The month of May has come and gone and with it a pair of UFC events—UFC on FX 8 and UFC 160.The former took place on May 18 in Brazil. It featured a middleweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Strikeforce import, as well as former champion, Luke …
The month of May has come and gone and with it a pair of UFC events—UFC on FX 8 and UFC 160.
The former took place on May 18 in Brazil. It featured a middleweight bout between VitorBelfort and Strikeforce import, as well as former champion, Luke Rockhold. The latter, a pay-per-view event, was headlined by a heavyweight rematch between champion Cain Velasquez and top contender Antonio Silva.
But May featured much more than a pair of main events, and we have the top statistics to prove it.
Check out where the month of May stands in comparison to the first four months of 2013 in the UFC, what six-year-old record was broken at UFC 160 and other key stats from the past 30 days.
The UFC isn’t scared to cut fighters anymore. Not sure they ever really were, but at this moment in time, it doesn’t take much for one to receive his or her walking papers. Earn a few losses and/or fail a few drug tests, and a fighter always gets sent …
The UFC isn’t scared to cut fighters anymore. Not sure they ever really were, but at this moment in time, it doesn’t take much for one to receive his or her walking papers. Earn a few losses and/or fail a few drug tests, and a fighter always gets sent packing.
Well, almost always.
In the case of Thiago Silva, it’s apparently going to take a little more. And that last straw could come this weekend at UFC on FUEL TV 10 against Rafael Cavalcante.
In his past four contests, Silva is winless, though that’s not to say he didn’t originally post wins during the stretch. He did. Twice, in fact. Both victories, however, were overturned due to failed drug tests, placing the Brazilian at an unfortunate 0-2 with two no contests between 2010 and 2012. The losses came against Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson.
Fortunately for Silva, he is a strong talent with exceptional power. He also has a propensity for a brawl. It’s a weakness we saw cost him a win against LyotoMachida at UFC 94. Sometimes it turns into a strength, especially in fights against guys like Keith Jardine. Either way, he’s valuable to the UFC, as their decision to keep him around attests.
Also, his performances in the pair of overturned wins more than proved his ability to top mid-tier fighters in Brandon Vera and StanislavNedkov, though both are on the lower end of that category.
That’s the defense of Silva, the reasoning behind the UFC keeping him around. Would a loss to Cavalcante this weekend send him out of the UFC? Would a third failed drug test?
First of all, I’m moving forward with the presumption that Silva is not unintelligent, nor careless enough to risk a third failed test in five fights. Throw that scenario out the window because he knows another failed test means the end of his UFC days.
The other scenario is a little more intriguing. Why? Silva falls into a category similar to Dan Hardy, Leonard Garcia, and anyone else the UFC keeps around solely based on the entertainment factor. I’d like to think of him as the light heavyweight version of Mark Hominick, who lost four straight at the end of his career and wasn’t released from the UFC. Instead, he retired.
Meanwhile, Garcia lost five straight fights before being released. Hardy, like Hominick, also lost four-straight fights, though he survived the stretch.
Silva’s in a similar situation. He’s too fun for the UFC to let him go just yet. And fun was the only reason Garcia somehow stuck around as long as he did.
Silva’s also too talented. I’d argue, pound-for-pound, he’s more talented than Hardy and Hominick, and he’s obviously more talented than Garcia. But talent coupled with entertainment is the exact reason the UFC never let Hardy or Hominick go, and it’s the same reason Silva’s too great a commodity to be released.
A loss to Cavalcante on the main card of UFC on FUEL TV 10 would be a crippling blow to Silva, who would be winless in five straight contests. Guys have been cut for far less. Add in the failed tests, and it would seem a miracle the powerful Brazilian is still around.
But as quick as the UFC is to cut fighters nowadays, the company is just as quick to commend those who seem unworthy of commendation. Winning isn’t everything in this sport, and a lengthy skid doesn’t guarantee an eviction.
Hardy, Hominick and Garcia already taught us that.
Brian Bowles is inching closer to the end of the road—the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel of a career which, looking back, never really lived up to expectations. And after UFC 160 last Saturday night, the end of that career can’t be far…
Brian Bowles is inching closer to the end of the road—the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel of a career which, looking back, never really lived up to expectations. And after UFC 160 last Saturday night, the end of that career can’t be far off.
The former WEC Bantamweight Champion may disagree with me. He likely still has a few fights left in him. Maybe he can even keep his career rolling for another few years, but I doubt it.
I also doubt that he will ever battle for contention again. I doubt he ever breaks back into the division’s top 10. I even have my doubts as to whether or not he will ever win another fight in the UFC.
It’s not Bowles‘ fault, at least not entirely. He’s struggled with constant injuries and he isn’t getting any younger.
