Author: By Michael DiSanto

SILVA PROVES HE IS THE CURRENT KING

Chael Sonnen has the perfect style to beat Anderson Silva. We know that for certain now. The champion didn’t have injured ribs heading into the fight. He was healthy, fully prepared and highly motivated. Yet, he had to feel a sense of déjà vu halfway through the first round on Saturday night. He was on his back defending grinding ground and pound with basically no hope of working to his feet.

Silva looked concerned, in my opinion, when the round ended. He looked like a guy facing very real adversity. Yet, he found a way to win—again.

Sonnen executed near perfect game plans in their two fights. The only problem is that near perfect is not good enough against Silva. Sonnen’s two mistakes led to two stoppage losses. That, in my opinion, demonstrates the true greatness of the reigning pound-for-pound king. And it all comes down to his mental strength.

Silva never allows frustration to get in the way of execution. He knows that, with his skills, he is never out of a fight until the final bell sounds, he submits or the referee waves off the action. All he needs is one opening—one mistake—and he can bring the fight to an end, on the feet or on the ground, regardless of how things have unfolded up to that point. It requires tremendous mental strength to remain clear headed and focused in the face of adversity, particularly when adversity is the exception, not the norm. It is that mental strength that allows Silva to get the most out of his amazing physical abilities. And it is why he is, far and away, the single best fighter in the world today.

WHAT IS NEXT FOR THE CHAMPION?

Fifteen straight wins to start his UFC career. Ten successful title defenses. Ten consecutive title defenses. A five-plus-year reign as champion.

All of those are UFC records. I’m sure they’ll each be broken someday, just like most records in sports, but it is tough to imagine them falling anytime soon.

With absolutely nothing left to prove in a sport that he has dominated for so long, the 37-year-old champion has a tough decision to make. What’s next?

From my perspective, there are four possible answers to that question. Let’s take a look at each one in what I believe are the order of likelihood.

Remain at middleweight and just keep on keepin’ on.

At this point in his career, Silva is fighting for his legacy. There is something to be said for remaining at middleweight and riding this racecar until the wheels fall off. The question, of course, is whether the current crop of contenders is interesting to the champion. There are plenty of guys out there to keep Silva busy. But only he knows whether any of those names (or anyone else in the middleweight division) provides sufficient motivation to prevent a slide in his pre-fight preparations.

 My guess is that Mark Munoz is the likely next in line, if he looks great on Wednesday night in his bout with Chris Weidman. If not, then maybe newcomer Hector Lombard will get the nod, if he can destroy Tim Boetsch in a couple of weeks. Any slippage there opens the door for an elimination bout between Michael Bisping and Brian Stann. In other words, the UFC has no shortage of legitimate contenders at 185 pounds. Again, the only question is whether any of those names motivate Silva to continue competing. Then again, attempting to extend his records for wins and title defenses is motivation enough for the champion.

Challenge for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

 If Silva is trying to cement his legacy as the best ever, then the quickest way to do that is to try and become the first man to simultaneously hold belts in two UFC weight classes. Moving up in weight, not down, to win a second championship is a surefire way to put an “all-time” stake in the ground, particularly if current champion Jon Jones is successful in his upcoming defense against Dan Henderson, which is certainly not a sure thing.

Many view Jones as the guy with the greatest potential to match, or even surpass, Silva’s insane UFC accomplishments. His size, reach and wrestling advantages would almost surely make Jones a betting favorite over Silva, so a victory by the middleweight champion would be viewed as a tremendous accomplishment. If Henderson defeats Jones, then the move to light heavyweight will likely be viewed as less interesting by Silva because he already has a win over the former PRIDE champion – a second round submission back in Silva’s third defense of his UFC crown. Plus, Silva would definitely be the favorite heading into a rematch.

Retire.

There is something said for an athlete leaving the game at the pinnacle of his or her career. Former NFL running backs Barry Sanders and Jim Brown both did just that. Despite the fact that neither holds the record for most yards in a career or season, both of them are in every learned discussion about the greatest running back in the history of the sport. Michael Jordan also did the same thing, twice. He was the greatest basketball player on the planet when he retired his first and second time, undoubtedly the greatest ever by the second retirement. The third retirement, well, that is a different story. I can go on and on.

At 37 years old, Silva is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning. He is also a guy who heavily relies on reflexes and speed, two physical attributes that leave an athlete seemingly overnight. He certainly is not as fast as he once was, and he will not have the same reflexes three years from now than he does today. In other words, Father Time is knocking on his door.

It actually wouldn’t surprise me if Silva hung up the vale tudo gloves, particularly after a win like Saturday night. That would be an amazing way to close the chapter on his fighting career. He has absolutely nothing left to prove. He has no unanswered questions at middleweight. There is no undefeated contender who the world feels would be cheated by not having an opportunity to face Silva.  And he likely has enough money to live a very comfortable lifestyle for the rest of his days.

Thinking about it in those terms, retirement probably makes a lot of sense. While it wouldn’t shock me to see Silva walk away in the coming weeks, I don’t actually believe that he will do that. Very few fighters have the ability to leave the sport while they are on top. Forrest Griffin once said that the sport retires fighters, not the other way around. I wholeheartedly agree. It would be more likely to see Silva retire after taking a bad beating or two, rather than walking away while he is still the unquestioned pound-for-pound king. I hope that doesn’t happen, but history suggests that it will. I’d much rather see him challenge the winner of Jones-Henderson or continue defending against all 185-pound contenders.

