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