Author: Jesse Reed

Weidman vs. Silva: Return to Octagon Would Be the Spider’s Greatest Feat

Anderson Silva is arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history, but after the broken leg heard ’round the world ended his fight with Chris Weidman at UFC 168, his greatest career achievement hasn’t yet been written. 
A return to the Octagon would …

Anderson Silva is arguably the greatest fighter in UFC history, but after the broken leg heard ’round the world ended his fight with Chris Weidman at UFC 168, his greatest career achievement hasn’t yet been written. 

A return to the Octagon would be the cherry on top. 

Anyone who saw Silva’s leg snap like a brittle old pretzel on the knee of Weidman will tell you it looked like a career-ending injury.  

After the fight, UFC president Dana White was unable to speculate about Silva’s future. 

“He could come back, obviously, or it could be the end,” White said, via Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “We’ll have to see. He’s going into surgery right this second.”

The surgery White spoke of isn’t one Silva will recover from quickly, as detailed by UFC.com:

Following Saturday evening’s UFC 168 main event, former champion Anderson Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital where he underwent surgery to repair a broken left leg. The successful surgery, performed by Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC’s orthopedic surgeon, inserted an intramedullary rod into Anderson’s left tibia. The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery. Anderson will remain in the hospital for a short while, but no additional surgery is scheduled at this time. Recovery time for such injuries may vary between three and six months.

Professional athletes recover from gruesome injuries on a regular basis, but there’s no guarantee Silva will ever get back to the same kind of form he’s known for. 

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz doesn’t think The Spider will ever be the same, and it’s hard to argue with his assessment:

At his best, Silva was unbeatable in the UFC. He earned the Middleweight title back in Oct. of 2006 and held onto it for the better part of seven years, successfully defending it a record 10 times.

Athletes who compete at such a high level aren’t usually inclined to continue competing if they can’t live up to their own standards, and it’s hard to imagine Silva would return to the Octagon unless he was fully confident in his ability to do so. 

Even before his injury, Silva appeared to be slipping a bit, as clearly illustrated by his first loss to Weidman. Furthermore, Bleacher Report’s Lead MMA Writer Chad Dundas believes the second fight was Weidman‘s before the shocking injury:

Through the first six minutes, the second fight had been all Weidman. The new champion hurt Silva with a short right hand from the clinch early in the first round. He came close to finishing the bout with a series of strikes on the ground before grinding out the rest of the stanza from inside Silva’s guard.

Age is likely a huge factor in Silva’s recent fall from the UFC mountaintop. No doubt, Silva is still capable of getting into phenomenal shape. However, at the age of 38, his body isn’t capable of recovering as quickly as it once did from punishment, nor is it as quick to respond to his mind. 

Not only does the former champ need to overcome a devastating injury to make it back, but he must overcome his waning physical attributes. 

By the time Silva’s leg has healed enough for him to begin training, he’ll be 39 years old. This is hardly the time of life most fighters have in mind for a comeback—especially champions who have already achieved everything possible, like Silva has. 

If he does manage to overcome the injury and make it back into the Octagon, then his achievement should be counted as his greatest to date. 

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva Releases 1st Statement Since Broken Leg Injury at UFC 168

Less than 24 hours after suffering one of the most gruesome injuries fans will ever see at UFC 168, legendary fighter Anderson Silva released his first statement regarding the incident.   
He took to Twitter to do so:

Martin Domin of th…

Less than 24 hours after suffering one of the most gruesome injuries fans will ever see at UFC 168, legendary fighter Anderson Silva released his first statement regarding the incident.   

He took to Twitter to do so:

Martin Domin of the Daily Mail provided the English translation: “Brazil I’m sorry, I didn’t want to disappoint you! I gave my best I swear.”   

For those who may have missed it, Silva suffered a freak broken leg in the second round of his fight against Chris Weidman. He attempted a simple low kick to weaken Weidman’s legs, but his left leg simply snapped when it struck Weidman’s knee.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael compared the injury to one NFL fans will remember, while Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani described Silva’s agonizing pain:

It’s remarkable that Silva’s first statement after suffering the injury is aimed at his fans instead of his own plight. He showed true class, apologizing for his failure, even though he had no control over what happened. 