Face fellow pound-for-pound great Georges St-Pierre in a catchweight bout.

This fight has been bandied about in the media for several years. In my opinion, it is a complete pipe dream, one that will never come to fruition. Why? Two reasons. First and foremost, Silva has nothing to gain by defeating GSP. He is the much bigger fighter. Silva walks around 220 pounds, whereas GSP walks around at approximately 190 pounds. Even a dramatic 30-second knockout would yield nothing more than “that was what he was supposed to do” talk. If, by some stretch of the imagination, he lost the fight, then it forever tarnishes his image because he lost to a smaller fighter. Second, GSP has plenty of unfinished business at 170 pounds, so there is no motivation for him to risk his own current winning streak by facing a man who is better at every facet of the game, except wrestling. Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, Johny Hendricks and possibly even Rory MacDonald a year or two from now are all great matchups. They are certainly the type of fights that will get GSP’s juices flowing, so there is no need for him to take a major risk to his legacy by facing Silva.

WHY CHAEL? WHY?

A spinning backfist? Really?

What makes Sonnen so good is he knows exactly who he is as a fighter and rarely tries to be anything else. He is an elite wrestler who excels when fighting in a phone booth. His standup is solely designed to close the distance for takedowns. Nothing more.

That is why it was so bizarre to see him try a spinning backfist against the best standup fighter in the division, if not the sport. Silva identified the technique the split second Sonnen shifted his weight to uncork the blow and easily slipped it. We all know what happened next.

I wonder if Sonnen is beating himself up over that decision right about now. He easily won the first round by staying true to himself. And he was controlling the champion early in the second, until that ill-fated decision.

We will never know if the outcome would have been different had Sonnen chosen to remain focused on simple standup techniques solely designed to close the distance. That wasn’t enough to win last time, but something tells me that Sonnen is wishing he could take back that once decision.

THE BETTER GUY WINS EVERY TIME

Following his second-round TKO loss to Silva, Sonnen said something very poignant. “I think it is important when you lose a fight that you don’t say things like ‘my opponent was better tonight.’ The better guy wins every time. The better guy won tonight.”

 Sonnen could have complained about Silva holding his shorts to prevent a takedown. He could have complained about the knee to the body, alleging that it hit him in the face. He did neither of those things. The WWE-style banter was over with the fight, and Sonnen was extremely classy in defeat.

I don’t know why I didn’t expect that. Sonnen doesn’t have a history of being a sore loser, and there is no doubt that all the venom leading up to the fight was 99% promotion. Nonetheless, I was very impressed with the way Sonnen handled the loss.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, TITO

Tito Ortiz is a polarizing figure. There is no doubt about that. Fans either love him or love to hate him. There are very few fans who have been watching the fight for five years or more who don’t have an opinion of the new UFC Hall of Fame inductee. That is because Ortiz is as brash as they come, and for the first decade of his career, he backed up those brash words with dominant wrestling and an unstoppable ground-and-pound attack.

There is little doubt that the Ortiz who competed on Saturday night is a shell of the man who once reigned supreme in the 205-pound division. Injuries and age have sapped him of his once-dominant wrestling skills. As a result, he has won just once in his last nine fights—certainly more than a subtle sign that this is the correct time to call it quits.

Nonetheless, Ortiz looked as good in defeat as he has at any point in his career over the last six-seven years.  In fact, his standup arguably looked better against Griffin than it ever has in Ortiz’ 15-year career. Griffin even admitted that the second knockdown was a legitimate bomb that had him hurt, which is a shocking turn of events for a guy who has never seemed very comfortable fighting on his feet.

The loss does nothing to minimize the significance of the matchup or the magnitude of the moment. Ortiz was the last consistent tie to the pre-Zuffa UFC.  That chapter of the sport’s history is now officially closed.

Ortiz ended his UFC career with a 15-11-1 record. His 15 wins included five consecutive successful defenses of the 205-pound title and wins over fellow all-time greats Wanderlei Silva, Ken Shamrock and Vitor Belfort. Of course, his 11 losses included two knockout losses to fellow Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell in what were then the biggest bouts in the sport’s history, and a unanimous decision loss to fellow Hall of Famer Randy Couture. Win or lose, Ortiz was always an entertaining fighter, and he was also among the best interview candidates in the history of the game. I know I certainly enjoyed more than my own fair share of exclusive stories from Ortiz over the years.

Thanks for the memories, Champ. You will be missed.

Tito Ortiz certainly didn’t choose an easy fight to celebrate his storied UFC career.

The iconic former champion will enter the Octagon for the final time as a competitor on Saturday night. Standing across from him will be a guy who he fought twice before—former champion Forrest Griffin. Both bouts ended in a controversial split decision, with each man winning once. Both bouts were action-packed, fan-friendly fights.

What will happen on Saturday night?

The keys to victory on this one are very straightforward. If Ortiz is able to take down Griffin with any sort of regularity, he wins the fight.  If Griffin is able to avoid being taken down for two of the three rounds, he wins the fight.  

It really is that simple.

I wrote those same words in 2009, and nothing has changed since then. Well, some things have changed. We’ll get to that shortly. Nonetheless, the matchup itself hasn’t changed.

Ortiz needs to get the fight to the ground, if he wants to win. Griffin needs to keep it standing, if he wants to win.

How can I be so sure?  Griffin has tremendous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills, including a very effective offensive guard.  In fact, nearly half of his professional wins have come by submission.  Isn’t there a chance that he will submit Ortiz after being taken down?