At 32 years of age, Bowles is well past his prime. We saw that against George Roop, an inconsistent bantamweight with a less-than-flattering 14-9 professional record—he put Bowles away in the second round with a TKO last Saturday.
We saw it against Urijah Faber at UFC 139 back in 2011, when Bowles failed to even reach the midpoint of the fight. And we even saw early glimpses of it in March of 2010 when Bowles lost his WEC title to Dominick Cruz after failing to continue following a hand injury in the early rounds.
Somewhere in between the handful of losses—two of which came against two of the best bantamweights to ever fight—sit a couple of victories. Following the loss to Cruz, Bowles burst onto the UFC scene with back-to-back wins. It seemed the former champion was primed for a return to the elite tier of the division—the tier featuring Cruz, Faber, RenanBarao, and the like.
Unfortunately, injuries and disinterest helped ensure that a return to the top would never happen.
Last weekend’s event marked the first time since November of 2011 that Bowles set foot in the cage.
On an episode of The MMA Hour on MMAFighting.com leading up to UFC 160, Bowles revealed that he broke his hand on three occasions, contracted a staph infection, was diagnosed with a pair of bulging discs and a pair of degenerative discs, and struggled with knee issues. According to that same piece, Bowles also struggled to find a desire to train and compete, stating that “it wasn’t fun to me anymore.”
Given the combination of dispassion for training and proneness to injury, it’s hardly surprising Bowles finds himself in such a predicament.
In 2011, he was undoubtedly a top five bantamweight. Now? He’s out of the top 10 official UFC rankings, barely makes my top 15, and has shown no signs of a potential upswing in the near future.
The Roop fight was a chance for him to rebound back into the top 10, and I thought he would bludgeon his way back up the ranks. After all, he effortlessly put away an overmatched Damacio Page (no longer with the UFC) and earned a decision over TakeyaMizugaki. One of those guys is a decent bantamweight.
After the Roop fight, however, it’s fairly clear that not only is Bowles unable to compete with the division’s elite, the Georgia native is going to struggle against average bantamweights.
Quite the fall for a guy who once wore the 135-pound crown.
Still, it’s hard to say that Bowles never realized his potential in the bantamweight division considering he won a title in the WEC. However, with all the vicious knockouts and slick submissions—only one of his 10 victories came by way of decision—he owns just one quality win, his knockout victory against Miguel Torres back in 2009 to win the WEC bantamweight title.
Since then, he’s 2-3 with all three losses coming by way of stoppage. One of his wins is against a fighter who went 0-for-3 in the UFC, the other against an average bantamweight. He can’t stay healthy, as the aforementioned list attests. He seems to struggle in the search for motivation, and it’s showing in his fight results. If he loses his next fight, he almost certainly will be released. Oh, he’s also 32 years old.
Bowles may disagree, but that sounds like retirement knocking.
The main event of UFC 159 result was clear. UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones easily put away Chael Sonnen in the main event of Saturday’s card in front of the New Jersey crowd, earning a first-round technical knockout. Unlike the la…
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones easily put away ChaelSonnen in the main event of Saturday’s card in front of the New Jersey crowd, earning a first-round technical knockout.
Unlike the last main event, which featured UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson and then-top contender Gilbert Melendez, this one was as clear-cut as they come, thanks to the fact Jones would”t let the fight escape the first.
He earned a late first-round submission, all the while struggling with a disgusting broken toe.
Still, it’s worth looking through FightMetric‘s numbers on the event.
Jones was 20 of 27 for his significant strikes, while Sonnen scored just six of 15. Furthermore, Sonnen landed 38 of 51 strikes, compared to Jones’ 35:43 ratio.
Furthermore, Sonnen had a zero percent success rate in takedowns, completely due to the fact that he attempted none.
Meanwhile, Jones held a takedown ratio of 1:2, earning three of the six takedowns attempted in the fight.
Unforunately, those are the only stats for the main event, considering Jones didn’t give FightMetric much to work with. As the numbers suggest, the end came quickly, sending Jon Jones deep into the pound-for-pound elite.
There are few fighters who can put forth a performance like this one: one which includes a very limited amount of statistics.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to defend his title tonight for a record-tying fifth time when he meets Chael Sonnen in the main event of UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey.The Jones-Sonnen saga began back in August of last year when Sonnen a…
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones looks to defend his title tonight for a record-tying fifth time when he meets ChaelSonnen in the main event of UFC 159 in Newark, New Jersey.
The Jones-Sonnen saga began back in August of last year when Sonnen agreed to step in at UFC 151 for an injured Dan Henderson. But Jones turned down the fight, resulting in the first event cancellation in UFC history.
Following the UFC 151 fallout, Sonnen and Jones were billed as opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 17 and were scheduled to headline tonight’s event. Sonnen has been doing most of the talking leading up to this contest, while Jones appears to be saving his rebuttal for the actual fight.
