The co-main event of the UFC Fight Night 29 card in Barueri, Brazil is a battle between welterweight contenders Erick Silva and the “Stun Gun” Dong Hyun Kim. This is more than just a match up between two great welterweights, but also a match up to determine who is a contender and who is a gatekeeper. So without any ado, I give you my thoughts and breakdown of the match up.
Striking
Erick Silva is an extremely well rounded fighter with a solid mix of striking and grappling skills. He has three knockouts to his record and has looked great on the feet inside the Octagon. Though he doesn’t finish often with his striking, he has the ability to keep his opponents at bay and work in some of his great grappling. Against Kim, Silva will have to look to fight on the inside to avoid the reach of the Korean while also avoiding his Judo game.
Dong Hyun Kim is primarily known for his grappling skills and as a smothering Judo practitioner. With that being said, Kim happens to have six knockouts to his name. Though we haven’t seen that knockout power since his UFC debut in 2008 it’s still there. The key for Kim on the feet is to use his reach to keep Silva on the outside until the “Stun Gun” wants to take it to the ground.
Verdict: Erick Silva has the edge in striking.
Submissions
Erick Silva has shown some slick submission skills inside the Octagon, having picked up two submission of the night victories since his debut in 2011. Silva has a Black Belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo to add to his pedigree, and showed that off in his beautiful reverse triangle submission win over Jason High in his last match. The real question is going to be whether or not Silva can take it to the ground against Kim.
Dong Hyun Kim is no scrub on the ground, holding a black belt in Judo but with only one submission to his name. Kim tends not to go for the kill in the submission department, opting to rather grind out wins or look for the finish with his powerful ground and pound. The biggest factor here is whether or not his submission defense is any good, and we have yet to see the “Stun Gun” get finished with a submission.
Verdict: Silva has the edge in submissions.
Grappling
Erick Silva as we have said is a competent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, but on top of this he also has decent take downs. We didn’t see this in his match up with Jason High, as he countered the wrestlers takedown with a submission. But on the other hand we did see him takedown Jon Fitch a couple of times in his losing effort back in 2012. Will he be able to get Kim to the ground?
Dong Hyun Kim is a fantastic grappler, he has the ability to push you around for 15 to 25 minutes with an unrelenting pace. He uses his Judo fantastically against the cage and seems to be always moving forward hunting for the takedown. When he gets you to the ground, we rarely see the fight go back to the feet before the end of the round, unless the referee stands it up. The question is, will Kim be able to get passed Silva’s striking to get the fight to the ground?
Verdict: Edge goes to Kim.
Intangibles
For Erick Silva, the intangible is fighting in front of a hometown crowd. The audience will no doubt be routing for him, but will he be able to deal with the pressure? The question is obviously, is being the hometown kid an advantage or disadvantage?
For Kim the intangible is his ability to take a punch. We have seen the “Stun Gun” get knocked out by Carlos Condit and lose via an injury TKO to Demian Maia. The question here is, if Silva lands a clean blow, will “Stun Gun” be able to keep fighting?
Prediction
In the end I see this fight going in the favor of Dong Hyun Kim. “Stun Gun” won’t come out trying to make an exciting fight for the fans like Jon Fitch did, but rather he will push Silva against the cage and lay and pray for the majority of the fight. I don’t think Silva will have an answer for this, and I don’t think he will be able to catch him off his back. I say Kim wins an uneventful unanimous decision.