No chance at all.  Fans must remember that Ortiz has not been submitted in over a decade, and the last time that it happened, he was so exhausted that he could hardly move. That could certainly happen against a cardio machine like Griffin who loves to set a frenetic pace. But I seriously doubt it.

Ortiz might just have the most vastly underrated ground game in the history of the sport. No, he isn’t Royce Gracie. But he is closer to the Godfather of Submissions than he is to Chael Sonnen. Read my preview on Anderson Silva versus Sonnen to get the background there. Thus, I don’t see any way that Griffin submits Ortiz, unless he has him severely hurt and is looking for a way out.

What about Griffin surviving Ortiz’s ground and pound attack to win on the cards due to near misses and other offensive activity from his guard?

Nope.  No chance there, either.  Anyone who has been watching the UFC for more than 15 minutes knows that a guy who spends the majority of the fight on his back will lose on the cards far more often than not.  It’s undeniable that judges place too much scoring deference on takedowns and ground control.  

What about Ortiz scoring a knockout on the feet?  

Once again, no chance.  Ortiz is a better striker than he was a decade ago. He also badly hurt Ryan Bader in their 2011 bout. So it is possible that he could land a lottery-winning strike against Griffin.  I certainly acknowledge that fact.  It’s also accurate that Griffin has been knocked out in three of his last five fights. But Tito Ortiz doesn’t bring the standup heat like Rashad Evans, Anderson Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the three guys who put Griffin to sleep with their fists.  

What about Ortiz outpointing Griffin on the feet?

Yet again, no chance at all.  Griffin, like Ortiz, doesn’t carry much single-punch power into the Octagon.  But he is a brutal striker because he uses activity, accuracy and an unbreakable spirit to overwhelm his foes on the feet.   Griffin beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on the feet.  He was beating Evans until the knockout.  He thoroughly dominated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, one of the more dangerous and unpredictable strikers in the division, in their first bout.  And he outpointed Rich Franklin on the feet.

In each of those bouts, Griffin controlled the action with precision and an incredible work rate.  Ortiz knows how to let his hands flow freely in the sparring gym, but he has yet to bring that sort of effortless striking to the Octagon.  That won’t change in the last fight of his career.  If this fight remains standing, Griffin will overwhelm Ortiz with jabs, leg kicks and the occasional hard right hand. There is no doubt about it.

Again, Ortiz’s overriding key to victory is taking down Griffin multiple times.  Griffin’s overriding key to victory, of course, is to avoid being taken down multiple times.

So, just how is Ortiz supposed to get Griffin to the ground?

There was a time when Ortiz was one of the most dominant takedown artists in all of MMA.  That was a long, long time ago.  Over the last half of a decade, Ortiz has been a shell of himself in terms of the explosiveness and brute strength that the world witnessed from him early in his career.  It is clear that his string of injuries, including major back surgeries, and advancing age have sapped Ortiz of his once dominant wrestling skills. He no longer has an explosive double-leg takedown. And he certainly isn’t able to manhandle other lightweights like he used to during his prime.

If you are reading through those words, you already know that I don’t see Ortiz having much success shooting in and taking down Griffin on Saturday night. I think his best chance for a takedown will be from the clinch or against the fence. Griffin’s takedown defense is less effective in those situations than when fighting at a comfortable distance in the center of the cage.

So, how do I see the action unfolding?  

All signs point to Griffin dominating the action on the feet en route to a unanimous decision or a late stoppage. It doesn’t seem likely that the bout will be as close as their first two encounters.

Then again, every great champion has one more great effort in him somewhere. Make no mistake about it. Ortiz was a great champion at one point in his career. Roy Jones Jr., a future Hall of Fame boxer who is unrecognizable compared to the once pound-for-pound great, found a way to score a decision win at 43 years old against a highly regarded cruiserweight contender last weekend.

Ortiz just might do the same thing.

QUICK FACTS:

Tito Ortiz
•    37 yrs old
•    6’3, 205 lbs
•    74-inch reach
•    17-10-1
•    1-4 in last 5 fights
•    3-6-1 in last 10 fights
•    Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
•    Championship reign lasted 1,267 days; 5 successful defenses
•    46.7% of UFC wins by KO/TKO
•    33.3% of UFC wins by decision
•    20% of UFC wins by submission
•    Fight of the Night (TKO2 loss to Rashad Evans)
•    Submission of the Night (SUB1 over Ryan Bader)
•    Knockout of the Night (TKO1 over Ken Shamrock)
•    Current layoff is 210 days
•    Longest layoff since 1998 is 446 days

Forrest Griffin
•    33 yrs old
•    6’3, 205 lbs
•    77-inch reach
•    18-7 as a professional
•    2-3 in last 5 fights
•    6-4 in last 10 fights
•    Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion
•    Championship reign lasted 177 days; 0 successful defenses
•    66.7% of UFC wins by decision
•    22.2% of UFC wins by submission
•    11.1% of UFC wins by KO/TKO
•    Has never been submitted
•    Fight of the Night 3 times (KO1 loss to Anderson Silva; TKO3 loss to Rashad Evans; UD5 over Rampage Jackson)
•    Submission of the Night (SUB3 over Shogun Rua)
•    Current layoff is 315 days
•    Longest layoff of his career is 441 days

Anderson Silva is the most accomplished fighter in the UFC.

Fourteen bouts in the Octagon. Fourteen wins.

