UFC 139 Fight Card: Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le Head-to-Toe Breakdown

The Ultimate Fighting Championship just keeps pumping out events heading into the winter season, and we will soon be treated to UFC 139 from San Jose, California. The card is headlined by Mauricio Rua vs. Dan Henderson, but there is another intriguing matchup on the card that is sure to get the fans excited. Cung Le makes his return to combat-fighting against a fading but dangerous fill-in, Wanderlei Silva.

Vitor Belfort was the originally announced opponent for Le's return, but Belfort was forced to pull out due to injury. The UFC called on the aging brawler Silva to come in, in a sure case of styles make fights, and he poses an interesting foe for Le in his return.

Here is my head-to-toe breakdown of the fight to come in November.

Striking

Striking could be the be all and end all in this fight, and I'm sure fans would not be too disappointed if that was indeed the case. Both of these fighters come from a heavy striking background, and always rely on punches, kicks and knees to inflict a means to an end on their opponents in the cage.

Wanderlei Silva has very hard punches, although they more and more come from the side in his fights of late. He likes to plant his feet and swing, and his offense is not an issue there. He can also still clinch very well where his vicious and brutal knees and elbows can be used to end the fight in an instant. His problem is with his defense and ability to take a punch anymore, and that will be the difference here.

Cung Le is a Sanshou expert, mixed martial artist and is from San Jose and will be looking to his kicks and footwork to lead him to the death blow on Silva. Le can deliver lightning-fast kicks and I do believe they will be the difference in this one if Silva refuses to take Le down.

My bet is that this fight will be a stand up war until Le unleashes and catches the aging Silva. The big difference is that I think Le will be able to withstand Wanderlei's assault much better.

Advantage: Le

Grappling

There is not too much to say and not too much difference in this category between these two fighters, but the grappling will simply come down to a question of strength, and here is an area where I feel The Axe Murderer can excel. If the two get locked down in a battle of wrestling and control, I like Silva to dictate the pace and end up on top of most battles.

Some of the difference will come down to strength, and some will certainly come down to some rusty conditioning from Le.

Advantage: Silva

Jiu-Jitsu and Submissions

I can't see it happening, but if this one turns out to be a ground war and gets ended by submission, I see no way that Cung Le is the one who ends up the winner. Once again, I see a distinct advantage in jiu-jitsu and submissions to Wanderlei Silva—but do I think he is going to go to those strengths in the fight?

If Silva takes a cerebral, Georges St-Pierre-type of approach to his game plan for a win, I'm sure he might have a chance to pull this off. I don't believe he will though. I see him sticking to pure entertainment value and slugging it out with Le.

Advantage: Silva

Conditioning

Wanderlei Silva is getting on in years, but no one can ever say that conditioning is an issue with him in his fights—win or lose. He is notorious for his training regiment, and I don't see him burning out or fading in his fight with Cung Le. He may not be able to take a punch on the button anymore, but he can keep a pace that a younger fighter would be proud of.

Cung Le has had many fights over the years, long and short, but he hasn't had any in over a year and has had only one fight a year since 2008. Conditioning could be, and will be, an issue for Le if there is any type of grappling or leaning either way. He's not used to that game to begin with, and after that long time off from training, Le will underestimate the gas tank needed to compete at the UFC level.

Advantage: Silva

Intangibles

In my view, the two main intangibles in this one are Silva's age and wear versus Le's inactivity and lack of top-level competition. Silva is a battered man, and rightly so—he doesn't have much left in terms of being able to withstand punishment. If Le can keep it standing, pick him apart with speed and kicks, I see Le knocking him out due to this intangible.

If this fight goes anywhere else in the cage, I see Silva having a much better chance of wearing Le out due to the fact that he has not fought in so long, or very often in his career.

He may be fresh, but I say rusty in this one—if it goes in tight and a long time, Silva could wear Le out for a decision.

Advantage: Le

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and (also a correspondent for MMACanada.net)

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma