UFC

It's been a while since I posted on this thread, so I'm back in preparation for UFC 126 this weekend...

I've had a lot on in recent months, so I've been a bit behind with the fight game. I missed several events since the Silva/Sonnen fight at UFC 117, but did manage to catch key fights from some of the others. Here's my brief take on them:

UFC 118: Edgar/Penn rematch - I didn't think the first win for Edgar over Penn was a fluke. This time he won even more easily to back up that win. Some think Penn underestimated Edgar, but I just think Edgar's tactics were spot on and Penn couldn't find a way to counter them in either fight.

Randy Couture/James Toney was a joke of a contest that probably shouldn't have been given the go ahead in the first place. For James Toney to reportedly get paid twice as much as Couture is also a strange one. I understand Dana White has to pay a premium for certain fighters, but there is generally no balance to payouts at the UFC.

UFC 119: Mir/Cro Cop - Despite the build up, this was a boring contest from two fighters who've seen better days. Impressive knockout from Mir at the end though.

UFC 120: Bisping/Akiyama - There was some odd scoring going on with the judges this night. I thought Bisping edged the fight, but no way was it a 30-27. Earlier, the judges somehow gave Cheick Kongo a draw against Travis Browne (despite Kongo being deducted a point by the referee). I thought Browne won the fight.

Surprised by Dan Hardy getting knocked out, but Carlos Condit is no mug. It was a tough comeback fight after losing to GSP, and he's got another tough one against Anthony Johnson next. If he loses that it's hard to see where he goes from there.

Hathaway put in a disappointing performance and got owned by Mike Pyle. It will be interesting to see how he responds to his first loss...

UFC 121: Lesnar/Velasquez - Wasn't surprised by Lesnar getting beat. Lesnar got out of jail against Carwin and doesn't seem the same since coming back. In my opinion, Lesnar's lost his edge (understandable considering the illness). That's taking nothing away from Cain Velasquez, who was very impressive and would have been hard to beat at any time.

Jake Shields struggled to make weight and it showed in his performance. He managed to edge out a win, but I'd expect him to be a lot better next time - and he'll need to be against GSP.

I don't like Diego Sanchez, but I have to say I've never seen him in a boring fight. Impressive performance.

Like Chuck Liddell has done, I think Tito Ortiz should call it a day. He's lost his spark.

UFC 122: Marquardt/Okami - Missed event and repeats.

UFC 123: Rampage/Machida - Missed event and repeats.

UFC 124: St-Pierre/Koscheck rematch - I stumbled home from a wedding to catch most of UFC 124, but only remember the main event. The fight went just as I expected - GSP too good for Koscheck. If Koscheck had somehow found a way to win you'd never hear the end of it, so it was good to see GSP put him in his place.

UFC 125: Resolution - Missed event and repeats.

I've made sure my schedule fits in with UFC 126 tonight. Looks an exciting main card with Silva/Belfort, Griffin/Franklin and Jones/Bader, so it should be a good one...

UFC 126 ESPN 3AM
Man it seems like it's been forever since the last main event.

Miguel Torres v Antonio Banuelos
I'm looking forward to seeing the fighters in the two new weight divisions as I've not seen much if anything of them. Banuelos is 8-4 since he went full time in WEC & has a good overall record. Torres is a fighter I've heard a lot about but I've never seen fight, he's got a crazy record for someone who's only just turned 30 & fights out of the Tristar gym so I'm pretty excited to see him fight. Torres Submission (He's got 23 already)
Jon Jones v Ryan Bader
'Bones' faces his first serious test in his young career against the always impressive Ryan Bader who's coming off the back of 2 impressive wins against Keith Jardien & 'Little Nog' so will be in good spirits & looking for another win to push him towards a title contending opponent should he win this fight, Even though this looks a great fight I can see Bader not wanting to get stung by one of Jones big shots so he'll probably look to take it to the ground a.s.a.p & keep it there & it maybe a boring fight, hope I'm wrong though as at the same time it could be fight of the night. Bader Unanimous Decision
Jake Ellenberger v Carlos Eduardo Rocha
I can only remember seeing one of Ellenberger's fights & don't remember being that impressed which is strange considering he's got a top class record with 15 KO's from 23 that said he's only 2-1 in the UFC but all 3 have been against good fighters. Eduardo Rocha's a strange one, a Brazilian fighting out of Germany & is fighting in his 2nd UFC fight & is unbeaten in his MMA career but faces a big test here, this is the typical BJJ fighter v the puncher Even though Ellenberger's a wrestler most of his wins are KO's. Ellenberger Submission/TKO
Forrest Griffin v Rich Franklin
I can't wait for this fight, even though I don't see it this way this fight will be billed as both fighters fighting to keep themselves at the top level & could be a Griffin v Bonner style war but at the same time maybe with so much riding on the result it may be a damp squid as both fighters are coming off long layoff's Griffin didn't fight in 2010 & Franklin only had 1 fight. Griffin is has more sense these days so I can see him going to the ground. Griffin groundnpound
Anderson Silva v Vitor Belfort
If there's a man who's not gonna back away from Silva it's 'The Phenom', he's on a 5 fight win streak & now back in the UFC & looking to go straight to the top but as we've seen against Sonnen Anderson Silva is never beaten even when he looks it so maybe the only way to beat him is to draw him into a man to man fist on face fight & thats what I think Belfort will try to do but as we know against the champ thats easier said than done. This is a tough on to call but I think Vitor will just go for it & as long as he doesn't get caught like Forrest Griffin did then I can see... Belfort KO

