brawl. His win against Chuck, was a matter of Chuck expecting him to drop from a right hand. In the third when Chuck finally turned it on, he did not look as good. Lets quickly break this down.

Striking:

Edge Silva. Jardine is a decent kickboxer but so is Silva and Silva has more power and more tools. Silva’s clinch is a deadly weapon and he throws every punch with bad intentions. He is also more than capable of dealing with Jardine’s leg kicks which is his best weapon.

Wrestling;

Edge Silva. Silva’s wrestling isn’t amazing but it is solid. Jardine has not shown any wrestling ability at all. Also Silva has a create Muay Thai Clinch and while it is mainly a striking weapon, it means that he can control the action against the fence. He is also working full time with Randy Couture which can’t hurt.

Jiu jitsu

Edge Silva. Silva is a BJJ black belt and the few times we have seen him use his BJJ it has been very effective. He has shown a very active guard that allows him to prevent damage and scramble to his feet. Jardine has not shown any real skill on the ground.

Cardio:

Edge Silva. Unlike a lot of former Pride stars, Silva has not shown a tendency to gas. His 3 round war with Liddell was at as fast of a pace as you could hope for and he was throwing as hard, and as much, in the third as he was in the first. Jardine’s cardio isn’t bad either but Silva has shown time and time again that he will bring the intensity for the entire fight.

Level of competition:

Edge, Silva by a landslide. Sliva has faced Lidell, Jackson (twice), Arona (twice), Hendo (twice), Hunt, CroCop(twice), Sakuraba (3X) Ortiz, Belfort and more. He has faced 4 UFC belt holders and was PRIDE champ for a long time. Liddell and Griffen are the only two top fighters on his record and he does hold wins over them but he has also lost recently to prospect Alexander and Bonnar.

Conclusion:

Silva owns every advantage on paper. He is as good or better the Jardine in every aspect. However, Silva has lost 3 straight. Those loses are to Henderson, Liddel and CroCop (at HW) so he didn’t lose to second tier fighter like Jardine but questions remain as to his ability to continue as a top fighter. Silva has been through numerous wars in his career and they look as though they may have taken there toll on the Axe Murderer. Jardine could win this by virtue of being less abused. He also has a great game planner in Greg Jackson, who could plan a strategy of picking apart silva’s somewhat reckless style. Another question is how much of an effect is Randy Couture going to have on silva’s game plan. If there is one guy in MMA who can out game plan Jackson, it is the Natural. I predict Silva by destructive KO, in a fight that re-establishes him as a top fighter.