After breaking his leg, Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital for treatment, as detailed by UFC.com:

Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, released the following statement regarding Anderson Silva’s injury.

“Following Saturday evening’s UFC 168 main event, former champion Anderson Silva was taken to a local Las Vegas hospital where he underwent surgery to repair a broken left leg. The successful surgery, performed by Dr. Steven Sanders, the UFC’s orthopedic surgeon, inserted anintramedullary rod into Anderson’s left tibia. The broken fibula was stabilized and does not require a separate surgery. Anderson will remain in the hospital for a short while, but no additional surgery is scheduled at this time. Recovery time for such injuries may vary between three and six months.

“Anderson is deeply touched by the outpouring of support from his fans and the entire MMA community. There has been no immediate decision about his future, and he would kindly ask for privacy at this time as he deals with his injury and prepares to return home to recover.” 

Not surprisingly, Weidman took to Twitter to wish his fallen opponent well after the fight:

Unfortunately, the future is in question for the former champ. 

“He could come back, obviously, or it could be the end,” UFC president Dana White said, via Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “We’ll have to see. He’s going into surgery right this second.”

Tito Ortiz is one who doesn’t see Silva coming back from the brutal injury:

Silva won’t likely want to go out as a two-time loser after putting together such a stellar career. That said, if he never steps into the Octagon again, he’ll still go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. He defended the UFC Middleweight title 10 times before finally losing it to Weidman.

Still, going out on top is every fighter’s dream, and nobody wants to finish with a whimper. It will be fascinating to see how Silva responds to this latest challenge.   

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chael Sonnen’s Impressive Win Over Shogun Rua Shows He’s Far From Finished

Heading into his fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Chael Sonnen had lost two fights in a row and was in danger of becoming irrelevant in the UFC. Many wondered if Sonnen’s career was coming to an end. 
After The American Gangster owned Shogun o…

Heading into his fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Chael Sonnen had lost two fights in a row and was in danger of becoming irrelevant in the UFC. Many wondered if Sonnen‘s career was coming to an end. 

After The American Gangster owned Shogun on Saturday night, however, it’s clear the feisty trash-talker still has the bite to back up his bark. 

Sonnen was the aggressor early, taking Rua to the mat in the fight’s early moments.

Proving he wasn’t afraid of the black-belt jiu-jitsu star, he forced the action on the ground, concluding with a gorgeous guillotine choke that forced Rua to tap out, as noted by the UFC:

At the conclusion of the fight, he then wasted no time riling up his fans and detractors alike with a post-match speech right out of the WWE playbook, as shown by UFCONFOX:

While Rua isn’t as potent a fighter as he once was, Sonnen‘s dominant victory clearly illustrated his exceptional ground game, as well as his fierce desire to remain as one of UFC’s most bankable stars. 

By no means would a loss have dictated a course of action that would have removed Sonnen from the UFC, but it would have inevitably led to a discussion about his worth as a headliner. 

None of that makes any difference now, however. 

Displaying a flair for the dramatic, his first-round submission reminded us of what kind of sensational fighter he is.

Sonnen will undoubtedly get another shot at a big fight sometime in the near future, and if he can produce an effort to match Saturday night’s, he’ll likely get another shot at a title fight, given his star power.

Love him or hate him, Sonnen isn’t going anywhere. 

He’ll be a fixture on the UFC’s fight schedule until he’s no longer capable of backing up his bravado with show-stopping performances like the one we saw on Saturday night. 

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

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UFC 163: Predicting Winners For Event’s Biggest Fights

The Octagon returns to Brazil in UFC 163, and the featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung will cap off what is sure to be an explosive night of action. 
Veteran Lyoto Machida and up-and-comer Phil Davis will whet fans’ appet…

The Octagon returns to Brazil in UFC 163, and the featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung will cap off what is sure to be an explosive night of action. 

