With UFC on Fox 5 in the books, it’s hard to pin point one fighter that looked more dominant in all aspects of the game than Dennis Siver. What was supposed to be a war between two exciting fighters, turned out to be a clinic put on by the German kickboxer.
Nam Phan is as durable a fighter as we’ve seen in a long time. To his credit he did not quit at any point during the 15 minute beating he took at the hands of Siver. From the opening bell Siver looked to keep Phan at a distance with his quick and powerful kicks. Despite pleas from his corner to slow his pace, Siver maintained an impressive barrage of strikes from bell to bell. The German was so effective with his game plan that Phan never had the chance to mount an offensive through out the fight. This by far was the best Dennis Siver to step foot in the Octagon
The entire MMA world knows of the devastating striking that Siver possesses, but in this fight he looked to mix in his ever improving ground game as well. Siver took down the Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu black belt at will, showing off a much improved offensive wrestling game. After three dominant rounds in which Siver unleashed some viscious kicks and dominant ground and pound he got the nod from the judges. The judges saw it 30-25, 30-24, and 30-26 all in favor of Dennis Siver.
Nam Phan is by no means a title contender, but after the performance that was put on by Siver it is clear that the German is. If Siver continues to work diligently on his wrestling and BJJ, I predict we will see him challenge for the title by the end of 2013. As seen in his post fight interview it is clear that Siver is looking for a fight with a top contender. Going as far as to suggest the Korean Zombie in an interview with Ariel Helwani. I like this fight, and with Siver’s improved take down defense and wrestling look for him to out strike the Korean Zombie en route to a decision or TKO win.
Written by : Josh Leduc