As Bellator builds to its first pay-per-view show on May 17, its Friday night ratings on Spike remain almost identical with last season.
The promotion currently averages 684,000 viewers live on Friday nights, with another five to ten perce…
As Bellator builds to its first pay-per-view show on May 17, its Friday night ratings on Spike remain almost identical with last season.
The promotion currently averages 684,000 viewers live on Friday nights, with another five to ten percent trickling on over the next three days based on DVR viewership. The fall 2013 season, its first on Friday, averaged 665,000 viewers live when airing on Friday nights.
The most recent show, this past Friday, drew 701,000 viewers live, with 57,000 more watching over the next three days on DVR, so very slightly above average. The show was headlined by Joe Warren vs. Rafael Silva with the unique stipulation that the interim bantamweight title would be at stake if Warren would win, but not for Silva, because Silva failed to make weight. The main event peaked at 1,022,000 viewers live.
It was a good showing to be even at average levels, since they went head-to-head with two nationally televised NBA playoff games and one NHL playoff game.
Spike also drew 498,000 viewers for Glory the next night. It was the second highest viewership number since Spike started airing kickboxing last fall. The show did that number even going head-to-head with a Floyd Mayweather Jr. pay-per-view. The big draw appeared to be former UFC star Pat Barry, whose fight with Zack Mwekasa peaked at 815,000 viewers. However, Barry lost the fight via first-round knockout.
The April 30 edition of Ultimate Fighter, with B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar as coaches, did 421,000 viewers on FS 1, up 32 percent from the prior week. The April 23 episode of the show did 320,000 viewers on its premiere night. But that show set what is believed to be a record for any UFC program in history by adding a whopping 96 percent more viewers through DVR viewership over the next three days.
When Chael Sonnen went to Brazil for nine weeks to coach the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, he thought he prepared himself for every possible scenario.
The basic concept of his run on the show was simple and natural. He was going to be hated, since Wanderlei Silva is a legendary older native fighter whose career and body of work speaks for itself. While it doesn’t happen every season, in the most notable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it comes down to conflicting coaches. While good guy and bad guy may sound and really is simplistic generally speaking, in conflict, fans will pick and choose. And in Brazil, they aren’t likely to be picking an American who was best known for unleashing verbal barrages against a national hero in Anderson Silva.
But very quickly, Sonnen was thrown for a loop. He sensed the roles were reversing, that Silva’s antics were going to make Sonnen popular in Brazil, something he didn’t think was how it should be. And it’s not what he wanted. While in Brazil, largely out of communication with the U.S. past the Internet, he went to someone for advice. He knew, given that everything on the show had to be kept confidential, he’d have to confide in someone he ultimately could trust, because he had signed non-disclosure agreements. Out of seven billion people on the face of the Earth, he chose Paul Heyman,
Paul Heyman is, if nothing else, a brilliant pro wrestling character. He was the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 90s, and for the last 13 years, has worked on-and-off with World Wrestling Entertainment, at times behind-the-scenes, and at other times as a television character. He’s had a string of well-publicized real-life breakups and makeups with the ruling McMahon family. Those who know both would say there are a number of similarities between the Sonnen and Heyman, in that both are strong self-promoters with a gift of gab, and a way of talking themselves out of trouble.
Heyman is known by many in MMA, because he worked with Lesnar during his UFC run, and there was a solid chance he would have wound up with a promotional position in Strikeforce before that company was sold to UFC.
“I’ve never met him, but I know what he’s done,” said Sonnen. “He’s a little bit older than me, so I felt I could trust him. I’m breaking a confidentiality agreement but there were circumstances where I was jammed up and I had to make an executive decision.”
And while it may be an overstatement, Sonnen credits him for saving the season.
“It was crazy,” Sonnen said about his early interaction with Silva. “He gave me the silent treatment for ten days. I never knew what I’d get. It could be passive aggressive, aggressive, just passive, angry, or confrontational. Every day I had to take his temperature. I didn’t know what mood I was going to see him in. Some days he’d walk right past me, and that was a good day, with no shoulder bump, and no scowl. Some days I’m coming in and he would put in his mouthpiece, like we’re about to fight.”
“To say he was ruining the show may be extreme, but the interaction between he and I is an element of the show that’s important. There has to be the interaction of the coaches. It’s an important factor. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to handle this. This is the same time I’m losing my grip on my character as a heel. I can feel it slipping away. He’s being aggressive. He’s skipping practices. He’s partying. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to handle this.”
Sonnen said he was at a loss for how to overcome it, because at the time, he didn’t know if the Silva silent treatment would last another 50 days. So he got an e-mail address for Heyman, and contacted him. Heyman at first wondered if it was a practical joke, because while he certainly knew of Sonnen, he didn’t know him.
“Paul was a guy that even without knowing him, I knew I could trust him,” said Sonnen. “We have mutual friends, Brock Lesnar and (former pro wrestling headliner) C.M. Punk. I knew he was an expert in psychology and I was stuck, working through this spot, having to deal with this, him not talking to me and the reversal of roles that I didn’t see coming.”
“He told me, `Listen, you have to shoot (be completely real, not holding back verbally) on him. If he’s not playing along, you have to drop everything and shoot on him.’ He laid it out a lot more aggressive than that. `You have to drop everything and come clean.’ He went into it a lot more detail than that.”
“In many ways, Paul Heyman saved Ultimate Fighter (Brazil) 3. He kept his word. He kept his secrecy up.”
“So not only should we thank Paul for the huge ratings, but we can also blame him for all the bad things.”
Sonnen said the entire time he was there, he was never sure there would be the big fight, mostly because Silva wasn’t training and he thought that was strange.
“My feeling going into it was that it was a little shaky,” said Sonnen. “My only piece of evidence is he wasn’t working out on the set of The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter gym is the best mixed martial arts gym, they spend top dollar for every piece of equipment you might need. Then the fight broke out and I know after I felt him, I was surprised.”
He was a little smaller, a little weaker and a little slower than I expected. He may have been surprised the other way.”
In the quick skirmish, Silva threw a wild punch, Sonnen ducked and took him down on the concrete. Silva said he injured both his hand and his back. He went to the hospital to get his hand checked out, since he threw bare knuckle punches from the bottom at Sonnen. Sonnen was sucker punched several times by Silva’s assistant coach, Andre Dida, while on top.
“I felt like I was okay, but I had dialog with some guys, including one guy in production the next day and he told me the dialog wasn’t coherent the next day. I told him a story that I thought was a pretty good story, but I wasn’t getting much of a reaction. He said, `The problem is, you told me the story yesterday.'”
Sonnen said his head certainly hurt, and he had some lumps, but he didn’t feel like he had to go to the hospital.
But Sonnen concedes that even though he got the better of the first physical altercation, the fight on July 5 in Las Vegas will be totally different. And while he’ll verbally take shots at Silva, he also recognizes the fight won’t be a day in the park.
“This won’t go down in a 30-second match,” he said. “We’re going to have to work hard. I can tease Wanderlei, but he’s got tremendous heart, he hits extremely hard, especially early. He’s a little wild, but if the shot lands, I’m not above being in trouble.”
