UFC 82 will be an event to remember, or a borefest of decisions, it’s hard to say what’s going to happen in many of the bouts on the card. Many fans are claiming some huge lopsided victories while many others are seeing decisions galore litter the event’s results as we head into Saturday night. Hopefully, we won’t see another Strikeforce at the Dome card. Here’s our picks for UFC 82.

Main Event: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
At Stake: UFC Middleweight Title

People are starting to call this a pick’em fight, and I’d have to agree. This is one of the toughest fights to mull over due to the stylistic matchup between the two, but also due to the historical dominance of both fighters.

Silva has simply crushed everything in his path. He made Rich Franklin into a rag doll, and simply used his Muay Thai skillset to strike with him, close the distance, clinch, and then set up massive head shots with his knees. That gameplan will have to change if he wants to defeat Dan Henderson.

Henderson’s strength in this fight will be his wrestling. Greco-Roman control will be the key to getting Silva to the floor where Henderson should be able to crush him, but there are problems. First and foremost, Henderson doesn’t exactly wrestle when he needs to. He likes to brawl and showed it at times against “Rampage” Jackson. Secondly, his wrestling isn’t as good as many make it out to be. Sure, he’s an Olympian, but he was sloppy in many of his PRIDE bouts when it came to controlling his opponent. He can’t let that happen against a surgeon like Silva. Nonetheless, he has two big powerful hands to fall back on if he’s in trouble. The potential for a knockout win from either fighter is very high.

I’ve battled with who to pick in this fight for days, and honestly, it doesn’t matter. They are very even in regards to how their skills compete with one another. A BJJ Black Belt with surgical Muay Thai striking against an Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler with heavy hands is a classic matchup that should provide a spectacular main event. Who will win?

I’m going to have to go with Anderson Silva. I was a supporter of the whole idea behind Henderson winning this fight. He has better wrestling; therefore he can get the takedown and pound on Silva. I understand that point. My only problem is that I can only see Henderson ending this fight in the standup, and Silva has reach, awesome power for having such big reach, and he is a surgeon on his feet with his strikes. He can wear down Henderson with punches, and then move in for the kill. People know Henderson can ward off the clinch, but can he do it while he’s wobbly… most fighters can’t. To sum it up, I’m taking Silva because I think he has more tools to end this fight.

Leland’s Prediction: Anderson Silva via TKO/KO, Round 2

The person who wins this fight is the person who can impose their will on their opponent. This is as close to a pick ‘em fight as there has been in recent events, but I like Henderson’s chances against Silva. Henderson has the advantage because of this reason: he can keep Silva guessing. Silva knows that Henderson can take him down, and I assure you, Dan will be using his feints a lot. Imagine dropping his head down and faking a takedown, but instead, he throws that huge overhand right. The thing that scares me about Henderson is that he tends to get into brawls. He abandons his wrestling and will choose to stand and trade instead. I don’t think he’ll make that mistake against Silva. I think Henderson will be able to impose his will and dominate Silva inside the clinch with his Greco-roman ability, and he’ll earn a stoppage via strikes late in the fight.

Joe's Prediction: Dan Henderson via TKO/KO, Round 3

Cheick Kongo vs. Heath Herring

This is another tough fight on the event’s card to predict. Herring has a career that spans a decade, and in that time, he’s managed to win 16 of his bouts by submission. Many fans don’t associate Herring with a submission game, but I think that’s exactly what he’ll be looking to do in this matchup.

Kongo will likely try to use his bread and butter, Muay Thai, to defeat Herring along the cage. It’s been working for him in his two most recent wins, but it hasn’t led him to a finishing win that we would come to expect from such a large and powerful fighter.

Both fighters have weaknesses and strengths, but I think Herring has the distinct advantage in this matchup. His ground skills will undoubtedly come into play, and even though he isn’t the best grappler on the planet, Kongo’s ground game looked non-existent even in the short stint that he was on the ground against Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic. It won’t be an easy task, and Kongo may very well prove that he’s trained hard for this fight, but I’ll go with Heath.

Leland’s Prediction: Heath Herring via submission, Round 2

In my eyes, this is Herring’s fight to lose. Herring doesn’t have great wrestling, but Kongo has a very weak takedown defense. It shouldn’t be a problem for Herring to get Kongo to the mat. From there, I think you’ll see a scramble where Herring catches Kongo in a choke, most likely the anaconda choke.