Ten of those bouts were championship fights.

Nine consecutive successful title defenses.

All of those are UFC records.

Yep, this guy is also the very best fighter in the world, pound for pound. There is no intelligent argument to the contrary. When it is all said and done, he may go down in the annals of history as the best to ever compete in the sport. If he wins on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 148 and happens to walk away, it will be extremely difficult to argue that anyone in history has enjoyed a better career in the sport.

But he first has to win on Saturday night, and that is far easier said than done. Why? Because Silva will rematch the only man who has come even remotely close to defeating him inside the Octagon—Chael Sonnen.

On August 7, 2010, Sonnen came within two minutes of handing Silva his first UFC loss. He beat the champion from pillar to post for 22 minutes, winning each and every round on my scorecard. Then, he made a mistake. It was the sort of mistake that rewrites history.

Actually, it did rewrite history. What looked like certain defeat for the champion as the fifth and final round got underway suddenly turned into a stunning submission victory. It was the most shocking come-from-behind victory that I’ve ever seen, when one takes into account what was at stake.

The fight raised several questions. Sonnen is a great fighter, make no mistake about it. But his UFC record heading into that fight was a so-so 4-3. Did Silva take him lightly? Did he really compete with an injured rib? Or is that old truism popping back up again—styles make fights? Does Sonnen have the perfect style to end the longest championship reign in the history of the UFC?

We will find out on Saturday night when the pair dances one more time in the main event of UFC 148.

On paper, this is an amazing matchup. Silva is at his best when he is fighting against aggressive opponents. Yet, the best way to beat him, as Sonnen proved, is to get in his face and take the fight to the champion with no respect or fear, forcing him to fight against the cage or from his back.

I think it is safe to assume that Sonnen will try to execute the exact same game plan that he used in the last bout. It is the same game plan he uses in every fight. Sonnen is aggressive to a fault, coming forward with reckless abandon in the never-ending quest for a takedown.  

In the first fight, Silva sat back and tried to counter Sonnen’s aggressiveness with a single big shot. It was a massive mistake because Silva wasn’t able to land that single counter, so he ended up on his back in each and every round.

Silva may have tremendous takedown defense—to the tune of an 80% success rate. But Sonnen isn’t just another fighter trying to take him down. This guy is one of the best wrestlers in the sport.  He twice earned Division I All-American honors at the University of Oregon and scored a spot as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team for the Sydney Games in 2000.  

He used those skills to slice through Silva’s takedown defense like a knife through warm butter. And once he put Silva on his back, the champion was basically stuck there, forced to endure the relentless ground-and-pound attack that has become Sonnen’s trademark over the years.

It bears mentioning that, while Sonnen’s strength is his wrestling and ground-and-pound game, his Achilles’ heel is his submission defense. All four of his UFC losses, including his loss to Silva, came by submission. There are three logical explanations for that hole in Sonnen’s game. Either he gets overly aggressive on the ground, lacks the knowledge to recognize a submission in time to properly defend the hold, or, what I think is the most likely reason, he simply has concentration lapses when attacking.

On the feet, these guys are night and day different. Silva is a standup maestro. He is both a legitimate homerun hitter and a technical savant. That is an unbelievably rare combination. Think about it for a moment. Silva can turn out the lights with a single punch, kick or knee thrown with any of his four limbs. Yet, he is also skilled enough to pick apart an opponent with quick, precise shots designed to damage, not destroy.

Sonnen, on the other hand, remains a work in progress in the standup arena. I won’t go so far as to call his striking novice, but is certainly run of the mill, particularly compared to what Silva brings to the table.

It suffices to say that Sonnen can’t win unless he gets the fight to the ground. Sure, I know that anyone can win a fight with a lottery-winning strike. That won’t happen on Saturday. I guarantee it.

The keys to victory, therefore, are very straightforward for each man.  Silva must tactfully counter on the feet and use good lateral movement to try and keep Sonnen from cutting off the cage and tying him up.  If he finds himself nearing a clinch, go ahead and attack in traditional Muay Thai fashion by grabbing the back of Sonnen’s neck and bombing knees to the body and chin.  Even the best wrestlers have a terribly difficult time trying to deal with experts in the Thai clinch.  

If he finds himself on the ground, Silva should remain active with his transitions because Sonnen is very susceptible to being submitted.  There is no doubt that Silva has the game to take an over-extended arm and roll into an arm bar or slide up his hips for a triangle. He did just that in their last fight.

If a submission doesn’t present itself quickly, Silva should abandon that game plan, open his guard and stand up.  Sonnen has never submitted an A-level fighter in his career.  Silva won’t be the first.  There is no real risk for Silva opening his guard and working feverishly to get back to his feet in order to avoid losing round after round on the cards by fighting from his back.

As mentioned, Sonnen has but two keys to victory:  takedowns and submission defense.  It’s that simple.

In order to maximize the odds of getting a takedown, Sonnen should charge forward like he does in every fight, but he should not wildly throw punches while closing the distance.  Silva will destroy him in that scenario.  The better approach is to feint while rushing in.  Silva will continually reload his counter and circle in the face of feints or retreat, just like he did in their first fight.  

When he is not closing the distance for a takedown, Sonnen needs to stay well outside of Silva’s range. He has to be far enough away so that Silva cannot strike him. When he wants to take the fight to the ground, he has to head into the eye of the storm, but do it quickly so that he gets all the way in before Silva has a chance to uncork more than a strike or two.

