With a few weeks to cool off after a stretch of four events in four straight weeks, the UFC is getting set to end the year in style with six events in the final two months. Over the course of the next few months, we’re set to go from a fight card…
With a few weeks to cool off after a stretch of four events in four straight weeks, the UFC is getting set to end the year in style with six events in the final two months.
Over the course of the next few months, we’re set to go from a fight card that starts at 9 AM on Fuel TV to the always entertaining UFC year end card featuring almost two PPVs worth of quality fights.
Things are going to get interesting, as this is the most promising lineup of events the UFC has thrown together all year.
We get the return of Georges St-Pierre, the UFC’s first trip to China, the crowning of three new Ultimate Fighters and a three title fights, including a heavyweight rematch between current champ Junior dos Santos and former champ Cain Velasquez.
The next few weeks without a UFC event will be tough for some fans to deal with, but when UFC on Fuel 6 kicks off in early November, it will start an awesome eight-week stretch to be a fight fan.
Forrest Griffin has a new opponent for UFC 155, and despite rumors that a trilogy fight with Stephan Bonnar was on tap, Griffin’s return to the cage will come against a very talented up-and-coming fighter in Phil Davis. Griffin was originally set…
Forrest Griffin has a new opponent for UFC 155, and despite rumors that a trilogy fight with Stephan Bonnar was on tap, Griffin’s return to the cage will come against a very talented up-and-coming fighter in Phil Davis.
Griffin was originally set to fight Chael Sonnen on the UFC’s year-end card, but Sonnen was placed into a high-profile spot opposite Jon Jones on The Ultimate Fighter 17, and Griffin was left without an opponent.
In steps “Mr. Wonderful” Phil Davis, who is fresh off a submission win over Wagner Prado at last weekend’s UFC 153 event.
This is an extremely important fight for both men: Griffin needs to prove he is still amongst the elite fighters in the light heavyweight division, and Davis has yet to show the world that he is worth the hype that has been thrown his way.
The winner of this fight will be thrown into a light-heavyweight-title mix full of fighters who have already lost to the champion, so a win here could earn one of these fighters a fast track to a title opportunity.
It seems that every time the UFC heads to Brazil something memorable happens, and the case wasn’t any different with UFC 153. From Anderson Silva’s incredible display of dominance to Demian Maia’s clinical victory over Rick Story, the…
It seems that every time the UFC heads to Brazil something memorable happens, and the case wasn’t any different with UFC 153.
From Anderson Silva’s incredible display of dominance to Demian Maia’s clinical victory over Rick Story, the main card had something for everyone and could be considered among the very best events we’ve seen this year.
UFC 153 didn’t do a lot for the advancement of title contenders or give us a truly significant fight, but it gave us a fun night of fights in which every main card fight ended by stoppage.
While there was a lack of top five fighters this weekend, there was no lack of talent and there was plenty of movement in the bottom half of the top 10 in quite a few divisions.
With UFC 153 finally in the rearview mirror, here’s a look at the post-fight stock report for the main card fighters.
Two fights into his welterweight career, Demian Maia looks like he could be a legitimate contender to the 170lb strap. Maia’s win in his debut over Dong Hyun Kim was a bit lackluster due to Kim getting injured during the opening seconds of the bo…
Two fights into his welterweight career, Demian Maia looks like he could be a legitimate contender to the 170lb strap.
Maia’s win in his debut over Dong Hyun Kim was a bit lackluster due to Kim getting injured during the opening seconds of the bout, so his return to the cage against Rick Story was a huge test for Maia and his welterweight future.
Story is a highly regarded fighter who’s beaten some serious competition in the UFC, including former title challenger ThiagoAlves, and his strong wrestling base was supposed to give Maia some problems.
Instead, Maia used his underrated takedown ability to get the fight to the floor and deliver a grappling clinic, taking the back of Story and forcing “The Horror” to tap in the first round.
With two quick wins under his belt, Maia is going to take a pretty big step up in competition for his next fight and we’ll truly find out if he is a title threat in one of the UFC’s toughest divisions.
Win or lose at UFC 153 this weekend, Anderson Silva will still be UFC middleweight champion. Due to his three round main event against Stephan Bonnar taking place in the light heavyweight division, Silva has left the UFC’s middleweight contenders…
Win or lose at UFC 153 this weekend, Anderson Silva will still be UFC middleweight champion.