Join Bleacher Report this evening for a live blog of the five round main event between “Bones” and Sonnen, as well as pre– and post-fight commentary throughout the evening.
UFC light heavyweights Phil Davis and Alexander Gustafsson are not so different. The former debuted with the UFC in February of 2010 with a victory, while the latter debuted four months prior, notching a win of his own. Davis has donned the UFC g…
UFC light heavyweights Phil Davis and Alexander Gustafsson are not so different.
The former debuted with the UFC in February of 2010 with a victory, while the latter debuted four months prior, notching a win of his own. Davis has donned the UFC gloves eight times, as has Gustafsson. And each fighter has lost just once in his career. Just three years ago, both were the clear-cut top prospects at the 205-pound mark, competing neck-and-neck to see who could climb the light heavyweight ranks in less time.
But one thing in particular should have set them apart.
On April 10, 2010, in AbuDhabi, the two prospects came face-to-face in the Octagon to determine who would advance in the light heavyweight division, and who would, at least for that moment, be left behind; the promotion was clearly drawing a line in the sand.
That night, Davis won, submitting Gustafsson in the opening round and gaining a big edge over his fellow prospect.
Just over three years later, however, it seems Gustafsson is the one with the edge.
Gustafsson, currently on a six-fight winning streak, is ranked No. 2 in the UFC official light heavyweight rankings, coming in behind LyotoMachida (No. 1) and Jon Jones (champion).
Davis? He’s barely cracking the top 10, sliding into the No. 8 slot, just ahead of GegardMousasi (No. 9) and Ryan Bader (No. 10).
So what has been the difference? How has Davis gone from submitting Gustafsson in 2010 to falling six spots below him in the current rankings?
More importantly, can he reverse the trend?
At UFC 159 this Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, “Mr. Wonderful” will certainly try, as he meets The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 runner-up Vinny Magalhaes on the evening’s main card.
Magalhaes, who has three UFC fights in his career to Davis’ eight, spent the second half of 2009 to the end of 2011 working his way back to the promotion.
When he did return, he reintroduced himself with a dominant submission win over Igor Pokrajac at UFC 152.
Davis, meanwhile, has been with the UFC since 2010, but has struggled to progress into one of the division’s elite the way Gustafsson has. And it has much to do with his recent outings.
Though he started his UFC career with five consecutive wins, capped off with a dominant victory against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Davis is 1-1 with one no contest in his past three fights, with the loss coming against Rashad Evans, the no contest coming against Wagner Prado and the victory coming against Prado in the rematch.
The no contest certainly could be credited to bad luck, and, to Davis’ credit, he wasted little time erasing that memory with a submission win over Prado at UFC 153. Also, a loss to Evans, at least at the time, was definitely not a bad loss. However, a streak of 1-1 with one no contest between January last year to today will take its toll on Davis’ stock.
Meanwhile, Gustafsson is a perfect 3-0 in his last three fights, defeating Vladimir Matyushenko, Thiago Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Yet even though Gustafsson has been better than Davis recently, are there really five light heavyweights separating the two?
The numbers would suggest no, at least in terms of strength of competition.
Davis’ opponents (excluding Gustafsson) have an overall UFC record of 29-19-1, giving them a combined winning percentage of 59.2 percent. Meanwhile, Gustafsson’s opponents (excluding Davis) have a combined UFC record of 38-25, good for a winning percentage of 60.3 percent.
While Gustafsson’s opposition seems like the more experienced bunch, Davis’ opponents combined have a winning percentage 1.1 points less than the Swedish contenders’.
Factor those numbers in with the win Davis has over Gustafsson and it seems at least moderately remarkable how far ahead “The Mauler” is.
While Davis is fighting for contention, the man he defeated at UFC 112 is knocking on the door for a title shot. To make matters more perplexing, the aforementioned Nogueira, whom Davis dealt a loss to in the first quarter of 2011, is ranked in the fifth spot of the official light heavyweight ratings, meaning Davis holds wins over two individuals placed ahead of him.
But mixed martial arts is a sport focused on the now; fans and analysts, alike, rank based off recent performance. That explains how a win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has Glover Teixeira tucked in the No. 4 spot, an absurdly high mark for a fighter with one (borderline) quality win in the UFC. I won’t say Davis deserves Teixeira’s spot, but I certainly believe the Pennsylvania native would top Rua, thanks to his wrestling, and Nogueira, because he’s done it before.
At UFC 159 this Saturday, Davis has a chance to jump back up the light heavyweight ranks with a win against Magalhaes, a fighter as dangerous as he is underrated, and claim a contender’s spot alongside Gustafsson. In fact, a rematch between the two would be the most sensible matchup for both fighters, based on time frame and rank.
With a loss to Magalhaes…well, at that point I’d stop comparing the two.
Brian