It was a hot night of action in Fortaleza, Brazil for UFC on Fuel TV 10.
For starters, the chosen venue at Paulo Sarasate Arena was not equipped with air conditioning which pushed the temperatures just shy of 100 degrees. Fighting in an environment the likes of what the passionate Brazilian fanbase creates is a task unto itself, let alone throwing leather inside a sweat box.
While the heat issue could have certainly upped the sense of urgency for the fighters involved, the majority didn’t allow enough time for it be a legitimate factor. The tapouts came fast and furious as the event turned into a five-hour infomercial for Brazilian jiu-jitsu with eight submissions recorded—the most for any card in UFC history.
From the nasty kneebar submission locked up by Antonio Braga Neto in the opening bout of the card to the slick armbar Fabricio Werdum pulled off in his victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the main event, the action at UFC on Fuel TV 10 brought the ruckus.
But just like every card the UFC brings to the masses, a few poor performances and bad decisions made appearances as well..
Here is a look at the good, bad and strange from UFC on Fuel TV 10.
The Good
Fabricio Werdum might not have a clear-cut route to the UFC title, but he definitely took a step closer on Saturday night. After a back-and-forth opening round where both fighters had their moments, Werdum latched on to a submission in the second round and brought an end to “Big Nog’s” resurgence.
With the victory, “Vai Cavalo” solidifies his spot alongside the very elite of the heavyweight division. That being said, the biggest issue Werdum will now face is time.
Champion Cain Velasquez and former champion Junior dos Santos will settle their title trilogy later this year, which puts the Kings MMA product on the shelf for some time. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but with nearly a year passing between his win over Mike Russow at UFC 147 and his victory over Nogueira at UFC on Fuel TV 10, it will be interesting to see if Werdum will decide to sit on the sidelines that long.
Nevertheless, it was an impressive performance for the surging heavyweight. Moving on.
For the past four years Thiago Silva has been one of the most dangerous fighters in the light heavyweight division, and at UFC on Fuel TV 10, he put those murdering skills on display. The Blackzilians-trained fighter salted Rafael Cavalcante with an uppercut that quite possibly knocked “Feijao” back to the mid-90s.
That being said, if Silva’s personal history has taught us anything, let’s wait until the post-fight drug tests come back before signing-off a triumphant return for the Brazilian. Both of his last two wins were overturned due to positive drug tests.
On the chance all that business comes back clean, Silva vs. Ryan Bader would be a great next step.
It took Erick Silva just north of a minute to get his career back on track—and he did it in a big way. The highly touted prospect submitted veteran Jason High with an arm lock in the early goings of their tilt on the Fuel TV portion of the card.
The victory is the first for the 28-year-old since he came out on the losing end of a “Fight of the Night”-earning battle with Jon Fitch at UFC 153 last October. Silva came into the UFC carrying a lot of momentum and potential, and his win over High will guarantee he gets a solid name in his next outing.
Whether the UFC decides to put him in with the best of the welterweight division or decides to give him another few matches to climb the divisional ladder, Silva certainly has the potential to do big things in the 170-pound divisional picture.
If they choose to go that route, savvy veteran Mike Pyle would make for a suitable matchup.
The bantamweight division has a new contender in Brazilian buzzsaw Raphael Assuncao. The former WEC featherweight contender picked up his fourth consecutive victory since dropping down into 135-pound waters by trucking scrappy Brit Vaughan Lee on the preliminary portion of the card.
While Assuncao is undefeated as a bantamweight, the title picture in the bantamweight division is backed up like Beltway traffic. With champion Dominick Cruz still on the sidelines for several months and interim champion Renan Barao‘s return also uncertain, there will be no moves made in the divisional upper tier for some time.
While I would hate to see former WEC champion Eddie Wineland lose his title shot, if Barao can’t make his return in the next three months, a matchup between the Indiana native and Assuncao would make sense.
The Bad
Mixed martial arts is filled with a wide array of personalities, but If you are going to sport purple hair into the Octagon, you better make sure you win.
As cage side commentator Jon Anik so appropriately called, Godofredo Pepey brought his “purple lettuce” into the Octagon and got thumped by Felipe Arantes. Needless to say, it was a bad look on multiple fronts.
TUF: Smashes alum Mike Wilkinson made an awful decision when he decided to take Rony Jason to the canvas in the early goings of the fight.
The slick Brazilian made the Brit pay dearly for his poor choice and left him sleeping on the mat after locking on a fight ending triangle choke. If a fighter takes an opponent down who has the words “jiu-jitsu” tattooed across his back, submission defense is a must.
After pounding Caio Magalhaes‘ head off the canvas for the majority of the first round, Karlos Vemola had nothing to offer in the second frame. The Czech wrestler worked a furious pace throughout the opening round as he gave everything in his tank in an effort to finish his Brazilian counterpart.
Unfortunately for Vemola, Magalhaes survived the onslaught, then choked him out in the second round.
“The Terminator” has now dropped three of his past four showings and could very well see his spot on the UFC roster take a resemblance to his nickname.
The Strange
I’m honestly starting to wonder why foreigners are still agreeing to face Brazilian fighters in Brazil. The country’s fighting faithful are passionate about a good dust-up, and any time the UFC brings a card down to Brazil, the masses turn out in force to create one of the most electric atmospheres in combat sports.
On Saturday night—for the first time in UFC history—every victorious fighter on the billing was Brazilian. While this looks to be a novelty statistic, the truth of the matter is that foreign fighters facing home country competition simply do not fare well.
In fact, since the UFC made its return to Brazil nearly three years ago, Brazilian fighters have amassed an impressive 41-10 record against foreign competition.
Unless, of course, that fighter is Nik Lentz.
“The Carny” has won both of showings on Brazilian cards with his most recent coming at the expense of Hacran Dias at UFC on FX 8 last month. The 28-year-old has won three consecutive bouts since dropping down to the featherweight division and is steadily making his way toward title contention.
And while Lentz may be undefeated on Brazilian soil, the same cannot be said for Kenny Florian’s hair.
As half of the self-proclaimed “Best Hair in Sports” duo with Chael Sonnen, the fast-paced BJJ action—in addition to the sweltering heat—proved too much for Florian to handle. Leandro Silva may not have shown up to fight, but “Ken Flo” put we he had on the line Saturday night in Brazil.
That brings the official record to 42-10.
Other than the crying (lots of tears shed throughout the card) and Leonardo Santos logging the longest post-fight interview in the history of post-fight interviews, the event delivered on all fronts.
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