Joe's Prediction: Heath Herring via submission, Round 2   

There has been much speculation over the star-studded UFC 82 card that takes place in Columbus, OH. With fighters like Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, and Andrei Arlovski participating, most of that speculation has come from which fighters would make the main card. Earlier today, MMAJunkie.com reported that Arlovski was moved to the preliminary portion of the card for his fight against Jake O’Brien.

Flexing the Negotiating Muscle

Arlovski’s contract expires on April 15th, and he has only one fight remaining. The last time he stepped into the Octagon was in September when he won a very lackluster unanimous decision over Fabricio Werdum. There have been reports about the two sides being unable to negotiate. Everything coming out of Arlovski’s camp has been particularly courteous and cordial.

It’s clear what the UFC is trying to do here. They couldn’t come to terms with Arlovski, and they are certain he’s going to walk. So, in their eyes, they’re going to do everything they can to diminish his value. What better way is there to do that than matching him up with a “boring” wrestler? Don’t get me wrong, O’Brien is good at what he does, but he doesn’t warrant a shot at Arlovski, and it isn’t the most exciting fight. Also, don’t forget that Werdum has been awarded a title shot after his victory over Gonzaga. That’s a direct slap in the face to Arlovski.

Arlovski’s Options

Everyone and their brother will come knocking down the door for Arlovski. There just aren’t that many good heavyweights available on the free agent market. This creates a potential match-up for Fedor Emelianenko in M-1. It also creates a possibility of an Antonio Silva or Kimbo Slice match-up in EliteXC. Those are potential big money fights. Let’s not forget about HDNet Fights either. I’m sure Mark Cuban would love to pick up one of the top free agent heavyweights and use it to cross-promote with M-1 Global.

But, wait; let’s think about this from a conspiracy standpoint. Stay with me here. Let’s say that Arlovski signs with M-1 and fights Emelianenko. What if he wins? The UFC immediately destroys M-1, Emelianenko, and in return they probably get a Couture/Nogueira showdown. Is it really that far fetched?

There is also the possibility that he re-signs with the UFC. Since Tim Sylvia lost his shot at the title, he is no longer in the picture for the time being. This sets up a potential Arlovski/Nogueira fight. The UFC was sort of in between a rock and a hard place with Arlovski. If Sylvia would have won the title, they really would have no use for Arlovski. I mean, who would want to see Sylvia/Arlovski IV? But now that Nogueira is the champion, there is still a chance for him to be a champion.

Closing Thoughts

The next couple of months will be really interesting in the Arlovski sweepstakes. I can guarantee you this though, even if Arlovski knocks O’Brien out brutally in the first twenty seconds, we won’t be seeing that fight. What do you guys think about the UFC’s negotiating tactics? Where do you think Arlovski will go next? What are some more potential fights for him?

Andrei Arlovski was minutes away from winning his second consecutive bout after dropping two tough losses to Tim "The Maniac" Sylvia. Although a boring performance, Arlovski was able to pull out a win over the Brazilian ju-jitsu specialist Fabricio Werdum. The coming months would be cast with doubt as to when Arlovski would fight next. The Belarussian went from being the in the contender position again to completely out of the picture in a six month span. What has happened to Andrei Arlovski?

Dana White and Arlovski's management

During the media conference, Dana White was asked about whether Arlovski had "pissed off" the UFC President and if that was the reason why he was currently not fighting. We have learned in the past few months that Arlovski is actually on the last fight on his current UFC contract. White stated:

He hasn’t been forgotten, Andrei’s kind of sitting on the bench… I want to get him back in the mix if his guys want to talk. I’ll fly to Chicago and talk to them right now.“

The comment was in regards to a Chicago reporter commenting that he had the impression from Arlovski's camp that the UFC Heavyweight was ready to fight and was awaiting an offer from the UFC for a new contract. White seemed surprised. Apparently there seems to be a gap between Dana White, Arlovski's management, and Andrei himself. This could almost be compared to what people have typically thought about the entire Fedor Emelianenko situation. Many fans have been convinced that Fedor really did not have any idea as to what Vadim Finkelstein was demanding on top of Fedor's demands during their negotiations. Is this a similar situation?

