Interactive Tournament: Middleweight Semi-Finals

Only two Interactive Tournament articles left after this one; this project is coming to an end, folks. But we had a very interesting first round last week that saw four very good fights. Here are the results:

Dan Henderson defeated Akiyama by a 9-3 vote

Yushin Okami eliminated Michael Bisping by a 8-4 vote

Thales Leites didn't get much love as he was eclipsed 11-1 against Demian Maia

Patrick Cote was destroyed by Nate Marquardt receiving only two votes to 10

The semi-finals are looking good, with two very good and interesting fights.

Semi-Finals Fight One: Dan Henderson vs Yushin Okami

This is a very intriguing fight because I don't know who has an advantage where. Neither man is know for his BJJ skills. Neither man is very talented on his feet and has great kickboxing skills.

Both men will be looking to get the takedown and ground and pound their way to victory. Okami is a very intelligent fighter who stays calm in every situation. He's a big middleweight who has taken down all of his opponents in the past.

His only UFC loss was to former champion Rich Franklin. He's a patient fighter who waits for openings to finish the fight.

On the other hand, Dan Henderson is a veteran who has fought the best fighters. He's not the biggest fighter, but he's good. His wrestling skills are his biggest asset and he creates his own openings to finish fights.

Who do you give the edge to?

Semi-Finals Fight Two: Demian Maia vs Nate Marquardt

This is a fight everyone wants to see. At this point and time in their career, a fight between Maia and Marquardt seems inevitable.

The gameplan for both men entering this fight is really simple. Marquardt wants to stand and trade punches, while Maia wants to take the fight down and lock in a submission. Nate has shown in past fights that he could possibly be the strongest fighter in the middleweight division.

Could he be able to control the fight and avoid going to the ground? I don't know.

Maia has shown time and time again that his BJJ skills are second to none. He could possibly be the best fighter in MMA today at BJJ.

Unfortunately, his boxing skills are lacking and that creates an interesting opening for Nate. With that said, if the fight goes to the ground, Demian's chances of going home with a win are great.

Who wins this fight?

So this is it, the semi-finals for the middleweights are done. Please cast your votes and be sure not to miss next week's Interactive Tournament.