The UFC 162 results are in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and with the event in the books comes another installment of our Key Stats series. Following every event, the numbers are broken down and compared to the key statistics of past fight card…
The UFC 162 results are in from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and with the event in the books comes another installment of our Key Stats series.
Following every event, the numbers are broken down and compared to the key statistics of past fight cards.
Individual performances will be highlighted, as will the card’s overall performance.
UFC 162 was certainly a unique event. Middleweight champion Anderson Silva saw his undefeated streak in the UFC ended and his reign as top middleweight terminated. Chris Weidman defeated the longtime top pound-for-pound fighter with a second round knockout.
Some fighters earned strong results, as well as impressive stat lines. Others, like Silva, did the opposite.
Let’s walk through the key stats from the Fourth of July weekend event.
They say defense wins championships, but sometimes defense loses them.The Anderson Silva era is over after Chris Weidman earned an improbable knockout at UFC 162 to become the middleweight champion. However, the thing everyone seems to be talking about…
They say defense wins championships, but sometimes defense loses them.
The Anderson Silva era is over after Chris Weidman earned an improbable knockout at UFC 162 to become the middleweight champion. However, the thing everyone seems to be talking about is not Weidman‘s win, but rather Silva’s antics in the cage.
“The Spider” openly taunted Weidman on multiple occasions, putting his hands on his hips, urging Weidman to attack and even shouting across the cage in between rounds.
Eventually, his showboating proved his demise, as Weidman connected with a vicious hook in the second round to knock out the champion. But he missed on plenty of shots prior to the finish.
Weidman went 16-of-43 in terms of significant strikes that fell short of Silva, who landed 58 percent of his strikes. However, the challenger landed the shots that mattered most. Thanks to Silva’s taunting, Weidman had several opportunities to do so.
And the champion shouldn’t be shocked the fight ended the way it did. Silva did just about everything one isn’t supposed to do against Weidman, standing flat-footed with his hands down. It works against guys like Stephan Bonnar and Demian Maia. It doesn’t work against guys like Weidman.
Yet even though Silva seemed unconcerned with Weidman‘s strikes, the challenger held his own on the feet even before the knockout, actually appearing comfortable standing with Silva. Defensively, he was quite good. His offense was quite good as well, even if Silva laughed off plenty of shots.
The champion was the opposite. His defense was poor, even if he made Weidman miss the majority of his strikes, while he landed at a respectable clip.
If Silva had actually attempted to defend Weidman‘s blows, the fight could have been different. It’s hard to argue against the general opinion that Silva is the best striker in MMA history, and he’s a more technical, dangerous striker than Weidman (when he actually wants to defend himself).
But Weidman managed to beat Silva at his own game, even if the champ didn’t do himself any favors. Had he, Weidman likely would have been forced to fall back on his wrestling. We only saw a glimpse of it on Saturday night.
The challenger looked takedown early, working the fight to the ground within the first minute. Silva would eventually work his way back up, but not before fending off a submission attempt and the ground-and-pound of Weidman.
It was clear that the contender would be most comfortable with Silva on the mat, but keeping “The Spider” down could be an issue. Plus, Silva has been dangerous off his back before.
However, Weidman attempted just three takedowns—two in the first round, one in the second. The one he earned displayed his ability to get the fight to the ground, work strikes from there and look for submission openings. He seemed to understand that Silva was less of a threat on the ground.
But, in the end, the takedowns wouldn’t be the difference. Silva’s arrogance was.
It’s part of his style. It’s what makes him so unique, popular and successful. It also yielded an unfavorable result at UFC 162. And that result cost Silva his crown.
UFC lightweight Edson Barboza put on quite the show at UFC 162, earning a technical-knockout stoppage after less than two rounds of action. And he did it all with leg kicks.Rafaello Oliveira, Barboza’s opponent/victim, took brutal shot after brutal sho…
UFC lightweight Edson Barboza put on quite the show at UFC 162, earning a technical-knockout stoppage after less than two rounds of action. And he did it all with leg kicks.
Rafaello Oliveira, Barboza’s opponent/victim, took brutal shot after brutal shot to his left leg, and, by the second round, he was struggling to stand. A few more leg kicks and the fight was over.
