Author: Jessica Isner

UFC 149 Prelims: How to Catch Saturday’s Action on Facebook and TV

You don’t have to miss all of UFC 149 just because you can’t watch on pay-per-view. You might miss the more exciting bouts, but you have to take what you can get. Saturday’s UFC showdown, which will be held for the first time in Canada at the Scotiaban…

You don’t have to miss all of UFC 149 just because you can’t watch on pay-per-view.

You might miss the more exciting bouts, but you have to take what you can get.

Saturday’s UFC showdown, which will be held for the first time in Canada at the Scotiabank Saddledome, will stream two preliminary cards on Facebook while four more will be aired on FX.

The four main cards—including the much-anticipated bout between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao—will air on PPV.

The event is still worth watching, even despite the rampant injuries that have afflicted UFC’s top draws over the last couple of months. It’s especially worth watching now that all you have to do is click a “Like” button Facebook in order to get full access to the prelims.

According to The Orange County Register‘s Carlos Arias, president Dana White is confident in Saturday’s main cards, despite all of the shuffling that had to be done due to the injury plague.

In fact, he believes that the fact that UFC 149 is still happening is a testament to the fighters, who haven’t shied away from taking on tougher opponents as some of their options have fallen by the wayside. White told Arias:

“That’s another testament to the guys who fight in this sport. If this was a boxing card, this card would have been postponed. It would have been gone. We built another card and not just us putting the fights together but the fighters stepping up and taking these big fights.”

Even when an abundance of the biggest names are injured, UFC can still give the fans a product they’re excited to see. Here’s where and when you can watch this Saturday’s prelims.

Note: If you’re planning on watching on Facebook here, just remember that you have to “Like” the page first.

Preliminaries to be Aired on Facebook (7 p.m. ET)
via UFC.com

Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda

Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen

Preliminaries to be Aired on FX (8 p.m. ET)
via UFC.com

Court McGee vs. Nick Ring

Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera

Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh

Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon 

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UFC 148: How Anderson Silva Can Successfully Defend His Title in Rematch

The last time Anderson Silva had to defend his middleweight championship against Chael Sonnen, he did so with success—but when the two face each other again on Saturday at UFC 148, it won’t exactly be as simple as doing more of the same. Silva ob…

The last time Anderson Silva had to defend his middleweight championship against Chael Sonnen, he did so with success—but when the two face each other again on Saturday at UFC 148, it won’t exactly be as simple as doing more of the same.

Silva obviously still has to find a way to win, but he’s going to have to do it without losing his mind in the process.

The anticipation leading up to this rematch has been building for years, and it’s led to a personal, bitter feud between these two fighters, both of whom have enormous amounts of pride at stake. It’s clear that at this point, the title isn’t the only thing on the line here.

Silva knows he can beat Sonnen, but simply knowing that isn’t all it’s going to take to win on Saturday. He, rather than Sonnen, is the one with all of the pressure building on his shoulders. He’s the one who has to prove he can get the job done again—versus someone he hates more than anyone else in the sport—and he’s going to have to filter out immense expectations to do it.

Though it’s a bit out of character for Silva to betray as much raw emotion and fury as he’s shown leading up to this fight, it’s just an indication of how much this title defense means to him. He not only wants to win, he wants to destroy his opponent. He wants to show the world what happens when you disrespect him.

There are a lot of things Silva hates about Sonnen at present. In particular, Silva is still fuming about remarks Sonnen made about his wife after a post-fight interview at UFC 136 back in October, when Sonnen said (via ESPN), “You tell Anderson Silva I’m coming over and I’m kicking down his back door and patting his little lady on the [butt], and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare, just how I like it.”

Silva is also fuming about Sonnen’s possible PED abuse: In 2010, following his first fight with Silva, Sonnen was suspended for one year for elevated testosterone levels.

Silva’s anger was evident during Tuesday’s media event in Las Vegas, when he had to be restrained from hitting his opponent as the two posed for photos. It’s also obvious that he doesn’t respect his opponent, nor does he want to fight him. He told ESPN.com’s Franklin McNeil this week:

The comments he made about my wife, the comments he made about my country were very disrespectful, not only to me but also to the country and also the UFC. We’re very elite top athletes and we shouldn’t be talking like that about each other. Chael tested positive for steroids, he offended a nation, he’s been charged with a crime. How can you take anything this guy says for real? This guy is ridiculous.

But what Silva has to avoid, at all costs, is letting Sonnen believe he’s won before the fight has even started. He cannot give Sonnen a mental edge; he cannot let Sonnen believe that he’s gotten inside Silva’s head. And the more Silva talks, the more it seems like Sonnen has succeeded. 

When emotions are running this high, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture—but that, for Silva, cannot happen.

For Silva, winning this fight is going to come down to channeling his emotion into productivity. It’s going to be about using that aggression to fuel his performance instead of letting it interfere with what could be the most critical 25 minutes of his career.

There’s nothing wrong with a little fury-fueled adrenaline, as long as Silva knows how to handle it. Saturday is his chance to prove he can. 

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UFC 148 Predictions: Emotions Will Get in Anderson Silva’s Way vs. Chael Sonnen

Even UFC president Dana White was shocked when he heard the things Anderson Silva was saying about his UFC 148 opponent Chael Sonnen during a conference call this week. “I didn’t see it coming,” White told USA Today’s John Morgan. “I’d be lying if I sa…

Even UFC president Dana White was shocked when he heard the things Anderson Silva was saying about his UFC 148 opponent Chael Sonnen during a conference call this week.

“I didn’t see it coming,” White told USA Today‘s John Morgan. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dancing in my office a little when he was talking on the conference call, but I didn’t see that one coming.”

Silva is usually not one to talk trash. He’s usually one to get his work done in the cage, as evidenced by his 14-0 UFC record. That’s why his outburst regarding Sonnen was so unexpected and so delightful to someone like White, who needs all the help he can get as he promotes this matchup.

Silva’s outburst was likely the result of one of two scenarios: He knows he has to pull his weight when it comes to promotion because he usually leaves the mouthing off to his opponent, or he was so genuinely bothered by Sonnen—who has insulted Silva, his wife and his country in the past—that he finally lost his cool.

During this week’s media conference call in anticipation for Saturday’s fight, Silva told reporters (via The MMA Blog’s Dave Coulson):

He doesn’t deserve to be inside the octagon, and when the time comes, I’m gonna break his face and break every one of his teeth in his mouth. … Right now, play time is over. I’m gonna beat Chael like he’s never been beaten before. I’m going to beat him maybe the way his parents should have beaten him to teach him some manners. This joke is over. …  He’s never gonna want to fight again after I’m done with him.

Now, you understand White’s shock.

But the problem is this: Silva is quite obviously overcome with fury, and his words aren’t going to faze Sonnen in the least. Sonnen is used to the trash talk and the overt aggression that accompanies the world of UFC, and fighting words from his fiercest rival are expected, if not welcomed.

The only thing that can defeat Sonnen is whatever happens in the ring on Saturday, and judging by what happened the last time these two faced each other—when Sonnen seemed to have victory in his grasp before falling apart in the final round—either fighter is capable of winning.

Sonnen, however, might have the emotional edge. He might be the one who is capable of maintaining his cool throughout the match rather than giving it everything he has early on. He might be the one who can hold himself together instead of falling apart into a hysterical mess.

It all depends on how serious Silva is about his anger. If he was putting on a little show for the reporters—and for Sonnen—on the conference call, maybe there’s nothing to worry about.

But if he truly is so uncharacteristically furious that the things he said were genuine, and if he lets that anger get the best of him, Sonnen could be in better shape than he thought on Saturday.

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