Veteran Lyoto Machida and up-and-comer Phil Davis will whet fans’ appetites before the title bout in a co-main event.

Before they mix it up, Brazilians Thiago Santos and Cezar Ferreira will compete against one another to the delight of the home crowd. 

In total, there are 12 fights scheduled to go down on Saturday night, Aug. 3 at the HSBC Arena. While it may not feature the star power of past UFC events, fans of mixed martial arts won’t be disappointed at the end of the night. 

Here’s a closer look at the biggest fights of the night, along with my personal predictions.

 

Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung

You have to go all the way back to 2005 to find the last time Aldo lost a professional fight. He won the UFC featherweight title in 2009 and has successfully defended his title six times since then. 

He’ll be defending his title once more against the man known as “The Korean Zombie,” and there’s reason to believe this fight could end his long winning streak. 

Jung is an experienced fighter who is somewhat of a legend when it comes to submission victories. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info on ESPN.com, he’s won eight fights by way of submission—including five by choke. 

But the same article also notes that Aldo has never been submitted in his career in the UFC and WEC. He’ll look to keep the action off the mat and will attempt to defeat Jung with his superb striking.

Prediction: Jung will get Aldo to the mat and choke him out to claim the featherweight title. 

 

Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida

Though not a fighter many casual fans are familiar with, Davis will challenge the veteran Machida from the outset. 

With a 7-1 record in the UFC, Davis has been working his way up the ranks in the light heavyweight division. He lost to Rashad Evans in January of 2012, however, in his only fight against a bankable star of the Octagon. 

Fighting Machida gives Davis a second opportunity to prove he’s capable of defeating a top fighter. A former champion, Machida is coming off of his second straight victory and looks to be in the title hunt once again. 

The two fighters feature contrasting styles, as Davis is a phenomenal wrestler while Machida is known for his striking.

Prediction: Davis will look to avoid Machida‘s striking by taking him to the mat early, and he’ll win by way of a unanimous decision. 

 

Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos

Just as we see in the Davis vs. Machida fight, this is a classic case of an up-and-coming fighter being paired with a wily veteran. 

Santos—not to be confused with Big Monster—is a newbie to the UFC who has an 8-1 career record. Though he possesses some power and knows what he’s doing on the ground, he will need to be perfect on Saturday night to defeat Ferreira.

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil winner, Ferreira, has laid low for the past year, but as we saw from his performances during that show, he’s a formidable opponent. 

Prediction: Ferreira will dictate the action, get Santos on the ground and methodically work him into a submission by the middle of the third round. 

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Fox 8: Highlighting Biggest Statements Made on Saturday Night

Demetrious Johnson made a huge statement with his fifth-round submission victory over John Moraga at UFC on Fox 8.
Johnson wasn’t the only fighter who opened up some eyes on Saturday night, either. 
Though the big event in Seattle was marred by pr…

Demetrious Johnson made a huge statement with his fifth-round submission victory over John Moraga at UFC on Fox 8.

Johnson wasn’t the only fighter who opened up some eyes on Saturday night, either. 

Though the big event in Seattle was marred by production errors (flyewight division, really?) and a handful of dull fights, there were a few fighters who made the most of their opportunities. 

Here is a closer look at the fighters who made the most noise at UFC on Fox 8. 

 

Mighty Mouse Makes Moraga Eat His Words

Moraga made headlines leading up to his fight against Johnson when he called Mighty Mouse “boring,” as noted by Travis McPherson of MMAWeekly.com:

With the fight well in hand, Johnson didn‘t need to press the issue late, but he was in no mood to let the fight go to the cards.

After his impressive win, he spoke about his decision to press the issue, as noted by A.J. Perez of Fox Sports:

“It didn’t bother me at all,” Johnson said of Moraga’s verbal jabs in recent weeks. “My job at the gym is to train to finish. In the fifth round, I knew I was ahead on the scorecards, but I never just relax and try to coast. My job is to finish.”

And finish he did, earning $50,000 extra with the submission of the night on an impressive armbar midway through the fifth and final round. 