The prelims are on at 2am.
Donald Cerrone v Paul Kelly
Chad Mendes v Michihiro Omigawa
Paul Taylor v Gabe Ruediger Isn't on the Spike TV show so this may not be shown.

what a card, some great fights...
griffin had to work franklin for 3 but edged out a win.
silva... wow. front kick to the jaw, the end...
jon jones earns a win with a tap-out and his shot at shogun due to evans blowing out his knee.
they were the fights of the night for me..

Anderson Silva once again makes history but this time with an awesome highlight reel front kick. Im not really a huge fan anymore but i goota admit, hes still got it for 35 or however old he is.

Jon Jones, i hope, will defeat Rua. I love Rua but Jones is just the shit.

Damn...

Awesome TDK!!! cant find words to describe how good that kick was! Caught up on all the fights this morning.Good show!

Similar views on the show to Hexit really.

A pity Paul Kelly lost to Cerrone.He's on a strange run of LWLWL.So hopefully his next fight will go with the sequence.

Jon Jones showed his unbelivable talent against Ryan Bader who was truly put in his place.I actually saw an upset in this fight but it wasn't to be.Jones was far too good.

It was great to see Franklin and Griffin in the Octagon together it was a bit of a grind but still a good win for Griffin who blew the cobwebbs off and could get himself back in contention for a shot at some point.

All i can say about the main event is Lights out.

Cherrypicker your PM is turned off so come on here and post lad.

(05-02-2011 17:41 )mitchell Wrote:  UFC 126
Miguel Torres v Antonio Banuelos - Torres Submission
Jon Jones v Ryan Bader - Bader Unanimous Decision
Jake Ellenberger v Carlos Eduardo Rocha - Ellenberger Submission/TKO
Forrest Griffin v Rich Franklin - Griffin groundnpound
Anderson Silva v Vitor Belfort - Belfort KO.............

Miguel Torres v Antonio Banuelos
A bit of a slow start to this one & not the kind of fight I was expecting as I thought Torres would've been on him like a tramp on a sandwich but still a decent UFC debut with I'm sure a lot more to come.
Jake Ellenberger v Carlos Eduardo Rocha
I said before the show that I haven't been impressed with Ellenberger so far & this showed why as he was out classed early on by the unknown BBJ black belt although quite how one judge had Rocha winning all 3 rounds I'm not quite sure but I'm looking forward to seeing him again more than I am Ellenberger.
Jon Jones v Ryan Bader WOW Jon 'Bones' Jones IS the shit for real!!! I honestly thought Bader would take care of him on the ground... Although In my prediction post I did get Jon Jones mixed up with Anthony "Rumble" Johnson one thing I haven't got confused about is I don't think he deserves a title shot just yet I don't know the picture with injuries & fight schedules but I'm sure there's a fighter higher up the rankings than him at the moment although Rampage is fighting Thiago Silva at UFC 130 in May so I'm sure the winner of this could've got the shot in August... Oh hang on, 'Shogun' v Jones UFC 128 March so maybe the winners will fight for & defend the title at UFC 133 in August???
Forrest Griffin v Rich Franklin
This went as I thought it would with both fighter struggling after long layoffs but Griffin got in there first & got control & never looked back controlling Franklin with his size advantage. I like both fighters but I'm glad Forrest got back to winning ways.
Anderson Silva v Vitor Belfort
................................................. Well.......... Errr what is there to say I honestly thought Belfort would take it to Silva but Anderson looked like his old self & just got in there to take care of business & even though I'm not his biggest fan even I won't begrudge him this win..... Vitor's 'The Phenom' for fucksake I just hope that if Bisping wins then they don't put the two together!!!
Probably the greatest quote of all time, "Anderson Silva dodges punches like he's in the Matrix"

Donald Cerrone v Paul Kelly
It was a dissapointing end for 'Tellys' after agood start & he now needs to get a few wins on the bounce to stop himself running into danger as his UFC record is now 5-4.
Paul Taylor v Gabe Ruediger
A quality performance & win for Taylor who's had a rough time in the UFC 4-5 & I think if he lost this fight he may have been cut so this should give him some motivation to try & kick on.