When Chael Sonnen went to Brazil for nine weeks to coach the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, he thought he prepared himself for every possible scenario.
The basic concept of his run on the show was simple and natural. He was going to be hated, since Wanderlei Silva is a legendary older native fighter whose career and body of work speaks for itself. While it doesn’t happen every season, in the most notable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it comes down to conflicting coaches. While good guy and bad guy may sound and really is simplistic generally speaking, in conflict, fans will pick and choose. And in Brazil, they aren’t likely to be picking an American who was best known for unleashing verbal barrages against a national hero in Anderson Silva.
But very quickly, Sonnen was thrown for a loop. He sensed the roles were reversing, that Silva’s antics were going to make Sonnen popular in Brazil, something he didn’t think was how it should be. And it’s not what he wanted. While in Brazil, largely out of communication with the U.S. past the Internet, he went to someone for advice. He knew, given that everything on the show had to be kept confidential, he’d have to confide in someone he ultimately could trust, because he had signed non-disclosure agreements. Out of seven billion people on the face of the Earth, he chose Paul Heyman,
Paul Heyman is, if nothing else, a brilliant pro wrestling character. He was the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 90s, and for the last 13 years, has worked on-and-off with World Wrestling Entertainment, at times behind-the-scenes, and at other times as a television character. He’s had a string of well-publicized real-life breakups and makeups with the ruling McMahon family. Those who know both would say there are a number of similarities between the Sonnen and Heyman, in that both are strong self-promoters with a gift of gab, and a way of talking themselves out of trouble.
Heyman is known by many in MMA, because he worked with Lesnar during his UFC run, and there was a solid chance he would have wound up with a promotional position in Strikeforce before that company was sold to UFC.
“I’ve never met him, but I know what he’s done,” said Sonnen. “He’s a little bit older than me, so I felt I could trust him. I’m breaking a confidentiality agreement but there were circumstances where I was jammed up and I had to make an executive decision.”
And while it may be an overstatement, Sonnen credits him for saving the season.
“It was crazy,” Sonnen said about his early interaction with Silva. “He gave me the silent treatment for ten days. I never knew what I’d get. It could be passive aggressive, aggressive, just passive, angry, or confrontational. Every day I had to take his temperature. I didn’t know what mood I was going to see him in. Some days he’d walk right past me, and that was a good day, with no shoulder bump, and no scowl. Some days I’m coming in and he would put in his mouthpiece, like we’re about to fight.”
“To say he was ruining the show may be extreme, but the interaction between he and I is an element of the show that’s important. There has to be the interaction of the coaches. It’s an important factor. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to handle this. This is the same time I’m losing my grip on my character as a heel. I can feel it slipping away. He’s being aggressive. He’s skipping practices. He’s partying. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to handle this.”
Sonnen said he was at a loss for how to overcome it, because at the time, he didn’t know if the Silva silent treatment would last another 50 days. So he got an e-mail address for Heyman, and contacted him. Heyman at first wondered if it was a practical joke, because while he certainly knew of Sonnen, he didn’t know him.
“Paul was a guy that even without knowing him, I knew I could trust him,” said Sonnen. “We have mutual friends, Brock Lesnar and (former pro wrestling headliner) C.M. Punk. I knew he was an expert in psychology and I was stuck, working through this spot, having to deal with this, him not talking to me and the reversal of roles that I didn’t see coming.”
“He told me, `Listen, you have to shoot (be completely real, not holding back verbally) on him. If he’s not playing along, you have to drop everything and shoot on him.’ He laid it out a lot more aggressive than that. `You have to drop everything and come clean.’ He went into it a lot more detail than that.”
“In many ways, Paul Heyman saved Ultimate Fighter (Brazil) 3. He kept his word. He kept his secrecy up.”
“So not only should we thank Paul for the huge ratings, but we can also blame him for all the bad things.”
Sonnen said the entire time he was there, he was never sure there would be the big fight, mostly because Silva wasn’t training and he thought that was strange.
“My feeling going into it was that it was a little shaky,” said Sonnen. “My only piece of evidence is he wasn’t working out on the set of The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter gym is the best mixed martial arts gym, they spend top dollar for every piece of equipment you might need. Then the fight broke out and I know after I felt him, I was surprised.”
He was a little smaller, a little weaker and a little slower than I expected. He may have been surprised the other way.”
In the quick skirmish, Silva threw a wild punch, Sonnen ducked and took him down on the concrete. Silva said he injured both his hand and his back. He went to the hospital to get his hand checked out, since he threw bare knuckle punches from the bottom at Sonnen. Sonnen was sucker punched several times by Silva’s assistant coach, Andre Dida, while on top.
“I felt like I was okay, but I had dialog with some guys, including one guy in production the next day and he told me the dialog wasn’t coherent the next day. I told him a story that I thought was a pretty good story, but I wasn’t getting much of a reaction. He said, `The problem is, you told me the story yesterday.'”
Sonnen said his head certainly hurt, and he had some lumps, but he didn’t feel like he had to go to the hospital.
But Sonnen concedes that even though he got the better of the first physical altercation, the fight on July 5 in Las Vegas will be totally different. And while he’ll verbally take shots at Silva, he also recognizes the fight won’t be a day in the park.
“This won’t go down in a 30-second match,” he said. “We’re going to have to work hard. I can tease Wanderlei, but he’s got tremendous heart, he hits extremely hard, especially early. He’s a little wild, but if the shot lands, I’m not above being in trouble.”
When Chael Sonnen went to Brazil for nine weeks to coach the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, he thought he prepared himself for every possible scenario.
The basic concept of his run on the show was simple and natural. He was going to be hated, since Wanderlei Silva is a legendary older native fighter whose career and body of work speaks for itself. While it doesn’t happen every season, in the most notable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it comes down to conflicting coaches. While good guy and bad guy may sound and really is simplistic generally speaking, in conflict, fans will pick and choose. And in Brazil, they aren’t likely to be picking an American who was best known for unleashing verbal barrages against a national hero in Anderson Silva.
But very quickly, Sonnen was thrown for a loop. He sensed the roles were reversing, that Silva’s antics were going to make Sonnen popular in Brazil, something he didn’t think was how it should be. And it’s not what he wanted. While in Brazil, largely out of communication with the U.S. past the Internet, he went to someone for advice. He knew, given that everything on the show had to be kept confidential, he’d have to confide in someone he ultimately could trust, because he had signed non-disclosure agreements. Out of seven billion people on the face of the Earth, he chose Paul Heyman,
Paul Heyman is, if nothing else, a brilliant pro wrestling character. He was the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 90s, and for the last 13 years, has worked on-and-off with World Wrestling Entertainment, at times behind-the-scenes, and at other times as a television character. He’s had a string of well-publicized real-life breakups and makeups with the ruling McMahon family. Those who know both would say there are a number of similarities between the Sonnen and Heyman, in that both are strong self-promoters with a gift of gab, and a way of talking themselves out of trouble.
Heyman is known by many in MMA, because he worked with Lesnar during his UFC run, and there was a solid chance he would have wound up with a promotional position in Strikeforce before that company was sold to UFC.