All the way in or all the way out. That is Sonnen’s motto.

Will Sonnen repeat his amazing effort from 2010? Will Silva prove that the first fight was a fluke? Are both men healthy this time? Is Silva fully recovered from his injured shoulder and knee? Is he getting a bit long in the tooth at 37 years old? Is Sonnen Silva’s kryptonite just due to the ‘styles make fights’ adage?

All those questions will be answered on Saturday night.

What is my prediction? My brain is telling me that Silva will put on a career-defining performance and obliterate Sonnen in a round or two. But there is this little voice that is yelling, “Hey, don’t forget the first fight. Sonnen won’t lose focus in the last round this time around.”  

QUICK FACTS

Anderson Silva
•    37 years old
•    6’2, 185 lbs
•    29-4 overall (14-0 UFC)
•    14 consecutive UFC wins is most in history
•    11 UFC wins inside the distance (9 by KO/TKO and 2 by submission)
•    6 of those 11 wins were in the first round
•    Hasn’t lost since January 20, 2006 (DQ loss to Yushin Okami outside of UFC)
•    10-0 in championship fights
•    10 championship wins is the most all-time
•    9 successful consecutive defenses is the most in UFC history
•    Submission of the Night twice (SUB2 over Dan Henderson by rear naked choke, SUB2 over Chael Sonnen by rear naked choke)
•    Knockout of the Night three times (TKO2 over Rich Franklin at UFC 77, KO1 over Forrest Griffin, KO1 over Vitor Belfort)
•    Fight of the Night three times (SUB2 over Dan Henderson, KO1 over Forrest Griffin, SUB5 over Sonnen)
•    Current layoff of 315 days is the longest of his career

Chael Sonnen
•    35 years old
•    6’1, 185 lbs
•    74-inch reach
•    28-11-1 overall (6-4 UFC)
•    5 of 6 UFC wins have come by unanimous decision
•    All 4 UFC losses have come by submission
•    0-2 against current or former UFC champions
•    Fight of the Night twice (UD3 over Nate Marquardt, SUB5 loss to Anderson Silva)
•    Current layoff is 161 days
•    Longest layoff of his career is 181 days

FRANKLIN BEGINS THE ROAD BACK TO MIDDLEWEIGHT

Rich Franklin knows that his days in the sport are numbered. The former middleweight champion turns 38 years old in October, which qualifies as long in the tooth by anyone’s athletic standard. As a result, he needs to put together an impressive stretch of wins if he wants to make one final run at UFC gold before it is time to hang up the gloves.

Franklin got the ship pointed in the right direction on Saturday night with a clear, but certainly not safe, victory over former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva. The win proved that “Ace” remains relevant in the division. Yet, the near knockout loss at the end of the second round has to draw questions about his ability to dominate at middleweight like he did during his 16-month title run.

To be blunt, I don’t think anyone outside Franklin’s inner circle would be complaining if referee Mario Yamasaki had chosen to stop the fight in the waning seconds of the round. Silva dropped Franklin with a savage right hand that came on the heels of a couple clean shots that had the former UFC champion on wobbly legs. Once Silva knew for sure that his opponent was hurt, he jumped on him with all the ferocity that made him a legend in Japan.

Franklin moved just enough on the bottom to prevent a stoppage. I am certain that Yamasaki gave him additional leeway because the round was almost over.  Many fighters haven’t received the same leeway in similar situations.

I am not suggesting in any way that I disagree with Yamasaki’s decision. Not at all. I think that fighters in that situation should be given the ability to try and work through the storm, particularly with just a few seconds remaining in the round. Franklin was rattled at the time. We know that for sure because of his post-fight comments about not remembering the third or fourth rounds at all. But he was also alert enough to roll on the ground in search of a leg lock or securing his guard. He covered up, but he also was moving his head to defend. All those things suggested that he was able to continue just a little bit longer.

Yamasaki’s decision was validated by the fact that Franklin was able to resume executing his effective game plan in the third round en route to a clear five-round unanimous decision win.

I’m sure Franklin wants to parlay the win into another marquee middleweight matchup, as he tries to build his case for a middleweight title shot. Don’t pay any attention to the fact that Franklin hasn’t actually competed at 185 pounds since April 2008 and Saturday’s fight was at a catchweight of 190 pounds. He can easily make the required weight limit. The catchweight was solely due to the fact that Franklin, who takes a very scientific approach to making weight, agreed to take this bout on short notice, so he didn’t have the proper time to come down from his walking around weight of 205 pounds.

Welcome back to middleweight, champ. It’s been a long time in coming.

SILVA SHOWS THAT HE STILL HAS SOME TREAD LEFT ON THE TIRES

It probably shocks the average MMA fan to read that Wanderlei Silva has only three wins in his last 10 fights. There is no doubt that the “Axe Murderer” isn’t the same dominant force who once ruled in the Land of the Rising Sun. But he remains a competitive force in the UFC, despite his recent run of tough outcomes.

Silva has now earned five post-fight bonuses in his eight UFC bouts, including “Fight of the Night” honors for his bout with Franklin. Yet, he suffered losses in three of those fights. Silva’s willingness to wade into the heart of darkness in search of victory, seemingly with no regard to his personal safety, is why fans love to watch this guy, whether he wins or loses. That isn’t going to change any time soon, if he keeps fighting with reckless abandon.

