If you’re one of the multitudes who doesn’t have FUEL in their cable package — or if you simply had no idea that there was a UFC event going on this weekend — you’ll want to check out this FOX Sports recap of UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum, in which Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann, and Jay Glazer take us through four of the fights on the main card, none of which made it out of the second round. Some notes…
– Even in the replay, it’s still not entirely clear where or how Big Nog tapped. But he did, and Anderson Silva has a sad.
– “Seeing Werdum do what Werdum does” is a hell of a tongue-twister, and Brian Stann almost pulls it off.
– We’re still doing that thing where we call the black guy “the explosive athlete”? Really?
– Note to self: When you’re fighting Thiago Silva, the worst thing to do is drop your hands and just stand there.
– It’s not shown in this video, but Rony Jason has the best Rony Jason tattoo on earth.
If you’re one of the multitudes who doesn’t have FUEL in their cable package — or if you simply had no idea that there was a UFC event going on this weekend — you’ll want to check out this FOX Sports recap of UFC on FUEL 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum, in which Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann, and Jay Glazer take us through four of the fights on the main card, none of which made it out of the second round. Some notes…
– Even in the replay, it’s still not entirely clear where or how Big Nog tapped. But he did, and Anderson Silva has a sad.
– “Seeing Werdum do what Werdum does” is a hell of a tongue-twister, and Brian Stann almost pulls it off.
– We’re still doing that thing where we call the black guy “the explosive athlete”? Really?
– Note to self: When you’re fighting Thiago Silva, the worst thing to do is drop your hands and just stand there.
– It’s not shown in this video, but Rony Jason has the best Rony Jason tattoo on earth.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
If what we saw last night was truly the end of the UFC’s experiment with hosting events on FUEL TV (remember, FUEL becomes Fox Sports 2 this August, and no, preliminary cards don’t count), it ended in one of the strangest ways imaginable. A UFC record eight fights ended in submission; four of which ended in less than three minutes. None of the bouts on the main card went the distance, which helped contribute to what felt like an eternity of watching old footage and staring at Kenny Florian’s magnificent hair in between fights. And, of course, there was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira surrendering to an armbar from Fabricio Werdum in the main event of the evening, marking the first time that Nogueira has opted to submit instead of letting something break.
It would be easy to write about how the once-invincible Nogueira looked like a fighter who should strongly consider retirement, but I can’t help but feel that doing so would be misleading. For starters, focusing on how beatable Big Nog looked would make it seem like the fight was a lopsided, painful to watch beatdown. Although Werdum was in clear control throughout the fight, it was still a pretty close and entertaining scrap between two of the UFC’s best heavyweights.
Perhaps more importantly, attributing Big Nog’s loss solely to Father Time would be an insult to the performance that Fabricio Werdum put forward last night. Right from the start of the fight, Werdum was able to mount Nogueira and began to work for submissions. When Nogueira made his way back to his feet, Werdum got the better of the stand-up exchanges. Rinse, wash, repeat, until Nogueira realized that he wasn’t going to escape the armbar that Werdum locked up in the second round and tapped out.
(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
If what we saw last night was truly the end of the UFC’s experiment with hosting events on FUEL TV (remember, FUEL becomes Fox Sports 2 this August, and no, preliminary cards don’t count), it ended in one of the strangest ways imaginable. A UFC record eight fights ended in submission; four of which ended in less than three minutes. None of the bouts on the main card went the distance, which helped contribute to what felt like an eternity of watching old footage and staring at Kenny Florian’s magnificent hair in between fights. And, of course, there was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira surrendering to an armbar from Fabricio Werdum in the main event of the evening, marking the first time that Nogueira has opted to submit instead of letting something break.
It would be easy to write about how the once-invincible Nogueira looked like a fighter who should strongly consider retirement, but I can’t help but feel that doing so would be misleading. For starters, focusing on how beatable Big Nog looked would make it seem like the fight was a lopsided, painful to watch beatdown. Although Werdum was in clear control throughout the fight, it was still a pretty close and entertaining scrap between two of the UFC’s best heavyweights.
Perhaps more importantly, attributing Big Nog’s loss solely to Father Time would be an insult to the performance that Fabricio Werdum put forward last night. Right from the start of the fight, Werdum was able to mount Nogueira and began to work for submissions. When Nogueira made his way back to his feet, Werdum got the better of the stand-up exchanges. Rinse, wash, repeat, until Nogueira realized that he wasn’t going to escape the armbar that Werdum locked up in the second round and tapped out.
For all intents and purposes, last night’s victory put Fabricio Werdum in line for a shot against the winner of the upcoming rubber match between UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. His 3-0 run in the UFC has been nothing less than spectacular to watch, and his grappling prowess poses a legitimate threat to anyone in the heavyweight division. He submitted Fedor back when that meant something. He submitted Big Nog last night, who has always been one of our sport’s premier grapplers. If he decides to sit out until Velasquez/Dos Santos III, like he plans on doing, it’ll be hard to argue against giving him the next shot.