All in all I didn't think it was a great show to be honest... Yes I'm a hard man to please

Fighters were awarded $75,000 bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Donald Cerrone v Paul Kelly
Knockout of the Night: Anderson Silva
Submission of the Night: Jon Jones

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.

Anderson Silva: $200,000 (includes no win bonus) def. Vitor Belfort: $275,000
Forrest Griffin: $275,000 ($150,000 win bonus) def. Rich Franklin: $75,000
Jon Jones: $140,000 ($70,000 win bonus) def. Ryan Bader: $20,000
Jake Ellenberger: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: $8,000
Miguel Torres: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus) def. Antonio Banuelos: $9,000
Donald Cerrone: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) def. Paul Kelly: $19,000
Chad Mendes: $19,000 ($9,500 win bonus) def. Michihiro Omigawa: $8,000
Demetrious Johnson: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus) def. Norifumi Yamamoto: $15,000
Paul Taylor: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus) def. Gabe Ruediger: $8,000
Kyle Kingsbury: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Ricardo Romero: $10,000
Mike Pierce: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus) def. Kenny Robertson: $6,000

Silva vs. GSP just a step away (Found this online)



On Saturday night in Las Vegas, Anderson Silva extended his unbeaten streak inside the Octagon to a baker's dozen, knocking out Vitor Belfort with a front kick in the opening round of the UFC 126 main event. In addition to extending the Brazilian's unrivalled run of success inside the UFC cage, his win brings the biggest fight in UFC history one step closer to reality.

Leading up to last weekend's annual Super Bowl event, UFC president Dana White reaffirmed his interest in making a bout between Silva and reigning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. White stipulated that the dream matchup was contingent on both superstars winning their next fight.

Now that Silva has held up his end of the bargain, the focus shifts to St-Pierre and his April meeting with Jake Shields at UFC 129.

A victory for the 29-year-old from St-Isidore, Que., would secure him a shot at Silva's middleweight title in what would become the most anticipated fight the UFC has ever booked, pairing two of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport together on the big stage. Though it sounds like an "everybody wins" scenario, there would be at least one loser.

Once again, longtime middleweight contender Yushin Okami would miss out on the opportunity to face Silva for the 185-pound championship. An injury scuttled his initial chance back at UFC 90, and despite being guaranteed a title shot after beating Nate Marquardt at UFC 122 in November, the Japanese fighter appears set to be bypassed all over again.

Despite being the last man to earn a victory over Silva, albeit by disqualification, White seems ready to backtrack on his promise to Okami in order to put together this superfight. Before that can happen, St-Pierre must come through on his end.

The reigning welterweight champion has looked indestructible over his last eight fights, losing just a single round and showcasing the most complete offensive arsenal in the sport. That dominance has many people expecting another one-sided affair when the French-Canadian superstar meets Shields in Toronto, even though overlooking the former Strikeforce middleweight champion is a big mistake.

While his striking is far from polished and nowhere near that of St-Pierre, Shields is an elite grappler, holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Cesar Gracie and possessing one of the most suffocating and stifling top games in all of mixed martial arts. Whether he will be able to get the reigning welterweight champ to the ground and keep him there will be the determining factor when the two meet inside Rogers Centre on April 30.

Should St-Pierre have his hand raised in front of the more than 42,000 fans expected at UFC 129, the only pieces of the puzzle left to make the biggest fight in UFC history official would be a time and a place.

December 31 at Dallas's Cowboys Stadium sounds like a good way to see out the old year.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment...z1DSi8lkuI

Brock Lesnar Ultimate Fighter 13 Interview (Interesting watch)

Part 1



Part 2

Just read that Thiago Silva has been pulled from his fight with Rampage @ UFC 130 because of a drug test problem after UFC 125.

Then i read that his replacement would be Rashad Evans who's on the mend and would be ready for May 28th.

AND NOW....It looks like the UFC have scrapped the idea and will put Rampage in with Matt Hamill @ UFC 130?