Silva will almost certainly never again put together an 18-fight streak with no losses like he did from 2000 to 2004. But his near knockout win over Franklin proved that he still has some tread left on the tires.

JASON MAKES HISTORY

“The Ultimate Fighter” is a popular reality television show in the United States. It is must-see TV in Brazil. It’s not on cable. It’s on network television. And approximately 12 million people watched the debut. That is nearly 10 times more viewers than the most recent installment of TUF in the US.

Rony Jason became the first winner of TUF Brazil with a workmanlike effort over Godofredo Pepey. The fight didn’t have the same level of fireworks that Jason’s fights had in the house. But that is to be expected because of what was on the line. I know. One of the best fights in UFC history was the inaugural light heavyweight final of TUF. But things are different now. The UFC is a monstrous global brand. Millions of dollars are on the line for top fighters. And fighters are no longer relatively anonymous, particularly not fighters in Brazil, where they are almost as popular as NFL football players in the US.

The magnitude of the fight was obvious in Jason’s affect before and after the fight. He was overcome with tears walking to the cage. He was overcome with tears after the fight was over. Yet, he was somehow able to turn all of that off and completely relax once Pepey was trying to punch a hole through his head. Amazing, isn’t it?

It’s tough to know how Jason fits into the UFC featherweight division. That is one of the deeper divisions in the sport, and it is ruled by one of the best in the world, pound for pound, Jose Aldo. My guess is that Jason will be brought along slowly so that he can develop a bit before throwing him to the wolves.

WERDUM ON THE CUSP

I’ve never seen Fabricio Werdum more outwardly comfortable and confident than he was walking into the cage for his fight with Mike Russow. He was dancing and smiling in a way that suggested that he didn’t have a care in the world. At first, I thought it was overconfidence. Then, when the fight started and he switched on the competitive focus that we are used to with him, it suggested something else.

This fight was so important to Werdum, who was fighting in his home country for the first time since 2004, that he was doing anything he could to remain calm before the storm. It worked. That was the single best standup performance of his career. The right uppercut was a beautiful technique, something that would have been a pipe dream for Werdum a few years ago.

This guy is one of the best, if not the best, heavyweight submission fighters in the world. Frank Mir is the only man who can challenge for that title. His blind spot has always been his standup. With back-to-back stellar standup performances against seriously tough opponents, Werdum appears to have eliminated that blind spot. That is bad news for the rest of the heavyweight division.

Werdum has now won five of his last six fights. His only defeat was to one of the best heavyweights on the planet, Alistair Overeem. His run of recent success definitely has him on the cusp of heavyweight title considerations. In my opinion, he is one marquee win away from joining the current short list of heavyweight Preferiti. A bout with former champion Frank Mir is the perfect situation to see where this guy really stands.

GUIDA…..REALLY?

Anyone who read my pre-fight breakdown of Friday’s main event on FX knows how much I was looking forward to what was sure to be an entertaining, back-and-forth scrap between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard. Anyone who watched the fight must have been wondering  what kind of narcotic was affecting my brain when I wrote that because the actual fight turned out to be one of the major sleepers of 2012 thanks to Guida riding a bicycle for five full rounds in an attempt to avoid engaging with Maynard.

Huh?

Believe me, I’ve been asking myself that question all morning. Remember, Guida easily ranked as one of the top 10 most exciting fighters on the UFC’s roster heading into the fight. His average fight is more entertaining and action-packed than the career best for most fighters. Yet, he chose to completely flip the switch and run from Maynard for five full rounds.

Yes, I described it as “running.” His execution wasn’t about calculated lateral movement designed to open angles for lead attacks or counters. It was about getting out of Dodge and staying out of Dodge. I really had to rack my brain to remember a guy fighting like that in the UFC. Three other instances come to mind. The first is Kalib Starnes completely embarrassing himself against Nate Quarry at UFC 83. This was easily the worst fight in UFC history, with Starnes not so much as throwing a punch that I can remember. Maybe he actually let a handful fly. But if my life depended on correctly answering whether he threw fewer or greater than 10 strikes over three rounds, I would bet on fewer. But he easily ran the equivalent of a couple of miles over the 15 minutes. Disgusting.

Next is David Loiseau versus Rich Franklin at UFC 58. Loiseau certainly engaged when he was cornered, but he was the first guy that I can remember ever seeing turning his back and running at one point in the fight—literally. If memory serves, he did that twice. Of course, Franklin broke his hands and feet in that fight, so there were plenty of action-filled moments. It was far better than Starnes-Quarry or Guida-Maynard.

The final example is Kenny Florian versus Diego Sanchez at the finale for the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Florian opened the fight laterally jogging around the extreme edge of the cage. When Sanchez got close, Florian picked up the pace and changed directions. It was obvious to anyone watching that Florian wanted no part of Sanchez, who looked at least a full weight class, if not two, bigger than his foe. Luckily for the fans and Florian’s future, it only took about two minutes for Sanchez to finally cut off the cage and get his hands on Florian. The fight was brought to a brutal end moments later thanks to some nightmarish ground and pound.

I’m not sure what Guida was thinking heading into the fight. He plan was obviously to stick and move, which is a perfectly acceptable way to fight. I encourage that sort of attack all the time based on styles. As Floyd Mayweather once said, “Fighting is about hitting someone and not getting hit back.” There is no need to take unnecessary punishment in any fight. A guy should only take as much punishment as is absolutely necessary in order to defeat his foe. But Guida took that to the extreme. It wasn’t quite as bad as Starnes – I’ve never watched a fight that bad – though it was a putrid effort. I’m sure when Guida watches the tape he will be equally disgusted, so I don’t suspect that we will ever see that sort of effort out of him again.