Due to his three round main event against Stephan Bonnar taking place in the light heavyweight division, Silva has left the UFC’s middleweight contenders trapped in limbo for a few months, an unfortunate development in a division that has finally seen some new blood creep into the title picture over the last year.
The middleweight division feels fresh for the first time in years, and that’s largely thanks to Silva’s stoppage win over ChaelSonnen at UFC 148.
Ever since the first fight between “The Spider” and Sonnen at UFC 117, there’s been a small chink in Silva’s armor of invincibility
Sonnen dominated that fight in virtually all aspects of the game for 4.5 rounds and it was the first time in Silva’s UFC career that he had shown any form of vulnerability.
In Silva’s subsequent bouts against VitorBelfort and YushinOkami, the champion made sure to remind us what had made him the greatest fighter on the planet to begin with, but in the back of everyone’s mind was ChaelSonnen and his slow rise back to the top of the division.
With Sonnen out of the way both Silva and the fans are allowed to finally look at what the rest of the division has to offer, and luckily for the UFC, there have been some fighters putting in the work necessary to earn themselves a crack at the belt.
At the top of the list is longtime middleweight contender Michael Bisping.
Bisping has been considered a top-tier fighter for quite a while now, but he has always lacked the quality wins that made him a true threat for the title at 185.
With wins over two fan favorites in Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Brian Stann sandwiching a controversial decision loss to Sonnen, Bisping finally has a resume worthy enough to throw his name into the mix for a title shot.
Due to Bisping’s popularity he may be the opponent that makes the most sense for Silva at this point, and if the UFC was able to book the fight in Bisping’s home country of England it would be a huge boost to an already growing MMA community.
But as great as a potential fight with Bisping has to sound to the UFC, they can’t ignore the quick and brutal rise of Chris Weidman.
The New York based prospect has been destroying competition during his five-fight Octagon career, and with the exception of a decision win over Demian Maia in a fight that Weidman took on 11 days notice, “The All American” has been impressive in every single bout he’s been a part of.
His complete annihilation of Mark Munoz in July was enough to move him into the top level of the division, but it wasn’t quite enough to earn him a shot at the belt, and Weidman is set to fight Tim Boetsch at UFC 155 in December.
Either Bisping or Weidman is going to get the next shot at Anderson Silva for the middleweight belt, and it may end up being Silva that ultimately decides which fighter is worthy.
If Silva decides he wants to take a bit of a break following his fight this weekend, expect the UFC to match up Bisping with the winner of the Weidman/Boetsch bout as soon as possible.
If Weidman is able to work his way into that fight, he’ll be in a legitimate No. 1 contenders bout, and he’ll have a chance at earning his title opportunity by next summer.
However, if Silva decides to stay active and fight in early 2013, I think it’s time for the UFC to pull the trigger on a Silva-Bisping title fight.
Bisping is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC’s roster, and it seems that it’s finally time to give one of the UFC’s most consistent and loyal fighters a shot at the belt.
If he’s able to somehow find a way to dethrone Silva, Bisping is a big enough attraction that he would keep the division interesting, and the influx of new contenders could make for a very entertaining few years in the middleweight class.
If Silva wins, well then the expected happened.
The UFC can keep on promoting Silva as the “baddest man on the planet,” he’ll have another well known fighter to put on his resume, and he can keep on defending his belt until someone is lucky enough to wrestle it away. Pun intended.
There’s legitimately no downside to a title fight between Michael Bisping and Anderson Silva, and if Silva’s ready to fight again in the early half of 2013 then the fight needs to happen.
It seems like every single event the UFC has booked this year, the injury bug has been lurking around the corner ready to try and destroy it. UFC 153 was no different, and after two separate featherweight title fights were forced off the card due to in…
It seems like every single event the UFC has booked this year, the injury bug has been lurking around the corner ready to try and destroy it.
UFC 153 was no different, and after two separate featherweight title fights were forced off the card due to injury, the UFC called in the greatest fighter in MMA history to save the day.
Anderson Silva agreed to step in on short notice and fight at light heavyweight for the third time in his UFC career, and his opponent Stephan Bonnar immediately became the biggest underdog in UFC history.
Despite a mismatch in the main event, fans have slowly warmed up to a UFC 153 card that is loaded with talent from top to bottom, and the UFC’s third trip to Brazil in 2012 is set to be one of the most fun fight cards out the year.
Win or lose at UFC 153 this weekend, Anderson Silva will still be UFC middleweight champion.