The main card for UFC 172 has a little bit of everything.
Headlining the event is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—Jon Jones—who will defend his light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira, who has tallied 20…
The main card for UFC 172 has a little bit of everything.
Headlining the event is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world—Jon Jones—who will defend his light heavyweight title against Glover Teixeira, who has tallied 20 consecutive victories.
As if that’s not enough, the rest of the card is loaded.
Two up-and-coming young talents in Max Holloway and Andre Fili square off in what could easily be the fight of the night. Veteran Jim Miller faces Yancy Medeiros, who looks to turn around a forgettable start with the company. Luke Rockhold has a chance to establish himself as a middleweight title contender, and Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson is extremely compelling.
Let’s take a look at how the main card plays out at Baltimore Arena on Saturday night.
When Anderson Silva suffered a gruesome broken leg in a rematch against Chris Weidman on Dec. 28, 2013, the idea of the 38-year-old accomplished veteran ever returning to the Octagon seemed unlikely.
Well, less than a month after that injury, UFC presi…
When Anderson Silva suffered a gruesome broken leg in a rematch against Chris Weidman on Dec. 28, 2013, the idea of the 38-year-old accomplished veteran ever returning to the Octagon seemed unlikely.
Well, less than a month after that injury, UFC president Dana White is claiming “The Spider” will be back in action before the year is over.
Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi passes along the news:
If anyone can return from such a horrendous injury at 38 years of age, it’s probably Silva, who is an otherworldly athlete. But at the same time, if there’s anyone who could retire and have zero regrets, Silva would also slot at the top of that list.
Arguably the greatest MMA fighter ever, Silva captured the UFC Middleweight Championship back in 2006 when he knocked out Rich Franklin in the first round.
Following that victory, he proceeded to win 14 straight matches, helping him earn records for consecutive title defenses (10), consecutive UFC wins (16) and longest title reign (2,457 days).
Although he shockingly lost his title to Chris Weidman via second-round knockout and then suffered his injury during the rematch, Silva has absolutely nothing left to prove in this sport.
Of course, there has also been chatter of the long-time champion moving to the boxing ring and squaring off with 45-year-old Roy Jones Jr. Silva himself confirmed his desire to duke it out with RJ during a recent Facebook chat with fans, via MMAFighting.com:
“When I get better, that’s my biggest goal, especially because I won’t be able to fight MMA too soon,” Silva said when asked if he still wants to fight Jones. “Fighting in boxing is in my plans, yes, as soon as I’m able to fight again. And Roy is a big idol.”
It’s an interesting proposal, as there would be far less risk in him taking a shot to his leg in a boxing match.
Still, while there are several possible routes still on the table—return to UFC; return to boxing; return to boxing and then return to UFC; flat-out retirement—Silva has a long road to recovery, and his future will likely be determined along that road.
Is the UFC sure it wants to show this event on regular television?
UFC on Fox 10 from the United Center in Chicago features a stacked card, but the main event is where things get truly compelling.
Headlining the event is Benson Henderson vs. Josh Thoms…
Is the UFC sure it wants to show this event on regular television?
UFC on Fox 10 from the United Center in Chicago features a stacked card, but the main event is where things get truly compelling.
Headlining the event is Benson Henderson vs. Josh Thomson, an intriguing matchup with important implications in a competitive lightweight division. But we also have what should be an evenly fought brawl between heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga and Stipe Miocic that could potentially steal the show.
Throw in Donald Cerrone vs. Adriano Martins and Darren Elkins vs. Jeremy Stephens, and we’ve got ourselves a full slate of thrilling fights.
Anderson Silva’s attempt to reclaim the middleweight championship from Chris Weidman at UFC 168 ended abruptly when he suffered a horrifying leg injury in the second round.
Silva, who is regarded by many as the greatest UFC fighter of all time, a…
Anderson Silva‘s attempt to reclaim the middleweight championship from Chris Weidman at UFC 168 ended abruptly when he suffered a horrifying leg injury in the second round.
Silva, who is regarded by many as the greatest UFC fighter of all time, attempted a low kick on Weidman, but his leg snapped immediately and bent the wrong way. He fell to the mat and the referee immediately ended the fight.
Bleacher Report’s Twitter feed provided a picture, as did Boxing Insider, following the freak accident, while ESPN’s Dan Rafael gave details of the scene:
OMG! That was Joe Theisman like. Silva kicked Weidman and snapped his leg. OMG. That was horrifying. #UFC168
Meisha Tate made history—she saw the second round in a fight against Ronda Rousey.
