ell I thought I’d try something a little different tonight and offer you an opinionated recap of Saturday night’s UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort event.
First off, I tried out the UFC’s new online site for pay per views at UFC.tv. I was very impressed with what the website offered someone watching a live event. The video was great and I think it only paused twice on me during the whole event. Being able to watch four camera angles at once or going picture in picture was a great way to view a UFC event. Next time I’ll be hooking it up to my flatscreen.
I won’t be recapping the three uanaired preliminary bouts, but the three (T)KO wins had me excited for more finishes for the rest of the card.
Yamamoto vs. Johnson: It was great to hear that the UFC was putting the debut of Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson on Facebook, I hope the promotion eventually puts at least 1-2 prelim fights on Facebook for every event. That’s where my excitement ended as it appears the best of “Kid” Yamamoto seems to have passed us by. He faced a very tough opponent in Johnson and would have had more success taking a fight with a lesser opponent in his UFC debut.
Mendes vs. Omigawa: Chad Mendes had a great fight against Michihiro Omigawa earning a unanimous decision controlling all three rounds. The loss doesn’t bode well for Japanese MMA as Omigawa was one of the last true fighters to come out of that country. Japanese fighters are going to have to look at actually cutting weight for fights and changing their training camps if they wanna have success against North American fighters.
I’m not sure how Dana White plans on winning over Japanese fans if he keeps putting their fighter in the octagon against opponents they can’t beat. Sure you can prove that fighters from North America are the best but it doesn’t make you welcome when you look to hold events in those countries.
Cerrone vs. Kelly: I like Donald Cerrone and I was glad to see him submit Paul Kelly, I think with the UFC cutting everyone after a loss, kicking Cerrone out after one fight would have been a poor decision. Luckily for me he looked good against Kelly and likely impressed the UFC matchmakers, I don’t see anyone looking at him as a contender but his next fight will be against a tough opponent.
Banuelos vs. Torres: I was thinking the bout between Antonio Banuelos vs. Miguel Torres had “Fight of the Night” written all over it, boy was I sadly mistaken. Not to take anything away from Torres, he changed his training camp and came in with a plan instead of swinging for the fences like fans have seen him in the past. He used the GSP jab to beat Banuelos and will likely use a similar strategy in his next fight as he tries to make his way back to a title fight.
Rocha vs. Ellenberger: Wow Carlos Eduardo Rocha had some very slick Jiu-Jitsu, he looked very dominant on the mat but it wasn’t enough and he suffered his first loss to Jake Ellenberger. He’s got the BJJ skills but he’s gotta work on the rest of his game if he hopes to remain in the UFC. That was Ellenberger’s third straight win in the UFC and should see him fighting on the main card again for his next fight.
Jones vs. Bader: Wow, not that I wasn’t totally cheering for Jon Jones in this fight, but he made Ryan Bader look ordinary in this fight. Bader wasn’t able to use his wrestling effectively and his strength was equally matched by Jones. I didn’t think Jones would be able to sink an effective choke from top position like that, it looked like he used more strength than technique to force Bader to tap. When Joe Rogan asked him if he wanted a shot at the title I was completely stunned, just as much as everyone else who was watching. This is going to be a great fight. I hope Rua gets himself ready, fighting Rashad Evans is one thing but fighting Jon Jones is something completely different.
Franklin vs. Griffin: The two UFC veterans showed all of the younger fighters what it was to stand and brawl for three rounds. The unanimous decision win for Forrest Griffin doesn’t get him anywhere closer to a title fight but it keeps him relevant in the division. While Rich Franklin will have to decide again whether he stays at 205 or fights at 185. He always seems to be the odd man out.
Silva vs. Belfort: I was so hyped for this fight, I was really hoping for two rounds of brawling from these two strikers. I was cheering with the fans in the Arena hoping for an upset by Vitor Belfort, but as he did in his last fight Anderson Silva pulled off the shocking win. The front kick he used, who he credited partially to Steven Seagal, seemed to come out of nowhere, if you would have blinked you’d have missed it. Well I guess when your the champ, you find all kinds of ways of winning fights. I guess we’ll see how he does against George St-Pierre next, if the Canadian beats Jake Shields in April.