MMA Quick Hits 3/7/11: Chad OchoCinco vs. Anderson Silva, Jorge Santiago can beat Anderson Silva

Chad OchoCinco said at ESPN the Weekend in Orlando that he would defeat the UFC’s Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva. “I’ll whip his ass. I’m not going to the ground. I know if I’m going to fight Anderson, I have to fight him standing up. I’m quicker than him. I know he’s good at what he does, but let’s not be fooled. I’m one of the elite athletes in the NFL. I’m very fast. I just can’t go to the ground. Maybe I can just run around the ring the whole damn time.” That’s some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever heard/read. While I don’t believe Chad is being serious, not going to the ground isn’t the thing that would save him. Not fighting Anderson is the only way to be safe. This fight, IF it ever happened, would be over as fast as Silva wanted it to be over. OchoCinco is a specimen, for sure, but he’s not a fighter, even if he practices boxing in his spare time. Sorry Chad. I love watching you play on Sundays, but in the cage against the greatest ever? Don’t think so. Even if I put you in my Top 5.

Jorge Santiago told Heavy.com that he believes that he can defeat UFC Champion Anderson Silva. “Of course [I feel like I can defeat Anderson Silva]; nobody is unbeatable man, we know that. With the right game plan, I think one advantage I have to my game is that I know how to mix it up. I’m not just a striker; I do jiu jitsu, wrestling. If somebody wants to come and just bang, it’s not something that I’m going to do. I’m going to chose what I want to do. We saw the fight against Chael Sonnen; everybody has their weaknesses, their bad day. I think I have a big chance.” While Santiago is right, that nobody is unbeatable, Silva is as close as it gets. And I think Santiago forgot he got beat out of the UFC. Let’s just focus on Brian Stann. That’s not a gimme either.

According to a report from MMA-Japan.com, Shinya Aoki has signed on to meet Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm on the Strikeforce: Daley vs. Diaz card on Showtime on April 9. Despite his recent failings, Aoki is still one of the top lightweights in the world. But Beerbohm is another tough test. He better be ready.

According to MMAJunkie.com, UFC Fight Night 24 has taken a couple of hits with injuries to Duane “Bang” Ludwig and Dennis Hallman. James Wilks steps in for Ludwig to take on Amir Sodallah, and Johny Hendricks steps in for Hallman to take on T.J. Waldburger. Decent enough replacements. Especially Hendricks. Now I want to see that fight.

Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann have been suspended indefinitely following their three-round war at UFC on Versus 3, but both can be cleared to fight if they are able to provide a clean bill of health. No doubt. That fight was ridiculous and the amount of damage Diego took was amazing.