“I’ve never met him, but I know what he’s done,” said Sonnen. “He’s a little bit older than me, so I felt I could trust him. I’m breaking a confidentiality agreement but there were circumstances where I was jammed up and I had to make an executive decision.”
And while it may be an overstatement, Sonnen credits him for saving the season.
“It was crazy,” Sonnen said about his early interaction with Silva. “He gave me the silent treatment for ten days. I never knew what I’d get. It could be passive aggressive, aggressive, just passive, angry, or confrontational. Every day I had to take his temperature. I didn’t know what mood I was going to see him in. Some days he’d walk right past me, and that was a good day, with no shoulder bump, and no scowl. Some days I’m coming in and he would put in his mouthpiece, like we’re about to fight.”
“To say he was ruining the show may be extreme, but the interaction between he and I is an element of the show that’s important. There has to be the interaction of the coaches. It’s an important factor. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to handle this. This is the same time I’m losing my grip on my character as a heel. I can feel it slipping away. He’s being aggressive. He’s skipping practices. He’s partying. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to handle this.”
Sonnen said he was at a loss for how to overcome it, because at the time, he didn’t know if the Silva silent treatment would last another 50 days. So he got an e-mail address for Heyman, and contacted him. Heyman at first wondered if it was a practical joke, because while he certainly knew of Sonnen, he didn’t know him.
“Paul was a guy that even without knowing him, I knew I could trust him,” said Sonnen. “We have mutual friends, Brock Lesnar and (former pro wrestling headliner) C.M. Punk. I knew he was an expert in psychology and I was stuck, working through this spot, having to deal with this, him not talking to me and the reversal of roles that I didn’t see coming.”
“He told me, `Listen, you have to shoot (be completely real, not holding back verbally) on him. If he’s not playing along, you have to drop everything and shoot on him.’ He laid it out a lot more aggressive than that. `You have to drop everything and come clean.’ He went into it a lot more detail than that.”
“In many ways, Paul Heyman saved Ultimate Fighter (Brazil) 3. He kept his word. He kept his secrecy up.”
“So not only should we thank Paul for the huge ratings, but we can also blame him for all the bad things.”
Sonnen said the entire time he was there, he was never sure there would be the big fight, mostly because Silva wasn’t training and he thought that was strange.
“My feeling going into it was that it was a little shaky,” said Sonnen. “My only piece of evidence is he wasn’t working out on the set of The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter gym is the best mixed martial arts gym, they spend top dollar for every piece of equipment you might need. Then the fight broke out and I know after I felt him, I was surprised.”
He was a little smaller, a little weaker and a little slower than I expected. He may have been surprised the other way.”
In the quick skirmish, Silva threw a wild punch, Sonnen ducked and took him down on the concrete. Silva said he injured both his hand and his back. He went to the hospital to get his hand checked out, since he threw bare knuckle punches from the bottom at Sonnen. Sonnen was sucker punched several times by Silva’s assistant coach, Andre Dida, while on top.
“I felt like I was okay, but I had dialog with some guys, including one guy in production the next day and he told me the dialog wasn’t coherent the next day. I told him a story that I thought was a pretty good story, but I wasn’t getting much of a reaction. He said, `The problem is, you told me the story yesterday.'”
Sonnen said his head certainly hurt, and he had some lumps, but he didn’t feel like he had to go to the hospital.
But Sonnen concedes that even though he got the better of the first physical altercation, the fight on July 5 in Las Vegas will be totally different. And while he’ll verbally take shots at Silva, he also recognizes the fight won’t be a day in the park.
“This won’t go down in a 30-second match,” he said. “We’re going to have to work hard. I can tease Wanderlei, but he’s got tremendous heart, he hits extremely hard, especially early. He’s a little wild, but if the shot lands, I’m not above being in trouble.”
When Chael Sonnen went to Brazil for nine weeks to coach the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, he thought he prepared himself for every possible scenario.
The basic concept of his run on the show was simple and natural. He was going to be hated, since Wanderlei Silva is a legendary older native fighter whose career and body of work speaks for itself. While it doesn’t happen every season, in the most notable seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it comes down to conflicting coaches. While good guy and bad guy may sound and really is simplistic generally speaking, in conflict, fans will pick and choose. And in Brazil, they aren’t likely to be picking an American who was best known for unleashing verbal barrages against a national hero in Anderson Silva.
But very quickly, Sonnen was thrown for a loop. He sensed the roles were reversing, that Silva’s antics were going to make Sonnen popular in Brazil, something he didn’t think was how it should be. And it’s not what he wanted. While in Brazil, largely out of communication with the U.S. past the Internet, he went to someone for advice. He knew, given that everything on the show had to be kept confidential, he’d have to confide in someone he ultimately could trust, because he had signed non-disclosure agreements. Out of seven billion people on the face of the Earth, he chose Paul Heyman,
Paul Heyman is, if nothing else, a brilliant pro wrestling character. He was the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 90s, and for the last 13 years, has worked on-and-off with World Wrestling Entertainment, at times behind-the-scenes, and at other times as a television character. He’s had a string of well-publicized real-life breakups and makeups with the ruling McMahon family. Those who know both would say there are a number of similarities between the Sonnen and Heyman, in that both are strong self-promoters with a gift of gab, and a way of talking themselves out of trouble.
Heyman is known by many in MMA, because he worked with Lesnar during his UFC run, and there was a solid chance he would have wound up with a promotional position in Strikeforce before that company was sold to UFC.
“I’ve never met him, but I know what he’s done,” said Sonnen. “He’s a little bit older than me, so I felt I could trust him. I’m breaking a confidentiality agreement but there were circumstances where I was jammed up and I had to make an executive decision.”
And while it may be an overstatement, Sonnen credits him for saving the season.
“It was crazy,” Sonnen said about his early interaction with Silva. “He gave me the silent treatment for ten days. I never knew what I’d get. It could be passive aggressive, aggressive, just passive, angry, or confrontational. Every day I had to take his temperature. I didn’t know what mood I was going to see him in. Some days he’d walk right past me, and that was a good day, with no shoulder bump, and no scowl. Some days I’m coming in and he would put in his mouthpiece, like we’re about to fight.”
“To say he was ruining the show may be extreme, but the interaction between he and I is an element of the show that’s important. There has to be the interaction of the coaches. It’s an important factor. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to handle this. This is the same time I’m losing my grip on my character as a heel. I can feel it slipping away. He’s being aggressive. He’s skipping practices. He’s partying. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to handle this.”
Sonnen said he was at a loss for how to overcome it, because at the time, he didn’t know if the Silva silent treatment would last another 50 days. So he got an e-mail address for Heyman, and contacted him. Heyman at first wondered if it was a practical joke, because while he certainly knew of Sonnen, he didn’t know him.
“Paul was a guy that even without knowing him, I knew I could trust him,” said Sonnen. “We have mutual friends, Brock Lesnar and (former pro wrestling headliner) C.M. Punk. I knew he was an expert in psychology and I was stuck, working through this spot, having to deal with this, him not talking to me and the reversal of roles that I didn’t see coming.”
“He told me, `Listen, you have to shoot (be completely real, not holding back verbally) on him. If he’s not playing along, you have to drop everything and shoot on him.’ He laid it out a lot more aggressive than that. `You have to drop everything and come clean.’ He went into it a lot more detail than that.”
