UFC 131: Dave Herman Vs Jon Olav Einemo BREAKDOWN
By Siri Karri
The 3rd fight on June 11th’s card is a very interesting one. Neither Dave “PeeWee” Herman nor Jon Olav Einemo is well known and this is their first fight in the Octagon. Fans need not fret however, I’ve done my research and I’m happy to say these heavyweights are not only talented, they’re damn exciting. Fans are in for a real treat so don’t blink; this fight may be over fast.
What Dave Herman brings to the table
Don’t let Dave Herman’s nickname fool you; PeeWee is legit. At 6′ 5″ approx. 245 lbs he’s very large and strong but not so much that he sacrifices his agility or cardio. His record stands at a 20-2 with only TWO of those fights going to a decision. They were quality wins over game opponents, but I’m not going to list them all out because most fans won’t recognize them. Instead, to give you a picture of how talented Dave Herman is, I am going to cite several moments that made my jaw drop as I watched his fights.
As Jim York attempted to secure a kneebar/ankle-lock, Dave Herman scored five or six consecutive axe kicks straight to York’s jaw and knocked him out cold.
He put the 6′ 3″ 260 lb Kerry Schall in a Muay Thai clinch and, as he was getting smacked with huge right hands, delivered several flying knees to his opponents body as he dropped like a stone.
Against Ron Waterman he pulled off a trick jumping roundhouse kick in which he brought one leg up as though to throw a body kick and, while STILL in the air, brought his left leg up for a head kick that smashed Waterman upside the head.
His other fights are more of the same; Herman utilizing varied striking and ridiculous athleticism to overwhelm his opponents. The funny thing is that there are sources that advertise Herman as a wrestler. There are many occasions in which he has stopped takedowns or held his own in the ground fighting, but I personally believe Herman’s ground game takes a back seat to his unbelievable striking.
The heavyweight division needs to look out.
What Jon Einemo brings to the table
At first glance, Einemo seems very similar to Herman. He is also very large, standing at a towering 6′ 6″ and also weighs around 240 lbs. Every single one of his wins have come via finish by either submission or strikes and he is also making his Octagon debut. There are several important distinctions to make though.
Einemo’s striking is rudimentary but effective. His hooks have nice, crisp loops to them and his knees from the clinch are quick and accurate. The one technique I particularly enjoy is Einemo’s quick right hook; he turns his hip and unloads his right straight from his guard to the opponent’s chin. It doesn’t have one shot knockout power, but it’s very fast and it has enough juice behind it to where it stops opponents dead in their tracks. Unlike Herman, who seems to use his wrestling primarily for defense, Einemo seems more than comfortable on the ground utilizing his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu allows him to control his opponent with relative ease.
Don’t let his fight record fool you; Einemo is undefeated. His one loss was an absolute garbage decision against the famed Fabricio Werdum. In the fight was at least even on his feet, suffering a couple of cuts but also smashing Werdum with right hooks whenever he let his guard down. Einemo scored several take downs, actually picking Werdum off his feet and slamming him and was never in threat of a submission.
Consider this: Fabricio Werdum has submitted Alistair Overeem, both of the Emelianenko brothers, and knocked out both Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera.
That makes Jon Olav Einemo one bad dude.
X-Factor
Other than a DQ loss against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (which he dominated), Dave Herman’s only loss came against Choi Mu-Bae in 2009. In the fight, Herman seemed to gas after hard striking exchanges and groundwork and allowed the chunky South Korean to catch him with several haymakers that ended his night early. He has had 6 fights since then in which he performed spectacularly, but it’s worth remembering that he faded in the face of stiff competition.
Jon Olav Einemo on the other hand, gave one of the world’s best heavyweights the fight of his life.
Prediction
Despite Herman’s one loss, this fight is far too close to call. Both fighters are tall, long, and have ungodly athleticism. Both have the power to drop the other to the mat, and both are capable ground fighters. The one thing I like is Einemo’s counter right hand however; Herman doesn’t really have a solid counter game while Einemo should be able to punish Herman on the way in.
It’s anybody’s game, but I give the edge to Einemo to finish Herman late in the fight.
Einemo by TKO round 3