After out predicting every MMA website for UFC on FX 5, I wasn’t expecting another near perfect prediction outcome for UFC 153, but once again, my predictions topped them all. Not only did I get eleven out of twelve predictions correct, but most of the fights played out exactly as I as I proclaimed. Of course, it’s not about the people making predictions; it’s about the fighters in the cage, now on to the event recap.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi
While this was a fight that could have gone either way, it was great to see Marcello improve on his striking. In the opening second of the round he was tagging Madadi with crisp strikes and landed a spinning back kick on more than one occasion. Madadi fired back in the second round with wild Chris Leben like punches that rung Marcello’s bell. For two fighters who like to fight on the ground, the majority of the fight was spent of the feet. It was interesting to see a dogfight between these two fighters seeing they are both showcase technical ground skills. I’ll have to watch this fight again to be sure, but I think the judges got the decision right. Marcello should be matched up with Evan Dunham in his next fight, while Madadi should fight Tony Ferguson.
Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane
Joe Rogan said it best when he said that Cane just didn’t look like the same fighter who beat Sokoudjou and Steve Cantwell. If his less than perfect performance can be attributed to it being his first cut to middleweight, then he should come back stronger in his next fight. Camozzi was simply beating Cane to the punch and land cleaner and more often, I personally feel that Camozzi’s performance wasn’t so much good, as Cane’s was surprisingly disappointing. Nonetheless, Camozzi did win the fight, and therefore deserves a fight with Micahel Kuiper or Riki Fukuda ,while Cane should fight Karlos Vemola.
Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte
For a fight that nearly went the full fifteen minutes, it’s rather easy to sum it the recap. The difference in this fight was the takedowns and Jiu-Jitsu of Moraes. Forte had brief moments of success on the feet, but he wasn’t able to stop Moraes from getting the takedown, and that’s what won Moraes the first two rounds. In the third round, he was able to take Forte’s back and secure a rear naked choke. No potential match up opinions for this one, I’ll let the UFC deal with it.
Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
Brandao may still have, what many would call, a reckless style, but it was enough to beat Gambino all three rounds to earn himself the win. I was surprised that so many people were picking Gambino to win the fight, to put it simply, if Gambino was outclassed by Steven Siler, why were they so confident that he would be able to beat Brandao? His performance over Gambino earns himself back some credit to his skills as a fighter. There were moments of success for Gambino; he was able to land a number of significant strikes while on the feet. He was even able to get top position on the ground for a brief period of time, but looking at the fight in its entirety, Brandao showcased better striking, wrestling and Jiu-Jistu. I’d love to see Brandao fight Jimy Hettes next, as for Gambino, he should fight Cole Miller.
Demian Maia vs. Rick Story
Maia proved that his win over Dong Hyun Kim wasn’t a fluke. Just like his fight with Dong Hyun Kim, it took Maia no time at all to take Story’s back. Instead of putting Story on his back and getting the mount position, Maia immediately tried to secure a rear naked choke. Story was able to defend well until Maia countered with a neck crank, Story couldn’t fight it, and had to tap out. After two wins over two strong opponents, I’d like to see Maia fight someone in the elite of the welterweight division, such as Erick Silva. As for Rick Story, he should fight James Head.
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
This fight was nothing like their first one, Davis completely dominated Prado and threw him around like a rag doll. Prado was extremely pumped for this fight, but you could see his confidence fade away more and more as the fight went on. After getting taken down at will in round one, Prado was desperate to avoid any futher takedown attempts. When Prado sprawled to stuff a takedown, he opened himself up for an anaconda choke, and Davis rolled right into it, forcing Prado to tap. After such a dominating performance, Davis should draw a top ten light heavyweight for his next fight, and Ryan Bader would be a perfect opponent. As for Prado, he should fight Fabio Maldonado.
Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch
Absolutely deserved to win fight of the night, this fight was literally nonstop back and forth action for fifteen minutes. Fitch didn’t necessarily change his style of fighting, but no one can say that he was boring in this fight. He nearly finished Silva with an armbar which was probably his closest attempt to finish, but he had Silva’s back for a good portion of the fight and was trying for the rear naked choke. Silva came close to choking out Fitch in the second round with a deep rear naked choke, but Fitch was able to fight through it and escape. He came back in the third round and completely out wrestled Silva for fifteen minutes to win a unanimous decision. I thought Fitch looked outstanding, and he needs another top welterweight for his next fight. I think the winner of B.J Penn and Rory McDonald would be the best match up.
Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado
As dominating a victory it was for Teixeira, I’m not surprised that the fight played out the way it did. The UFC tried matching up Teixeira against “Shogun” Rua and “Rampage” Jackson, so Maldonado was a bit of a step down on the talent scale. After witnessing his inability to stop the takedown attempts of Igor Pokrajac, there was no way he was going to be able to stop Teixeira. Everybody has found a new respect for Maldonado for not quiting and even landing a heavy hook that wobbled Teixeira, but that doesn’t shield the fact that Teixeira completely dominated this fight, both on the feet and on the ground. I can see Teixiera being a title challenger in the near future. I’d like to see Teixeira face the winner of “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson.
Antonio Nogueira vs. Dave Herman
After what Nogueira did to him, I don’t think Herman will badmouth Jiu-Jitsu anytime soon. As I predictied, Big Nog had the advantage on the feet as well. Herman didn’t land a lick of offense and took multiple shots to the head body and head. Herman just couldn’t find his range in the fight and Noueira picked him apart everywhere until he submitted him with the armbar. Nogueira is still just coming in at the top ten of the heavyweight division, if he wants to climb the ranks he should fight either Fabricio Werdum, or Antonio Silva. As for Herman, Mike Russow would be a suitable opponent.
Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar
Whether you’re a Stephan Bonnar fan or not, I doubt anyone is surprised about the outcome of this fight. Bonnar looked strong early, although Silva was never in any real trouble. Even when Silva was eating punches, he was in complete control on never looked dazed even for a second. As he always does, Silva spent a few minutes playing with opponent and then explodes on them with literally any strikes you can imagine. This time he caught Bonnar with a knee to the sternum that dropped him and he finished Bonnar off with a few follow up punches. Silva has stated he will not be fighting at light heavyweight again, so his next opponent should be the winner of Tim Boetsch and Chris Weidman. As for Bonnar, I don’t want to see him retire until he gets at least one more win. I’ve always wanted to see a trilogy between him and Forrest Griffin.
Written by: Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli
@FightFreek