“In many ways, Paul Heyman saved Ultimate Fighter (Brazil) 3. He kept his word. He kept his secrecy up.”
“So not only should we thank Paul for the huge ratings, but we can also blame him for all the bad things.”
Sonnen said the entire time he was there, he was never sure there would be the big fight, mostly because Silva wasn’t training and he thought that was strange.
“My feeling going into it was that it was a little shaky,” said Sonnen. “My only piece of evidence is he wasn’t working out on the set of The Ultimate Fighter. The Ultimate Fighter gym is the best mixed martial arts gym, they spend top dollar for every piece of equipment you might need. Then the fight broke out and I know after I felt him, I was surprised.”
He was a little smaller, a little weaker and a little slower than I expected. He may have been surprised the other way.”
In the quick skirmish, Silva threw a wild punch, Sonnen ducked and took him down on the concrete. Silva said he injured both his hand and his back. He went to the hospital to get his hand checked out, since he threw bare knuckle punches from the bottom at Sonnen. Sonnen was sucker punched several times by Silva’s assistant coach, Andre Dida, while on top.
“I felt like I was okay, but I had dialog with some guys, including one guy in production the next day and he told me the dialog wasn’t coherent the next day. I told him a story that I thought was a pretty good story, but I wasn’t getting much of a reaction. He said, `The problem is, you told me the story yesterday.'”
Sonnen said his head certainly hurt, and he had some lumps, but he didn’t feel like he had to go to the hospital.
But Sonnen concedes that even though he got the better of the first physical altercation, the fight on July 5 in Las Vegas will be totally different. And while he’ll verbally take shots at Silva, he also recognizes the fight won’t be a day in the park.
“This won’t go down in a 30-second match,” he said. “We’re going to have to work hard. I can tease Wanderlei, but he’s got tremendous heart, he hits extremely hard, especially early. He’s a little wild, but if the shot lands, I’m not above being in trouble.”
When the third Brazilian season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil was announced with Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen, there were expectations of a season filled with nationalistic conflict.
The season featured one of Brazil’s fighting heroes facing off with the American who made his name in being the anti-Brazilian villain in his prior matches with Anderson Silva.
But the reaction to the coaches in Brazil, ended up nothing like one would have expected. While Team Silva got the better of the early fights, it is Sonnen’s team that clearly came across as more sympathetic if you weren’t watching with Brazilian eyes.
Or, apparently, even if you were.
The reaction in Brazil, where as many as 12 million viewers have seen the show in certain weeks on Globo, even though it doesn’t air until after 11 p.m., and often after midnight on Sunday nights, has been the big surprise. It also airs on Fight Pass on Sundays in the rest of the world.
After the episode that aired on April 12, where Silva took a swing at Sonnen, and ended up being taken down. While the two were on the ground with Sonnen on top, one of Silva’s assistant coaches, Andre Dida, landed several punches to the back of Sonnen’s head.
A major Brazilian sports poll showed that 70 percent of Brazilians suddenly were behind Sonnen in their July 5 fight in Las Vegas.
The belief is that Silva still had support of the hardcore MMA fan base, particularly those who were aware of him during his Pride heyday. But outside of that group who loved Silva’s wide open and aggressive fighting style, he had limited support of the general public, or of casual fans.
The result was Silva doing a Q&A in Brazil, which airs with subtitles on Fight Pass, acknowledging the popularity shift, but blaming it largely on the editing process.
“They edited a lot of things, and unfortunately, the production decided to paint me as the villain,” said Silva. “But that is not right, because he said horrible things about us, and disrespected me at every moment during filming. This good guy you’re watching on television is not how things are for real. He said and did a lot of things that aren’t being shown.”
“What was shown on the show is not everything that happened,” said Silva. “Behind what happened there is the motives and the reason why I was mad that day. Beside the absurd (things) that he has said about all of us, he had been provoking me and disrespecting me. Right on the first episode, he called me stupid. Not at any moment did I go down to his level.”
Americans may find it different as Silva used profanity on Sonnen on several occasions during the show, not bleeped out since it’s produced in Portuguese. Silva felt that since English is not his language, it didn’t constitute to him the way an American would view it.
“I called him a motherf***er, but I don’t speak English,” he said. “I didn’t really know what it means and I don’t consider it a cuss word.
During the filming of the show, Silva kept trying to get Sonnen to apologize to Brazil for things he had said in the past, and Sonnen had said he couldn’t do that. Silva’s behavior ranged from giving Sonnen the silent treatment, to things that could have come off as physical threats, leading to shoving matches. Sonnen noted that on occasions, Silva would come up to him and put his mouthpiece in.
Silva didn’t directly answer rumors that this may be his last fight.
“Only God knows,” he said, but then said that fans would be told after the fight..
“I am coming off of good performances in my last three fights. In all three fights i won four bonuses. I got three fight of the night bonuses and in my last fight (a fight of the year candidate where knocked out Brian Stann), I got knockout of the night,” he said. “I am still able to perform well and give the public a reason to cheer.” he said.
Some have suggested that the poll was more a short-term reaction and that if the fight was taking place in Brazil, once the fight started, the fans would have gotten behind the man of their own nationality. However, the feeling is also that, unlike if this happened a few months ago, people would not be upset if Sonnen won.
Silva said he didn’t want to tell people how to react, but wanted to say the portrayal was unfair.
“If you learned about all he has said and done, and you still cheer for him, you’ll have my respect. I will just tell you not to lose your money because I will win this fight.”
When the third Brazilian season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil was announced with Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen, there were expectations of a season filled with nationalistic conflict.
The season featured one of Brazil’s fighting heroes facing off with the American who made his name in being the anti-Brazilian villain in his prior matches with Anderson Silva.
But the reaction to the coaches in Brazil, ended up nothing like one would have expected. While Team Silva got the better of the early fights, it is Sonnen’s team that clearly came across as more sympathetic if you weren’t watching with Brazilian eyes.
Or, apparently, even if you were.
The reaction in Brazil, where as many as 12 million viewers have seen the show in certain weeks on Globo, even though it doesn’t air until after 11 p.m., and often after midnight on Sunday nights, has been the big surprise. It also airs on Fight Pass on Sundays in the rest of the world.
After the episode that aired on April 12, where Silva took a swing at Sonnen, and ended up being taken down. While the two were on the ground with Sonnen on top, one of Silva’s assistant coaches, Andre Dida, landed several punches to the back of Sonnen’s head.
A major Brazilian sports poll showed that 70 percent of Brazilians suddenly were behind Sonnen in their July 5 fight in Las Vegas.
The belief is that Silva still had support of the hardcore MMA fan base, particularly those who were aware of him during his Pride heyday. But outside of that group who loved Silva’s wide open and aggressive fighting style, he had limited support of the general public, or of casual fans.
The result was Silva doing a Q&A in Brazil, which airs with subtitles on Fight Pass, acknowledging the popularity shift, but blaming it largely on the editing process.
“They edited a lot of things, and unfortunately, the production decided to paint me as the villain,” said Silva. “But that is not right, because he said horrible things about us, and disrespected me at every moment during filming. This good guy you’re watching on television is not how things are for real. He said and did a lot of things that aren’t being shown.”