Johnson dominated the fight throughout the first four rounds, but his extra effort in the fifth round was a telling statement about what kind of competitor and fighter he is. 

 

Robbie Lawler KOs Bobby Voelker

Lawler was once thought to be the UFC’s next up-and-coming star, but his career never took off like many thought it would. After eight years away from the UFC, however, he has won both of his fights in his return to the Octagon. 

Though it’s worth pointing out that Voelker was a late stand-in for injured fighter Siyar Bahadurzada, Lawler looked like he would have dominated any opponent on Saturday night.

He controlled the action from the start, using Voelker like a punching bag and opening a cut on his nose in the first round.

Then, at the start of the second round, Lawler sent his opponent to the mat for good with an impressive head-kick knockout that stunned Voelker and the crowd.

Here’s a great shot of the action moments after the kick, as shown by Cory Gregory of MusclePharm:

Though Lawler will likely need to put together at least a couple more performances like this one, it’s safe to say he’s on the radar as a welterweight contender in the UFC, as noted by UFC commentator Jon Anik:

 

Melvin Guillard Potentially Saves His Career 

A fighter who has long had the potential to become a UFC star, Guillard fizzled leading up to his fight against Mac Danzig.

He’s lost two fights in a row and four of his last five, and some people thought he was fighting for his career on Saturday night. 

Even if that wasn’t the case, Guillard fought Danzig as if it were his final opportunity.

Utilizing incredibly powerful hammerfists, Guillard pummeled his opponent into submission, winning the fight by way of knockout in the second round.

It was his seventh career knockout and 11th career win, which are landmark numbers in the lightweight division, as noted by the UFC:

Not only did Guillard potentially save his career, but with a couple more performances like that, he’ll be right there in the thick of things for a shot at the title. 

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva Would Be Smart to Accept Rematch with Chris Weidman

After an embarrassing loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162, Anderson Silva has a big choice to make. He can either refuse a rematch or accept it.Even before the fight, Dana White said a rematch would be a “no brainer” if Weidman won, according to MMAW…

After an embarrassing loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 162, Anderson Silva has a big choice to make. 

He can either refuse a rematch or accept it.

Even before the fight, Dana White said a rematch would be a “no brainer” if Weidman won, according to MMAWeekly.com.

After the fight, White was already lobbying for Silva to accept a rematch. “I guarantee you there’s nothing more he wants than that rematch with Chris Weidman,” the UFC president told reporters in the post-fight news conference, according to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. 

However, after losing to Weidman, Silva made it clear in his post-fight interview that he didn’t have any interest in fighting Weidman again. Per MMAWeekly.com: 

Chris is the champion now. I finish my work. I no more fight for the belt. I fight for the belt for a long time. I’m tired…I want to take some time off and maybe three to four months, think about what I want to do. Really, right now, I can’t think about (a rematch).

Should Silva refuse to get back into the Octagon with Weidman, the last thing MMA fans will remember about his career is that his hubris got the best of him. 

As you’re likely aware, Weidman caught Silva with a punishing left hook, knocking him to the mat before he finished him off with a couple of brutal ground strikes. Silva had been taunting Weidman moments before the shocking finish, talking trash with both arms at his side. 

It’s a routine we’ve grown to expect from Silva, who has long believed he was untouchable. It’s also a routine many have grown tired of, and watching Weidman finally shut him up was a satisfying development for those who don’t appreciate such displays.

For a fighter like Silva, who redefined dominance in the UFC with 17 straight victories and 10 straight successful UFC middleweight title defenses, this isn’t the last thing he wants people to remember. 

Nobody wants to go out on the bottom, and Silva has a golden opportunity to change his fortunes with a return to the Octagon.

Silva needs this rematch, and the UFC and its fans are clamoring for it.

White will certainly pursue Silva relentlessly in an effort to convince his star to get back into the Octagon with Weidman. 

Should he accept the rematch, Silva would have a chance to once again prove that he is the best MMA fighter in UFC history. You can be sure he wouldn’t take Weidman lightly a second time, and the rematch would potentially become an instant classic.

 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

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