PEARSON LEARNS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FEATHERWEIGHT

Ross Pearson was always a smallish lightweight. He looked like Conan the Barbarian as a featherweight.  The problem, however, is that he looked a full step slower against Cub Swanson on FX than he did in his lightweight fights. I don’t know if that is solely because Swanson is a speed maniac or if Pearson was flat from the cut for his second 145-pound bout. He looked better in his division debut against Junior Assuncao.

The reality is that life as a featherweight is very different from life as a lightweight. Even though there is only a 10 pound difference, it is a big deal.  These guys are significantly faster, on average, than lightweights. And they are significantly smaller. That much was evident by Pearson appearing a full weight class bigger than Swanson, when the Brit was almost always the noticeably smaller man in his lightweight bouts.

Pearson should work on his quicks for future bouts. Lots of fast-twitch muscle training. If he can improve in that area, then I think the sky is the limit for Pearson in the featherweight division.

I should have changed the title. I considered it. At the end of the day, I decided to keep with the branded piece just for consistency. But this article is not about Xs and Os. It’s not about breaking down technique. And it’s not about who is going to win (or who is more likely to win) Friday night’s UFC on FX main event.

This article is about appreciating the moment.

Clay Guida versus Gray Maynard is one of those special matchups that causes me to sit back and take a breath. You know, the kind of matchup that makes me want to call friends who haven’t necessarily converted to mixed martial arts fans and invite them over for dinner and the fights. One of those matchups that is absolutely must-see TV.

The allure of this fight has nothing to do with the star power of the combatants. They are certainly top contenders. There is no argument to the contrary. Maynard is a puzzle that no lightweight, other than Frankie Edgar, has been able to solve. And Edgar only solved it once in three attempts. Sure, Nate Diaz beat him on The Ultimate Fighter, but Maynard avenged that loss when it counted.

Maynard holds wins over Kenny Florian, Roger Huerta, Jim Miller, Dennis Siver, Edgar, Diaz and Rich Clementi. Pretty impressive list by anyone’s standard.

Guida isn’t far off, holding wins over Josh Thomson, Anthony Pettis, Takanori Gomi, Diaz and more.

But the respective lightweight status of Maynard and Guida isn’t what makes this such a great fight. It’s the way their styles mesh. It’s the way their personalities mesh. And they mesh in a way that all but guarantees a frenzied, fan-friendly affair from start to finish.

Think otherwise? Answer this question: Have you ever watched Guida compete in a boring fight?

I’ll answer it for you. No.

Guida is the closest thing to the Energizer Bunny that we have in the sport, across all divisions. He has a seemingly endless gas tank that he heavily relies on with his non-stop, whirling dervish style. It doesn’t hurt that he sports a caveman-style haircut. The way his locks fly around when he is throwing wild punches or bouncing on his toes just adds to the fun of the fight.

None of that would be meaningful if Guida was just a fringe contender. He is far from that. He may have fringe contender-type natural abilities. Yet, few guys in the sport work harder than Guida, and nobody squeezes more out of themselves inside the cage than this guy.

From his workmanlike approach to the sport to his athletic, but certainly not cartoonish, build, Guida is a fighter that the average weekend athlete can relate to. He just seems like one of the guys. And that makes him special. Toss in his unbelievable commitment to winning and the skills that he has built over the years, and it is easy to understand why this guy is a huge fan favorite.

Maynard is the polar opposite to Guida. He does not have a deep gas tank. In fact, that reality definitely contributed to his lone career loss. That frailty makes him very human.

Take away that one hole in his game and Maynard is otherwise a savage beast. The guy is as athletically gifted as any lightweight in the sport. His explosion and physical strength are legendary. And his wrestling skills are among the best in the sport.

Yet, Maynard is a headhunter’s headhunter. He is addicted to swinging for the fences like no other top contender that I can think of as I type. It is reminiscent of a prime Wanderlei Silva, when every punch was thrown with unbelievably cruel intentions. Every punch was designed to bring the fight to an abrupt end.

That is Maynard in a nutshell.  He could easily outwrestle 95% of the division. He could safely win fights by lay and pray. But he has no tolerance for that sort of conservative approach to a fight. Maynard is there to hurt people, and he is willing to walk into the heart of darkness in an attempt to achieve his goal. Self-preservation be damned.

When the bell sounds on Friday night, the fans are in for a very special treat. Guida will come out bobbing and weaving like a crazy man. Maynard, more closely resembling a Greek God than a crazy man, will stalk him looking for that one fight-altering opportunity. And when they meet in the center of the cage, it will be an explosion of action for as long as the fight lasts.

Don’t get up to get a beer or soda. Don’t go to the front door to pay for the pizza. And Lord knows, don’t get up to go to the bathroom at the arena. Why? Because you might just miss one of the most exciting scraps of 2012.

It might last 60 seconds or the full distance. I have no idea. I also don’t know who is going to win. In fact, I don’t really care. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy this one for as long as it lasts.

Rewind the clock six years.

That may seem like the blink of an eye to a parent watching his or her child grow. But it is a lifetime for a professional athlete, particularly professional fighters.

Six years ago, Wanderlei Silva was one of the most feared men on the planet. He wasn’t necessarily the best mixed martial artist in the PRIDE Fighting Championships. After all, his forte wasn’t technique.  He was the scariest fighter in PRIDE, and his forte was pain.