And as for Nogueira? There’s no point in writing that he’s in the twilight of his career or that he should hang up the gloves; fans have literally been writing that about him since 2008. He’s going to fight as long as he’s still competitive, and he still looked like a formidable opponent for most of the top-heavy heavyweight division last night. His arm isn’t broken, so he could take another fight by the end of the year if he wanted to. I say match him up against Mark Hunt. Because Pride, you guys.
The rest of the card was a who’s-who of “who’s that?” winning (mostly) by submissions. Notable highlights…
– Your TUF Brazil 2 champion is Leonardo Santos, who tapped out William Patolino in the second round last night. If you follow submission grappling, you’ve probably known about Santos since the late 90s, and were thrilled to watch him pick up a victory in the Octagon last night. At thirty-three years old, I don’t exactly see him having a spectacular run in the UFC, unlike recent TUF champions…um…hmm…
– Oh wait, I thought of one! The first champion of TUF Brazil, Rony Jason, who needed just eighty-four seconds to choke out the previously undefeated Mike Wilkinson last night. He improved to 3-0 in his UFC career, and with that impressive submission on his resume he’s earned a step up in competition for his next bout.
– Last time Thiago Silva fought, I somewhat-jokingly wrote that the result was drug test pending. This time, I’m not joking when I write it. Drug test pending, Silva picked up his first victory since 2009 in a very convincing manner over Raphael “Feijao” Cavalcante. When Thiago Silva is on top of his game, he’s a threat to anyone in the LHW division. Himself included.
– Silva took home $100,000 for both Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night honors. I personally thought it was far more satisfying to watch Felipe Arantes punch the purple hair dye out of Godofredo Pepey, but you never know, Arantes may end up getting that money after all.
– For whatever reason, Bigfoot Silva took to Twitter to call out Thiago Silva after the fight. You can insert your own rebound fight and/or Thiago ate Bigfoot’s Doritos/Taco Bell/Chips Ahoy jokes in the comments section.
– $50K Submission of the Night honors went to Erick Silva, who reminded everyone why he was riding so much hype before his fight against Jon Fitch with a quick submission over Jason High. He may not be ready for the deep end of the division just yet (ROFL at the idea of having him fight GSP) but he’s an incredibly interesting prospect.
Full Results
Main Card:
Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via Submission (armbar), 2:41 of Round Two
Leonardo Santos def. William Macario via Submission (arm triangle choke), 4:43 of Round Two
Thiago Silva def. Rafael Cavalcante via KO (punches), 4:29 of Round One
Erick Silva def. Jason High via Submission (triangle armbar), 1:11 of Round One
Daniel Sarafian def. Eddie Mendez via Submission (arm triangle choke), 2:20 of Round One
Rony Jason def. Mike Wilkinson via Technical Submission (triangle choke), 1:24 of Round One
Preliminary card:
Raphael Assunçao def. Vaughan Lee via Submission (armbar), 1:51 of Round Two
Felipe Arantes def. Godofredo Pepey via TKO (elbows and punches), 3:32 of Round One
Ildemar Alcantara def. Leandro Silva via Unanimous Decision
Rodrigo Damm def. Mizuto Hirota via Split Decision
Caio Magalhaes def. Karlos Vemola via Submission (rear-naked choke), 2:49 of Round Two
Antonio Braga Neto def. Anthony Smith via Submission (kneebar), 1:52 of Round One
Handling CagePotato’s main card liveblog for this evening is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if anybody’s actually reading this, please let your voices be heard in the comments section.
(Alright, let’s get this shit over with. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
Handling CagePotato’s main card liveblog for this evening is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and if anybody’s actually reading this, please let your voices be heard in the comments section.
Hey now. Mk here, ready to go. A few more commercials and we’ll be good.
Rony Jason vs Mike Wilkinson
Round 1: Bruce Buffer speaking Portuguese is just adorable. The intros have been made, and we’re off. Wilkinson doesn’t want to touch gloves. Jason fires first but is taken down from a double by Wilkinson. Wilkinson is in Jason’s guard…and is about to be triangled. Elbows from Jason. Wilkinson is out! Fight’s over! Triangle attack + elbows = here comes the Jason mask.
Rony Jason wins by Rd. 1 technical submission.
Middleweights up next…
Daniel Sarafian vs. Eddie Mendez
Rd. 1: Sarafian has the crowd behind him, so let’s see if he uses it. Sarafian shows a lot of head movement early, bouncing on the balls of his feet and firing off a lead left followed by a straight right that connect. Both are tied up against the cage now, but Sarafian nails an inside trip and is in half guard. Looks like Sarafian is looking for an arm triangle. Oh yes. He’s got the mount. Done. That was nice. He trapped the arm, passed to the right side of Mendez, and finished the arm triangle.
Daniel Sarafianwins by Rd. 1 submission.