“What was shown on the show is not everything that happened,” said Silva. “Behind what happened there is the motives and the reason why I was mad that day. Beside the absurd (things) that he has said about all of us, he had been provoking me and disrespecting me. Right on the first episode, he called me stupid. Not at any moment did I go down to his level.”
Americans may find it different as Silva used profanity on Sonnen on several occasions during the show, not bleeped out since it’s produced in Portuguese. Silva felt that since English is not his language, it didn’t constitute to him the way an American would view it.
“I called him a motherf***er, but I don’t speak English,” he said. “I didn’t really know what it means and I don’t consider it a cuss word.
During the filming of the show, Silva kept trying to get Sonnen to apologize to Brazil for things he had said in the past, and Sonnen had said he couldn’t do that. Silva’s behavior ranged from giving Sonnen the silent treatment, to things that could have come off as physical threats, leading to shoving matches. Sonnen noted that on occasions, Silva would come up to him and put his mouthpiece in.
Silva didn’t directly answer rumors that this may be his last fight.
“Only God knows,” he said, but then said that fans would be told after the fight..
“I am coming off of good performances in my last three fights. In all three fights i won four bonuses. I got three fight of the night bonuses and in my last fight (a fight of the year candidate where knocked out Brian Stann), I got knockout of the night,” he said. “I am still able to perform well and give the public a reason to cheer.” he said.
Some have suggested that the poll was more a short-term reaction and that if the fight was taking place in Brazil, once the fight started, the fans would have gotten behind the man of their own nationality. However, the feeling is also that, unlike if this happened a few months ago, people would not be upset if Sonnen won.
Silva said he didn’t want to tell people how to react, but wanted to say the portrayal was unfair.
“If you learned about all he has said and done, and you still cheer for him, you’ll have my respect. I will just tell you not to lose your money because I will win this fight.”
UFC’s long-awaited debut in Mexico will be UFC 180 in Mexico City at Arena Ciudad. It will be headlined by Cain Velasquez defending his heavyweight championship against Fabricio Werdum on Nov. 15.
The UFC held a press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday, with Velaquez, Werdum, UFC President Dana White, Jose Baston of Televisa and local promoter Miguel Angel Fox Muller, announcing both the title fight and the first season of Ultimate Fighter Latin America, with Velasquez and Werdum as coaches. The season, which will start filming on May 12 in Las Vegas, for six weeks. It debuts on television the week of Aug. 18 on Televisa, Mexico’s dominant television network. It is expected to also air in several other Latin American countries.
“It’s a great day for me and the UFC,” said White. “Anyone who haws followed this company and this sport knows I’ve been talking abut Mexico for a very long time. I thought Mexico worked very well with this demographic and this sport. And I always knew it would be big here if we had a chance to come here.”
White promised a major show, headlined by Velasquez (13-1). White had delayed the first show in Mexico to when Velasquez would be ready. Velasquez is currently recovering from surgery after suffering a torn labrum in his Oct. 19 win over Junior Dos Santos in Houston, a fight that aired live on Televisa.
Werdum (18-5-1) earned his title shot with his April 19 win over Travis Browne in Orlando, Fla. While Werdum conceded that the live audience would be largely behind his opponent, he is well known in Mexico as the Spanish language announcer on UFC broadcasts. He would also be looking to be the first, and only fighter to perform a clean sweep, with wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Velasquez, who are generally considered the three greatest heavyweight fighters in the sport’s history.
White also said the show would include the finals of TUF Latin America, which will consist of fighters in the 135 and 145 pound weight classes.
Baston talked about bringing new content aimed at a younger audience, an extension of the UFC/Televisa relationship that includes a Pay TV channel that airs throughout Mexico and Latin America that the groups are partners in.
“I want people to see this is a serious sport,” said Werdum. “I don’t have to say bad things about Cain. He’s a good person. I’ve had the opportunity to interview him and we’ve always had a cordial relationship. What we can promise is the fight is going to be a great fight.
“I’m going to do whatever I can do fight here in Mexico,” said Velasquez. “I’m going to be ready to do whatever it takes to give you a great fight. I’ve had an injury and I know what I have to do to be ready.”
“I don’t know the rest of the card,” said White. “I want to come to Mexico with a bang so we’re going to bring some great fights to you.”
UFC’s long-awaited debut in Mexico will be UFC 180 in Mexico City at Arena Ciudad. It will be headlined by Cain Velasquez defending his heavyweight championship against Fabricio Werdum on Nov. 15.
The UFC held a press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday, with Velaquez, Werdum, UFC President Dana White, Jose Baston of Televisa and local promoter Miguel Angel Fox Muller, announcing both the title fight and the first season of Ultimate Fighter Latin America, with Velasquez and Werdum as coaches. The season, which will start filming on May 12 in Las Vegas, for six weeks. It debuts on television the week of Aug. 18 on Televisa, Mexico’s dominant television network. It is expected to also air in several other Latin American countries.
“It’s a great day for me and the UFC,” said White. “Anyone who haws followed this company and this sport knows I’ve been talking abut Mexico for a very long time. I thought Mexico worked very well with this demographic and this sport. And I always knew it would be big here if we had a chance to come here.”
White promised a major show, headlined by Velasquez (13-1). White had delayed the first show in Mexico to when Velasquez would be ready. Velasquez is currently recovering from surgery after suffering a torn labrum in his Oct. 19 win over Junior Dos Santos in Houston, a fight that aired live on Televisa.
Werdum (18-5-1) earned his title shot with his April 19 win over Travis Browne in Orlando, Fla. While Werdum conceded that the live audience would be largely behind his opponent, he is well known in Mexico as the Spanish language announcer on UFC broadcasts. He would also be looking to be the first, and only fighter to perform a clean sweep, with wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Velasquez, who are generally considered the three greatest heavyweight fighters in the sport’s history.
White also said the show would include the finals of TUF Latin America, which will consist of fighters in the 135 and 145 pound weight classes.
Baston talked about bringing new content aimed at a younger audience, an extension of the UFC/Televisa relationship that includes a Pay TV channel that airs throughout Mexico and Latin America that the groups are partners in.
“I want people to see this is a serious sport,” said Werdum. “I don’t have to say bad things about Cain. He’s a good person. I’ve had the opportunity to interview him and we’ve always had a cordial relationship. What we can promise is the fight is going to be a great fight.
“I’m going to do whatever I can do fight here in Mexico,” said Velasquez. “I’m going to be ready to do whatever it takes to give you a great fight. I’ve had an injury and I know what I have to do to be ready.”
“I don’t know the rest of the card,” said White. “I want to come to Mexico with a bang so we’re going to bring some great fights to you.”
After Jon Jones put the finishing touches on a Rembrandt-like artistic domination of Glover Teixiera on Saturday night, his one-time teammate, Brian Stann, on Fox Sports 1’s post-game show, pushed the idea that Jones was the greatest UFC fighter of all-time.