The Silva intimidation bubble took a major hit as the calendar moved into the second half of 2006. He suffered a series of brutal knockout losses. Let the PRIDE 205-pound championship slip through his grasp. Moved to the UFC for major high-profile fights and continued what turned out to be the roughest stretch of his professional career, losing six out of eight fights.

Just when the so-called experts were ready to write off the former champion, he agreed to take a marquee matchup against striking specialist Cung Le. It was a matchup that many felt was nothing more than a UFC coronation for Le.

Someone forgot to send Silva a copy of the memo. After a rough opening round, Silva turned the tables on Le with a series of savage punches and knees, resulting in one of the most spectacular come-from-behind knockout wins of his career to reestablish his relevance in the UFC middleweight division.

Silva was supposed to follow up that performance with a career-defining opportunity against bitter Brazilian rival Vitor Belfort. The pair coached opposite each other on the UFC’s first installment of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil. But it wasn’t to be. Belfort suffered a broken hand in training a few weeks ago, and that derailed a rematch that had been 14 years in the making.

But all was not lost for Silva. With Belfort out, UFC head honcho Dana White needed to find a suitable replacement to headline opposite Silva in this weekend’s event.

Enter former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.

Make no mistake about it.  Franklin is more than just a replacement opponent.  He is a fighter who can erase all the momentum Silva built up with the Le win by putting on a shutout or knockout performance against “The Axe Murderer.”  Silva knows that is a possibility because Franklin came ultra close to a virtuoso performance the first time the pair competed.

Yes, that is right. Silva-Franklin is also a rematch, just like the fight it replaced. The pair locked horns almost three years ago to the day at UFC 99. Franklin was flawless through the first two and a half rounds. He dominated Silva with movement, crisp punches from ever-changing angles and well disguised kicks to the body.

But two and a half rounds is not a full fight. In the second half of that final round, Silva, who had been chasing Franklin all night, finally landed one of his trademark winging punches. The blow clearly rocked his foe, but it was too little, too late. The final bell sounded before Silva could score a dramatic knockout win.

The judges rightfully awarded the decision to Franklin. Silva was beside himself with disgust, believing that he was robbed of a hard-earned victory.

As a result, fans shouldn’t expect there to be any slip in focus from Silva due to the withdrawal of his rival. There will be plenty of motivation to avenge his 2009 loss to Franklin.

In order to win, Silva must jump on Franklin like a lion trying to take down a healthy water buffalo.  He cannot hesitate.  He cannot timidly fight on the outside.  He needs to throw caution to the wind, step into the heart of darkness, plant his feet and go to war with those wide, looping right and left hooks.  He needs to make this a slugfest so that he can put Franklin to the chin test—again.  

If he doesn’t do that, he will get picked apart early and possibly stopped in the second or third round. There is no doubt that Franklin is the superior fighter, in terms of technique. Anyone doubting that statement should pop in the DVD from UFC 99.

My guess, though, is that long-time fight fans aren’t surprised by that statement, because as Silva was in PRIDE, he was never (nor is he now) the best technical striker in the business.  What he lacks in technique, though, he makes up for with sheer power and aggressiveness.  Most fighters aren’t comfortable fighting someone who is constantly in their face, particularly when their attacker has an advantage in power and killer instinct.

Franklin falls into the “most fighters” category. He wants no part of fighting Silva in a phone booth. He knows that from their first encounter. He will, therefore, look avoid unnecessary exchanges at all costs.

The former middleweight champion will remain committed to a game plan that forces a very technical fight that unfolds principally on the outside. Franklin will throw hands early and often, just like he does in every fight.  He will pump the jab as a range finder and fire straight left hands and cleanup right hooks, as well as three- and four-piece combinations, mixing in kicks to the legs, body and head.  He will continually vary his attack because he knows that he does not strike with the same force that Dan Henderson, Mirko Cro Cop, Chris Leben and Quinton Jackson do—the four guys who stopped Silva with strikes over the last decade.  But he can pepper opponents from the outside better than any of those guys, and that is precisely what he will look to do on Saturday night.

If pressed for a pick, this is a matchup that favors Franklin. Then again, the Le matchup didn’t favor Silva, either. And we all know how that one turned out.

QUICK FACTS

Wanderlei Silva
•    35 years old (turns 36 on July 3)
•    5’11, 190 lbs
•    34-11-1, 1NC
•    2-3 in his last 5
•    4-6 in his last 10
•    3-6 against current or former UFC/PRIDE champions
•    70.6% of wins by KO/TKO
•    8.8% of wins by submission
•    20.6% of wins by decision
•    Has never been submitted
•    Holds records for most wins (22) and knockouts (15) in PRIDE history
•    Holds record for longest unbeaten streak (18) in PRIDE history
•    Four post-fight awards (Fight of the Night 3x; Knockout of the Night)
•    Current layoff is 217 days
•    Longest layoff of UFC career is 496 days

Rich Franklin
•    37 years old
•    6’1, 190 lbs
•    28-6, 1NC
•    2-3 in his last 5
•    6-4 in his last 10
•    3-5 against current or former UFC/PRIDE champions
•    53.6% of wins by KO/TKO
•    35.7% of wins by submission
•    10.7% of wins by decision
•    Two post-fight awards (Knockout of the Night; Fight of the Night)
•    Current layoff of 504 days is the longest of his UFC career