That’s another technical-knockout win for Barboza, who has won thanks to his vicious leg kicks before. It wasn’t a highlight-reel knockout like his spinning wheel kick against Terry Etim was, but it was very impressive nevertheless.
Here is what we learned:
What We Learned about Edson Barboza
Barboza was stunned by Jamie Varner at UFC 146, losing for the first time in his UFC career. Other than that loss, he is undefeated as a professional. And his striking prowess is why.
But we already knew that.
At UFC 162, Barboza didn’t show us anything new—his striking was as good as it’s ever been. He did, however, prove that he is going to be a problem in the lightweight division, and he’s ready for the next step.
That step involves fighting a top-10 guy.
The Brazilian is a frightening striker who could challenge just about anyone at 155 pounds if that person can’t get the fight to the ground. He’s probably not a top-10 guy just yet, but he could get there by the end of 2013.
After all, victories as dominant as this one allow for a reasonably quick return to the cage.
What We Learned about Rafaello Oliveira
The 31-year-old Oliveira is now 1-3 in his second stint in the UFC, meaning he is on the way out.
Against Barboza, we learned that he doesn’t (and probably never will) be able to truly compete in the UFC. He has struggled against unranked guys, and his two wins came against guys no longer with the promotion.
And it’s his second go-around under the Zuffa banner—he’s 2-5 with the promotion overall. We’ve probably seen the last of him at this level.
What’s Next for Edson Barboza
Barboza’s striking is as good as anyone’s in the lightweight division, and at 6-1 in the UFC, he deserves a top-10 guy.
A possibility is a fight against fellow kickboxer Donald Cerrone (No. 6 lightweight contender), but “Cowboy” is expected to meet Rafael dos Anjos (No. 10 lightweight contender) this August. The winner of that fight would be a good match.
If the UFC goes a different direction, Nate Diaz is a fine option.
What’s Next For Oliveira
Oliveira is 0-of-2 as far as successful runs in the UFC go. He almost certainly will find himself off the UFC roster as soon as the next cuts come around.
The Brazilian will have to pick up a couple wins in smaller promotions if he wants a third shot in the elite promotion.
UFC 162 goes live this evening on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, and we’ve got you covered with the live blog of the main event.The card is headlined by a middleweight title match between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. Silva, the…
UFC 162 goes live this evening on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET, and we’ve got you covered with the live blog of the main event.
The card is headlined by a middleweight title match between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. Silva, the favorite, looks to continue his unbeaten streak in the UFC, while Weidman looks to keep his undefeated professional record intact as well.
Join us throughout the evening for live updates from the Las Vegas event.
When Anderson Silva steps in the cage this weekend against Chris Weidman, he will look to keep his seven-year title reign intact. Though a Weidman win would hardly be the most shocking in the history of UFC championship fights, it would be an improbabl…
When Anderson Silva steps in the cage this weekend against Chris Weidman, he will look to keep his seven-year title reign intact. Though a Weidman win would hardly be the most shocking in the history of UFC championship fights, it would be an improbable one, considering Silva is (probably) the greatest fighter in the history of the sport.
But Weidman wouldn’t be the first to pick up an unlikely win against a dominant fighter and champion.
Other champions have set foot in the cage with the odds in their favor, only to witness the belt change hands at the end of the night. So here are the top five most improbable title wins in UFC history.
Note: This list will include only upsets which occurred during the Zuffa era, meaning Maurice Smith defeating Mark Coleman is out of the picture.
When Anderson Silva steps in the cage this weekend against Chris Weidman, he will look to keep his seven-year title reign intact. Though a Weidman win would hardly be the most shocking in the history of UFC championship fights, it would be an improbabl…
When Anderson Silva steps in the cage this weekend against Chris Weidman, he will look to keep his seven-year title reign intact. Though a Weidman win would hardly be the most shocking in the history of UFC championship fights, it would be an improbable one, considering Silva is (probably) the greatest fighter in the history of the sport.
But Weidman wouldn’t be the first to pick up an unlikely win against a dominant fighter and champion.
Other champions have set foot in the cage with the odds in their favor, only to witness the belt change hands at the end of the night. So here are the top five most improbable title wins in UFC history.
Note: This list will include only upsets which occurred during the Zuffa era, meaning Maurice Smith defeating Mark Coleman is out of the picture.
They say defense wins championships, but sometimes defense loses them.