Generally speaking, arguments about UFC’s all-time greatest have come down to Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, the dominant stars of the modern era. With both out of action due to injuries, it has left the best fighter spotlight open to Jones, Renan Barao, Jose Aldo, Cain Velasquez, Demetrious Johnson and even Ronda Rousey. But Stann’s argument was that Jones, at 26, has already beaten better competition, and beaten them by a far more decisive manner than Silva or St-Pierre.
Jones’ unique physical attributes and skills have had people talking greatness for him since his win over Stephan Bonnar in 2009, less than nine months after his first pro fight. By the time he won the title from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, nobody was arguing his potential to be the biggest star in the company at some point. But being the all-time greatest is something established over time. Without question, Jones has accomplished more at the same age than Silva, who was an 8-1 middleweight at the same stage. St-Pierre was 15-2 before his 27th birthday, and was considered the best in his division as interim champion. But he had not beaten fighters the caliber of those Jones has at this point.
Jones has also reached the top without any career hiccups like Silva had in his pre-UFC days, and St-Pierre had with Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.
Jones has made seven successful light heavyweight title defenses, putting him behind Silva’s ten (2007-2013) and St-Pierre’s nine (2008-2013). But an asterisk should be in place regarding Aldo, who, if you include WEC defenses, which you should given that was the top promotion in the world for the featherweights when he won the title, would have eight, spanning 2009 to the present.
Where Jones stands out is his victims list. Jones has beaten five former UFC champions, Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort, as well as Teixeira, coming off a 20-fight winning streak. While Belfort had been fighting a weight class under, as had another victim, Chael Sonnen, the list is unprecedented. He’s had five finishes in those eight fights (including the title win). In that time period, he’s lost only two or three rounds (one or two to Alexander Gustafsson, one to Machida).
The latest episode features interviews with Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Dan Henderson, and more.
The comments on him from Saturday night was how he fought Teixeira where Teixeira figured to be at his strongest, and almost completely shut him down. That was the same thing people said about St-Pierre at the same stage of his career, when he shut down Hughes at wrestling. St-Pierre often challenged guys where they were best, outwrestling high-level wrestlers like Hughes, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, going to the ground with Matt Serra, and outstriking Nick Diaz.
Jones (20-1) has the edge on St-Pierre (25-2) in that he’s really never lost a fight. The Matt Hamill disqualification loss was a fight he dominated and came from a series of questionable calls. By all rights, Jones should be undefeated. St-Pierre clearly lost, and was finished, twice, and many argue he lost a third time to Johny Hendricks. Some would argue Jones should have lost to Gustafsson, but that was really the only close call in his career.
St-Pierre’s edge is time, as he had two title runs and was really the best in the world at his weight for most of eight-plus years, with a loss that he easily avenged. Jones has just past the three-year mark. St-Pierre beat three UFC champions (Hughes, Serra and Penn) and two Strikeforce champions (Jake Shields and Diaz). He fought all the best, and welterweight was a deep division the entire period he was champion. And he dominated everyone until Hendricks. Between his two title reigns, he finished four of 13 opponents.
Silva (33-6), is best remembered for his 16-fight winning streak in UFC, which included ten title defenses. In championship action, he finished nine of 11 opponents, which would have been ten out of 12 except one missed weight. He also scored three wins one weight above, which neither Jones nor Silva has done. He defeated four former champions, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson (Pride champion), Forrest Griffin (champion a weight class above and Silva moved up to fight him) and Belfort (champion a weight class above but they were the same weight at the time). But Silva had his scare with Sonnen in the first fight, and lost twice at the end of his career to Chris Weidman. He’s also viewed by many as the all-time greatest because of his style points, in the sense his wins were more spectacular than St-Pierre, even though St-Pierre controlled the action more until the Hendricks fight.
Realistically, Jones now belongs in the discussion, with Silva, St-Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko as the greatest this sport has ever seen. And while he’s beaten more top quality opponents over a three-year period than anyone in history, it’s premature at this point to say he’s the all-time greatest. But he clearly belongs in the discussion.
But he’s not alone. Aldo is nipping at his heels more quietly. Barao hasn’t been touched, but hasn’t stood the test of time as champion. Except for one punch, Velasquez has been more dominant than Jones, but injuries cutting back on his number of fights in his prime may hurt his legacy in comparison. And realistically, on the women’s side, it’s a division still in its infancy.
While Jones took most of the headlines by taking apart Teixeira for five straight rounds, UFC 172 was the night with more spectacular finishes than any show in recent memory. It started early, with Chris Beal’s flying knee knockout of Patrick Williams. That could be up for strong consideration for knockout of the year. Danny Castillo followed with as perfect a right hook to the jaw as you could imagine. Later in the show came four straight submissions, by Joseph Benavidez, Max Holloway, Jim Miller and Luke Rockhold.
All were noteworthy.
Benavidez’s “Joa constrictor,” forced foe Timothy Elliott to tap with his legs instead of his arms. Holloway finished Andre Fili with a guillotine, noteworthy since Fili came from Team Alpha Male, a camp known specifically for that move. Miller’s foe, Yancy Medeiros, wouldn’t tap, and was put out cold by his guillotine. And Rockhold used almost a reverse triangle to set Tim Boetsch’s up for a Kimura in the type of submission that looks great in demonstrations but is rare to execute in a fight against high-level competition.
A look at how Fortunes Changed Saturday night for five winners:
Jon Jones – With Jones continuing to master the light heavyweight division, a number of questions come up regarding business and legacy.
Jones has struggled with popularity in recent years for a number of reasons, which led to him being well behind St-Pierre and Silva as a drawing card. He was hugely popular against Teixeira, but some of that may have been brother Arthur was a former star for the Baltimore Ravens. But Silva also had his struggles with popularity and drawing, until eventually winning crowds over in recent years. Most likely, if his title reign has the longevity of a St-Pierre or Silva, his popularity will be back to where it was against Rua, and the drawing power will follow.
His next fight will be with Alexander Gustafsson (16-2). Given the classic these two had the first time, which turned Gustafsson into a major star in losing, the rematch should be the biggest UFC fight on the current horizon. Dana White teased the idea of doing it at a soccer stadium in Sweden, where Gustafsson is something of a national hero.
Anthony Johnson – As the world’s largest welterweight, Johnson (17-4), was never a title contender. As a middleweight, he blew weight badly and was submitted by Vitor Belfort. He was never on anyone’s radar when it came to the title picture.
But after completely dominating No. 4 ranked contender Phil Davis, Johnson, in his first UFC fight back after two years with the World Series of Fighting, Johnson suddenly finds himself in the thick of the light heavyweight division.
The obvious direction would be for Johnson to face the winner of the May 24 fight with Daniel Cormier vs. Dan Henderson. The perfect scenario would be to put that fight on the same card as Jones vs. Gustafsson, setting the stage for the two winners to meet in the following championship match.
Before Saturday, nobody would have given Johnson much of a shot with Cormier, who is favored to beat Henderson. But it was scary the way he completely shut down Phil Davis’ wrestling game enroute to a clear 30-27 win. Johnson looked gigantic at 205. But Davis doesn’t have the stand-up game as the other top light heavies, relying most of his career on takedowns and a ground game. Either Cormier or Henderson will present a very different set of problems.
