Author: Petar Alavanja

Reasons Why UFC 153 Is Still a Card Worth Watching

The injury curse has struck again and only weeks after the drama surrounding UFC 151’s cancellation, UFC 153 has also been bitten by a major injury bug. People have taken to the Internet in droves, many to complain, about the new main event of Anderson…

The injury curse has struck again and only weeks after the drama surrounding UFC 151’s cancellation, UFC 153 has also been bitten by a major injury bug. People have taken to the Internet in droves, many to complain, about the new main event of Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar.

While the changes have deprived us of seeing two quality fights, let’s not act as if the world is ending. UFC 153 still has plenty to offer for several reasons.

We get to see the P4P king Anderson Silva at work

Complain regularly about Anderson Silva fighting only once a year? Complain no more! Anderson has stepped up to fight a fight he did not need to, but will for the fans. Sure, Stephan Bonnar is not the ideal opponent, but he is game and has the home-field advantage in terms of fighting in the light heavyweight division. While it is not the match up anyone hoped for, at least we get to see Anderson Silva fight again.

Who will emerge as the next big contender in the Welterweight division?

Erick Silva is a fast-rising,exciting, young star of the UFC’s welterweight division, while world class BJJ practitioner, Demian Maia, is a former Middleweight title challenger and 1-0 since dropping down to Welterweight. A win over Jon Fitch would propel Erick Silva to the upper echelons of the division while a win for Demian Maia will lift him to 2-0 and deserving of a big name in his next outing. 

The return of a legend

Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira has not been seen in the octagon since Frank Mir broke his arm at UFC 140. Following the cancellation of his return bout at UFC 149, Minotauro is returning to fight Dave Herman in his home country of Brazil. If the crowd reception is anything like UFC 134 when Minotauro fought Brendan Schaub, this fight should be a treat.

 

The rest of the card is full of interesting fights

Along with Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar, UFC 153 will also feature Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado, Big Nog vs. Dave Herman, Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch, Demian Maia vs. Rick Story and Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado. All of these fights deserve a main card spot and all have the possibility to be great fights with some big names who the fans will enjoy.

The fight keeps Anderson Silva busy for his next fight

While Stephan Bonnar is a game opponent, it is expected that Anderson Silva should have no problem dispatching his second TUF 1 finalist.

With fights against GSP and Chris Weidman that fans are looking forward to, the fight with Stephan Bonnar will keep him busy until GSP and Weidman‘s next fights have occurred, meaning Anderson’s fight against either of these two men can happen sooner.

Many fans are disappointed that Anderson Silva didn’t fight Weidman sooner, but if Weidman does not beat Tim Boestch in his next fight, then we know he would not have beaten Anderson Silva, and if he does, then Weidman vs. Silva will provide us with a huge title fight early next year.

We can’t always get what we want, but UFC 153 is definitely not as bad as many fans are making it out to be. While it is up to the fans if they want to pay the money for the PPV, UFC 153 is most definitely not a bad card nor is it the worst card of even this year.

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MMA Fans Among the Most Fickle in All of Sports

MMA fans have to be the most disloyal and judgmental fans of any sport. After a fighter strings together a few wins and gains some hype behind them, many people jump on the bandwagon and declare him their favorite fighter or the next big thing in the U…

MMA fans have to be the most disloyal and judgmental fans of any sport. After a fighter strings together a few wins and gains some hype behind them, many people jump on the bandwagon and declare him their favorite fighter or the next big thing in the UFC.

However, all it takes is one lackluster performance or loss for many fans to turn on that fighter and either declare him “finished” or say that he was never that good in the first place. It happens time and time again—after Lyoto Machida lost to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, after Brock Lesnar lost to Cain Velasquez, after Anderson Silva‘s last-gasp win over Chael Sonnen, and so on.

It even gets to the point where people forget anything that happened prior to a fighter’s last fight and all of the praise they were heaping on that particular fighter. After the recent Shogun and Dan Henderson fight, I read one of the dumbest things I have ever seen on Sherdog’s discussion board, as one poster said that he believed the fight showed that Shogun was and had been overrated, and that he was never even a top five light heavyweight at any stage of his career.

Are you serious?

It wouldn’t surprise me if after Silva loses his first fight in the UFC, fans start saying that he was overrated and that his undefeated streak means nothing, just like many people say about Fedor Emelianenko. Even Jon Jones will suffer such criticism after he loses his first fight, and it is ridiculous.

No matter what happens in upcoming fights, everyone that enters the octagon deserves our respect, especially those that have reached great heights.

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