Unfortunately for the Tacoma, Wash., native, her accomplishments didn’t go much further than that during the wild UFC 168 co-main event, as the champion eventually…
Meisha Tate made history—she saw the second round in a fight against Ronda Rousey.
Unfortunately for the Tacoma, Wash., native, her accomplishments didn’t go much further than that during the wild UFC 168 co-main event, as the champion eventually got her way and won via her patented armbar submission in the third round.
Bleacher Report gave a look at her victory:
Tate showed a lot of heart staying with Rousey, as she became the first competitor to avoid first-round defeat against “Rowdy,” but she eventual suffered the same fate as the undisputed champion’s seven other challengers.
ESPN Stats & Info gives a glimpse at the impressive numbers from Rousey:
Unsurprisingly in a bout between two The Ultimate Fighter coaches who hate each with a passion, the fight turned into an absolutely explosive battle.
In the first round, Rousey went for the armbar early, but Tate was able to fight it off and take down the champion. Even on her back, however, Rousey was able to display a good amount of offense with an array of punches, knees and kicks.
Eventually, the two women got to their feet—and then came the fireworks. Both unloaded with some impressive combos and big blows before Rousey ended the round with a couple of Olympic-esque judo throwdowns, leading Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole to give her the round by far:
The second round was more of the same, with Rousey scoring several more knockdowns and Tate continuing to fight back admirably.
Action seriously heated up in the second, and several were quick to point out the scintillating fashion of the fight:
Nevertheless, while Tate gave Rousey her most difficult competition yet, the champ was simply too good, showing prowess in every aspect of the fight—on her feet, on the ground, on the defense, wherever. Iole noted just how lopsided the second round turned out to be:
The third round lasted under a minute, as Rousey was able to lock in the armbar and force Tate to submit.
Further adding to her role as villain, Rousey refused to shake Tate’s hand after the thrilling battle, much to the chagrin of the Las Vegas crowd:
Up next for Rousey will be Cat Zingano, who beat Tate in The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale but had to withdraw from this fight following a knee injury.
No matter what happens in that one, Rousey vs. Tate II proved that women’s UFC has an extremely bright future.
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos are too good to fight anyone else but each other. If that wasn’t already clear, it became painfully—at least for Antonio Silva and Mark Hunt—obvious during UFC 160 on Saturday night.Let’s start with…
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos are too good to fight anyone else but each other.
If that wasn’t already clear, it became painfully—at least for Antonio Silva and Mark Hunt—obvious during UFC 160 on Saturday night.
Let’s start with Velasquez, who defended his UFC heavyweight title in dejavu fashion.
Fighting Silva almost exactly one year after knocking out the Brazilian in three minutes, it didn’t seem possible that the rematch could be any more lopsided.
Well, it was.
Shortly after the initial bell rang, Velasquez connected with a massive right hand before crushing Bigfoot with a barrage of follow-up punches. Eighty-one seconds later, it was all over.
Just before that fight, dos Santos was cementing his position as the No. 1 contender to Velasquez’s title with an impressive spinning heel kick and knockout of Hunt.
Hunt lasted longer than Silva in his respective match, but unfortunately for him, all that meant in the end was that he was beaten up for longer.
Dos Santos controlled the first two rounds with an array of power punches that had his opponent faltering, and with time running down in the third round, he connected with the vicious knockout.
Two different wins, yet also two similar wins in how assertive and dominant they were.
Some may not want to see a third fight between Velasquez and dos Santos simply because it has already happened twice in the last two years, but it seems all but inevitable when you read UFC President Dana White‘s words, via Ben Fowlkes of USA Today:
“No-brainer,” UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference, when asked whether Velasquez-dos Santos III would be the next UFC heavyweight title fight. “If there was ever a trilogy, that’s it right there. If you look at the way both fights went – Junior destroys (Velasquez) in the first fight, Cain destroys (dos Santos) in the second fight – I can’t wait to see the third fight.”
And inevitable it should be.
Dos Santos is 16-2. He is the No. 2 heavyweight in the world, according to the UFC’s consensus media rankings, and knocked out Velasquez in one minute in November 2011.
Velasquez is 12-1. He is the No. 1 heavyweight in the world and thoroughly beat down dos Santos in the December 2012 rematch.
While there are a few intriguing challengers in the heavyweight division, there is no better potential fight than the clear-cut No. 1 vs. the clear-cut No. 2 in a rubber match. And it’s not even close.
It’s not often that a trilogy is this appealing, but a third fight between Velasquez and dos Santos—now more than ever—serves as both a scintillating and appropriate option.
When