Luke Rockhold – After quickly dispatching Boetsch, Rockhold (12-2) made it very clear where he wants to go next, challenging Belfort, who knocked him out with a spinning heel kick on May 18, 2013. He also noted at the press conference that he’d like the fight in Las Vegas, with the idea most likely that Belfort would be more heavily drug tested there. But there is no upside for Belfort to take that fight, as in theory, Belfort should be next on the agenda for the Weidman vs. Machida middleweight title fight winner.
So as a secondary choice, he mentioned Michael Bisping. Rockhold was irked that Bisping, in talking about the two training together last year, made a crack that he (Bisping) showed he was the real Strikeforce middleweight champion (the title Rockhold held before coming to UFC). But Bisping is coming off a loss and didn’t look good with Tim Kennedy. Bisping will promote the fight but there are issues with it. Bisping is difficult to finish, but with anything less than a finish, it probably won’t help Rockhold’s ultimate goal of a title fight.
Rockhold has wins in Strikeforce over both Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, but if matched with Souza, the winner of that fight could easily get a title shot. Another option would be the winner of the May 31 fight with Mark Munoz vs. Gegard Mousasi, but like Bisping, that would at best be a more lateral step than a progressive one.
Jim Miller – With his 13th UFC win, Miller is tied with Gleison Tibau, and one behind Bisping, for most wins by a fighter who has never gotten a championship shot. Like with Bisping, it hasn’t been for lack of opportunity, as he lost to Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz in fights that could have garnered him a title shot. And like Bisping, he’s really never gotten that signature win over a top-five fighter.
He wasn’t shy about where he wants his career to go, issuing challenges to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Josh Thomson, Donald Cerrone and TJ Grant. Numagomedov’s name came up again during the press conference, and Miller responded with a big smile on his face saying he’d take that fight against the former world sambo champion who has dominated everyone on the ground. With Grant still out after a concussion, and Nurmagomedov vs. Thomson a fight that would be difficult to put together since the two are training partners, Miller against either Thomson or Nurmagomedov and Cerrone against the other look like viable possibilities. Thomson vs. Cerrone makes all the sense for the July 26 FOX show in San Jose. Cerrone is coming off a big win on FOX, and it’s Thomson’s home city and it being a good style match for that type of show.
Joseph Benavidez – In upping his record to 20-4, Benavidez in many ways finds himself in a similar position to teammate Urijah Faber a weight class up. Both almost always look spectacular, unless a title is on the line. Considered the No. 2 flyweight in the world, Benavidez won a performance of the night bonus on a night when the competition for such bonuses was a stiff as ever. His four losses were two to champion Demetrious Johnson, and two to Dominick Cruz, the longtime bantamweight champion.
He’s now in that position where he’s difficult to book. He was knocked out in the first round by Johnson in his prior fight, making a rematch difficult to put together. But if he’s put against a top contender, he’d be favored against all of them. In a division without a lot of viable challengers, the worse thing to have is a spoiler of that degree. So while the obvious matchup with former Bellator bantamweight champion Zack Makovsky (18-4) makes sense, UFC risks a potential challenger for Johnson when nobody else is ready.
But there’s nobody else available. Jussier Formiga da Silva (16-3), looked strong in his win over Scott Jorgensen on March 23, but Benavidez just finished Formiga in the first round on Sept. 4. Another potential opponent, Josh Sampo (11-3), just lost to Makovsky. The next person down the line, John Lineker (23-7), is coming off a loss to Bagautinov.
After Jon Jones put the finishing touches on a Rembrandt-like artistic domination of Glover Teixiera on Saturday night, his one-time teammate, Brian Stann, on Fox Sports 1’s post-game show, pushed the idea that Jones was the greatest UFC fighter of all-time.
Generally speaking, arguments about UFC’s all-time greatest have come down to Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre, the dominant stars of the modern era. With both out of action due to injuries, it has left the best fighter spotlight open to Jones, Renan Barao, Jose Aldo, Cain Velasquez, Demetrious Johnson and even Ronda Rousey. But Stann’s argument was that Jones, at 26, has already beaten better competition, and beaten them by a far more decisive manner than Silva or St-Pierre.
Jones’ unique physical attributes and skills have had people talking greatness for him since his win over Stephan Bonnar in 2009, less than nine months after his first pro fight. By the time he won the title from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, nobody was arguing his potential to be the biggest star in the company at some point. But being the all-time greatest is something established over time. Without question, Jones has accomplished more at the same age than Silva, who was an 8-1 middleweight at the same stage. St-Pierre was 15-2 before his 27th birthday, and was considered the best in his division as interim champion. But he had not beaten fighters the caliber of those Jones has at this point.
Jones has also reached the top without any career hiccups like Silva had in his pre-UFC days, and St-Pierre had with Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.
Jones has made seven successful light heavyweight title defenses, putting him behind Silva’s ten (2007-2013) and St-Pierre’s nine (2008-2013). But an asterisk should be in place regarding Aldo, who, if you include WEC defenses, which you should given that was the top promotion in the world for the featherweights when he won the title, would have eight, spanning 2009 to the present.
Where Jones stands out is his victims list. Jones has beaten five former UFC champions, Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Vitor Belfort, as well as Teixeira, coming off a 20-fight winning streak. While Belfort had been fighting a weight class under, as had another victim, Chael Sonnen, the list is unprecedented. He’s had five finishes in those eight fights (including the title win). In that time period, he’s lost only two or three rounds (one or two to Alexander Gustafsson, one to Machida).
The latest episode features interviews with Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Dan Henderson, and more.
The comments on him from Saturday night was how he fought Teixeira where Teixeira figured to be at his strongest, and almost completely shut him down. That was the same thing people said about St-Pierre at the same stage of his career, when he shut down Hughes at wrestling. St-Pierre often challenged guys where they were best, outwrestling high-level wrestlers like Hughes, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, going to the ground with Matt Serra, and outstriking Nick Diaz.
Jones (20-1) has the edge on St-Pierre (25-2) in that he’s really never lost a fight. The Matt Hamill disqualification loss was a fight he dominated and came from a series of questionable calls. By all rights, Jones should be undefeated. St-Pierre clearly lost, and was finished, twice, and many argue he lost a third time to Johny Hendricks. Some would argue Jones should have lost to Gustafsson, but that was really the only close call in his career.
St-Pierre’s edge is time, as he had two title runs and was really the best in the world at his weight for most of eight-plus years, with a loss that he easily avenged. Jones has just past the three-year mark. St-Pierre beat three UFC champions (Hughes, Serra and Penn) and two Strikeforce champions (Jake Shields and Diaz). He fought all the best, and welterweight was a deep division the entire period he was champion. And he dominated everyone until Hendricks. Between his two title reigns, he finished four of 13 opponents.
Silva (33-6), is best remembered for his 16-fight winning streak in UFC, which included ten title defenses. In championship action, he finished nine of 11 opponents, which would have been ten out of 12 except one missed weight. He also scored three wins one weight above, which neither Jones nor Silva has done. He defeated four former champions, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson (Pride champion), Forrest Griffin (champion a weight class above and Silva moved up to fight him) and Belfort (champion a weight class above but they were the same weight at the time). But Silva had his scare with Sonnen in the first fight, and lost twice at the end of his career to Chris Weidman. He’s also viewed by many as the all-time greatest because of his style points, in the sense his wins were more spectacular than St-Pierre, even though St-Pierre controlled the action more until the Hendricks fight.