From the odd discrepancies in each party's comments, there may be some merit to the argument that Arlovski's management isn't doing all they can to get Andrei back in the cage. White stated that he would drop everything and head to Chicago to speak with his management, so the assumption is that he has wanted to bring Arlovski back into the cage as soon as a new deal is struck. If a new deal is what is stopping the return of Andrei, Arlovski's stance in the division is obviously fairly high. The UFC typically keeps guys in a position where they must sign if they are in the running for a title shot because the UFC does not want a fighter obtaining the title and then vacating the title for more money from a different promotion. Andrei must be looking for more money for a deal that Dana White may be seeing as ridiculous because of Andrei's lackluster performance and overall record in the UFC. Should Andrei receive more money?

Is Arlovski worth more now?

Arlovski has been one of the top heavyweights in the division for a long time, but he has recently had some hard luck in the cage when running into the big man, Tim Sylvia. Along with his bouts against the Iowa native, he's compiled a 2-2 record in his last 4 fights. Primarily known as a great striker with knockout power, Arlovski is now turning to his management team to convince White that he deserves a bigger piece of the pie. I have a feeling White's comments about his last matchup have echoed into the boardroom when both parties begin talking about their next contract. White stated during the media conference that Andrei Arlovski's performance against Fabricio Werdum was rather boring... and it was. One boring performance and White is throwing Arlovski out the window? I believe it goes deeper than that.

With all the recent acquisitions, re-signing, and surges of talent in the Heavyweight division, Arlovski's value definitely plummeted without him even being in the cage. Cheick Kongo has become a force with his size, strength, and striking even though his ground game has yet to be exposed. Tim Sylvia is back injury-free and has always been a tough test for Andrei. Additionally, Frank Mir is on the comeback trail, PRIDE veteran Antonio Nogueira is at the top of the heap with all the talent and skill he possesses, and Brandon Vera is also back after a long contract dispute and managerial change. Add in Brock Lesnar as a huge load for anyone to take on and you have a division that may be very deep without Arlovski in it at the moment. With all of that talent, I still feel Arlovski's striking is a huge asset in the division.

In a report from Steve Sievert, Joe Silva made some comments regarding the negotiations. To sum it all up in a sentence, Silva basically stated that Arlovski had nowhere to really go and that the UFC needed to make a contract that made sense for them. Translation: Arlovski's worth has fallen and he doesn't deserve the big money. Is reality, is this somewhat true at all? I agree with it to an extent. Arlovski's worth has fallen a bit while sitting the sideline. His absence didn't help him much as far as being in the spotlight as far as a shot at the title went. With Couture coming back out of retirement and obtaining the belt, the whole picture changed at the top of the division. The big signings of PRIDE veterans also changed the potential matchups and ways of obtaining a title shot. The UFC definitely made it obvious that the PRIDE fighters coming in would see a potential shot at the title in a much shorter timespan than usual. Add that up along with Arlovski's absence and it equals a forgotten heavyweight striker that has always excited the crowd with the exception of his last fight.

Does he deserve the big money? His recent contract had him earning $90,000 to fight with a $55,000 dollar win bonus. We don't know if he had any pay-per-view bonuses that were related to the buyrates of each event he was on. Fighters like Chuck Liddell are being paid $500,000 to fight and lose, Sylvia was paid $200,000 and Vera $100,000 in their recent matchup and Vera lost. What kind of money should Arlovski be getting? He should at least be getting a contract that is equivalent to that of Vera. Vera would have likely doubled his salary with the win. Arlovski's UFC 66 salary didn't seem to do so. The UFC should at least give him a decent guarantee on fights for the year and give him a base $100,000 salary for each fight. Make it up to his performance if he can double that, and he should already be aware of the "Knockout of the Night" bonus. Performance-based contracts are the way to go if he wants such a large increase in pay and the UFC isn't willing to give it without results.

My inkling is that Andrei's management is wanting more money that isn't based on performance, a larger base salary. Anything over $100,000 seems a bit much considering he has dropped his status in the division that seems to have a lot of fighters that have opposite styles to his and are very good at those styles. Arlovski needs to sign a performance-based contract and prove to the world that he deserves more. Give him a smaller contract in terms of length and see what he can do. We all want to see him in the cage again, and I think a powerful striker is a nice prospect to have near the top for the fans to get excited about.