Realistically, Jones now belongs in the discussion, with Silva, St-Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko as the greatest this sport has ever seen. And while he’s beaten more top quality opponents over a three-year period than anyone in history, it’s premature at this point to say he’s the all-time greatest. But he clearly belongs in the discussion.
But he’s not alone. Aldo is nipping at his heels more quietly. Barao hasn’t been touched, but hasn’t stood the test of time as champion. Except for one punch, Velasquez has been more dominant than Jones, but injuries cutting back on his number of fights in his prime may hurt his legacy in comparison. And realistically, on the women’s side, it’s a division still in its infancy.
While Jones took most of the headlines by taking apart Teixeira for five straight rounds, UFC 172 was the night with more spectacular finishes than any show in recent memory. It started early, with Chris Beal’s flying knee knockout of Patrick Williams. That could be up for strong consideration for knockout of the year. Danny Castillo followed with as perfect a right hook to the jaw as you could imagine. Later in the show came four straight submissions, by Joseph Benavidez, Max Holloway, Jim Miller and Luke Rockhold.
All were noteworthy.
Benavidez’s “Joa constrictor,” forced foe Timothy Elliott to tap with his legs instead of his arms. Holloway finished Andre Fili with a guillotine, noteworthy since Fili came from Team Alpha Male, a camp known specifically for that move. Miller’s foe, Yancy Medeiros, wouldn’t tap, and was put out cold by his guillotine. And Rockhold used almost a reverse triangle to set Tim Boetsch’s up for a Kimura in the type of submission that looks great in demonstrations but is rare to execute in a fight against high-level competition.
A look at how Fortunes Changed Saturday night for five winners:
Jon Jones – With Jones continuing to master the light heavyweight division, a number of questions come up regarding business and legacy.
Jones has struggled with popularity in recent years for a number of reasons, which led to him being well behind St-Pierre and Silva as a drawing card. He was hugely popular against Teixeira, but some of that may have been brother Arthur was a former star for the Baltimore Ravens. But Silva also had his struggles with popularity and drawing, until eventually winning crowds over in recent years. Most likely, if his title reign has the longevity of a St-Pierre or Silva, his popularity will be back to where it was against Rua, and the drawing power will follow.
His next fight will be with Alexander Gustafsson (16-2). Given the classic these two had the first time, which turned Gustafsson into a major star in losing, the rematch should be the biggest UFC fight on the current horizon. Dana White teased the idea of doing it at a soccer stadium in Sweden, where Gustafsson is something of a national hero.
Anthony Johnson – As the world’s largest welterweight, Johnson (17-4), was never a title contender. As a middleweight, he blew weight badly and was submitted by Vitor Belfort. He was never on anyone’s radar when it came to the title picture.
But after completely dominating No. 4 ranked contender Phil Davis, Johnson, in his first UFC fight back after two years with the World Series of Fighting, Johnson suddenly finds himself in the thick of the light heavyweight division.
The obvious direction would be for Johnson to face the winner of the May 24 fight with Daniel Cormier vs. Dan Henderson. The perfect scenario would be to put that fight on the same card as Jones vs. Gustafsson, setting the stage for the two winners to meet in the following championship match.
Before Saturday, nobody would have given Johnson much of a shot with Cormier, who is favored to beat Henderson. But it was scary the way he completely shut down Phil Davis’ wrestling game enroute to a clear 30-27 win. Johnson looked gigantic at 205. But Davis doesn’t have the stand-up game as the other top light heavies, relying most of his career on takedowns and a ground game. Either Cormier or Henderson will present a very different set of problems.
Luke Rockhold – After quickly dispatching Boetsch, Rockhold (12-2) made it very clear where he wants to go next, challenging Belfort, who knocked him out with a spinning heel kick on May 18, 2013. He also noted at the press conference that he’d like the fight in Las Vegas, with the idea most likely that Belfort would be more heavily drug tested there. But there is no upside for Belfort to take that fight, as in theory, Belfort should be next on the agenda for the Weidman vs. Machida middleweight title fight winner.
So as a secondary choice, he mentioned Michael Bisping. Rockhold was irked that Bisping, in talking about the two training together last year, made a crack that he (Bisping) showed he was the real Strikeforce middleweight champion (the title Rockhold held before coming to UFC). But Bisping is coming off a loss and didn’t look good with Tim Kennedy. Bisping will promote the fight but there are issues with it. Bisping is difficult to finish, but with anything less than a finish, it probably won’t help Rockhold’s ultimate goal of a title fight.
Rockhold has wins in Strikeforce over both Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, but if matched with Souza, the winner of that fight could easily get a title shot. Another option would be the winner of the May 31 fight with Mark Munoz vs. Gegard Mousasi, but like Bisping, that would at best be a more lateral step than a progressive one.
Jim Miller – With his 13th UFC win, Miller is tied with Gleison Tibau, and one behind Bisping, for most wins by a fighter who has never gotten a championship shot. Like with Bisping, it hasn’t been for lack of opportunity, as he lost to Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz in fights that could have garnered him a title shot. And like Bisping, he’s really never gotten that signature win over a top-five fighter.
He wasn’t shy about where he wants his career to go, issuing challenges to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Josh Thomson, Donald Cerrone and TJ Grant. Numagomedov’s name came up again during the press conference, and Miller responded with a big smile on his face saying he’d take that fight against the former world sambo champion who has dominated everyone on the ground. With Grant still out after a concussion, and Nurmagomedov vs. Thomson a fight that would be difficult to put together since the two are training partners, Miller against either Thomson or Nurmagomedov and Cerrone against the other look like viable possibilities. Thomson vs. Cerrone makes all the sense for the July 26 FOX show in San Jose. Cerrone is coming off a big win on FOX, and it’s Thomson’s home city and it being a good style match for that type of show.
Joseph Benavidez – In upping his record to 20-4, Benavidez in many ways finds himself in a similar position to teammate Urijah Faber a weight class up. Both almost always look spectacular, unless a title is on the line. Considered the No. 2 flyweight in the world, Benavidez won a performance of the night bonus on a night when the competition for such bonuses was a stiff as ever. His four losses were two to champion Demetrious Johnson, and two to Dominick Cruz, the longtime bantamweight champion.
He’s now in that position where he’s difficult to book. He was knocked out in the first round by Johnson in his prior fight, making a rematch difficult to put together. But if he’s put against a top contender, he’d be favored against all of them. In a division without a lot of viable challengers, the worse thing to have is a spoiler of that degree. So while the obvious matchup with former Bellator bantamweight champion Zack Makovsky (18-4) makes sense, UFC risks a potential challenger for Johnson when nobody else is ready.
But there’s nobody else available. Jussier Formiga da Silva (16-3), looked strong in his win over Scott Jorgensen on March 23, but Benavidez just finished Formiga in the first round on Sept. 4. Another potential opponent, Josh Sampo (11-3), just lost to Makovsky. The next person down the line, John Lineker (23-7), is coming off a loss to Bagautinov.