Godofredo Pepey vs. Felipe Arantes
Rd. 1: Pepey presses forward and lands a left hook that sends Arantes back to the fence; Pepey wants the takedown, but Arantes defends well. Pepey takes Arantes’s back, but Arantes lands in his guard. Both men fire shots from this position. Arantes is starting to turn up the offense and is landing heavy shots. Wait a minute. Pepey has full mount and is looking for an opening. And now Arantes is on top and is pounding the shit out of Pepey. Punches, elbows. That’s it. Fight’s over. Damn. Here’s the replay: yeah, those elbows from Arantes really landed flush.
Felipe Arantes wins by Rd. 1 TKO.
Jason High vs. Erick Silva
Rd. 1: High kicks low (see what I did there?) early, but misses. And misses with his 1-2. Silva catches a kick, they scramble, and Silva has High’s back. High is looking to stand, but Silva has that armbar/triangle snatched. As High rises (and again), Silva secures the armbar, and that’s it. In the post-fight interview, Silva explains how he went for the rear naked choke,but instead went for the armbar.
Erick Silva wins via Rd. 1 submission.
Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee
Rd. 1: Both men kick early, but Assuncao seems to be rpessing a little harder. Assuncao snatches a single against the cage and lands a right hands as they move to the center of the cage. Assuncao is throwing to end the fight, but Lee is firing back. Lee lands a good jab that gets Assuncao’s attention. Assuncao presses with a lead left. Leemisses to the body. Assuncao grabs a body lock and gets the outside leg trip, but Lee is right back up. Assuncao grabs a double and dumps Lee. He’s in Lee’s half guard now and is elbowing at the left thigh. Now he’s in side control. Lee wants out, but Assuncao mounts him and here come the punches. Lee is up, but Assuncao is all over him when the horn sounds.
Rd. 2: High kick from Lee, but Assuncao is still aggressive. Assuncao grabs a double and is bleeding from above the left eye. Assuncao takes down Lee, has the mount, and goes for the arm. Russian armbar time. Lee rolls, but Assuncao, on his back now, still has the arm, and Lee taps.
Raphael Assuncao wins via Rd. 2 submission.
Antonio Brago Neto vs. Anthony Smith
Rd. 1: Brago Neto fires a big right and takes a knee to the body from Smith in retaliation. Brago Neto throws a nice left hook that Smith better look out for. Brago Neto is the aggressor, landing a takedown, securing back control with a hook in. Smith escapes, but Brago Neto is back in half guard and as Smith rolls, Brago Neto locks in the kneebar. Tap. This is unreal.
Antonio Brago Neto wins via Rd. 1 submission.
Thiago Silva vs. Raphael “Feijao” Cavalcante
Rd. 1: Feijao kicks low and fires a hard right early. Feijao is looking to land that right hand, but Silva is ready for it. Nice left hook-straight right combo from Feijao. Silva lands a right of his own. They’re really swinging now. Silva is working the left jab a bit and lands a big right hand that backs up Feijao. Feijao is really firing that right hand, boy. Feijao hits a spinning back elbow that excites the crowd. Silva recovers and fires that jab. Feijao is slowing and the hands are dropping a bit. Silva is the fresher of the two and is landing jabs and leg kicks. Feijao is against the cage; here comes Silva. Left hook, right cross, left hook, right uppercut. Feijao is down. Two more rights from Silva, and that’s it.The ref calls it. Feijao is out.
Thiago Silva wins via Rd. 1 TKO.
Caio Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola
Rd. 1: These are some big middleweights here. Magalhaes shoots, Vemola sprawls, and they’re on the cage. Vemola drops for the double. Magalhaes locks on a guillotine, but Vemola slams him and escapes. Vemola is in Magalhaes’s guard and is very aggressive with his strikes. Magalhaes wants a triangle, but Vemola’s head is out of reach. Vemola is really pressing. Magalhaes goes for the omaplata, but Vemola is still attacking from the guard with both hands. Vemola is in half guard now, and Magalhaes is slowing down as Vemola pours it on. Magalhaes escapes to his feet and wants another guillotine. Nope. Vemola wants the double again and works for it as Magalhaes is against the fence. Magalhaes works for the head & arm choke. Again Vemola slams his way to freedom. Good round.
Rd. 2: Magalhaes fires a big right immediately and has Vemola on the fence. They trade positions, and Magalhaes gets the trip off the body lock. Magalhaes is in half guard now and wants to trap Vemola’s left arm. Magalhaes has the back and punches away with the left hand. Magalhaes is in side control, but Vemola gets to a knee against the cage. Magalhaes is back on top and soon gets his back. Deep rear naked choke, and Vemola taps.
Caio Magalhaes wins via Rd. 2 submission.
William Patolino vs. Leonardo Santos
Rd. 1: Santos is looking to set up a takedown with a lead left hook, it seems, but Patolino is poised and his hands are up. Patolino presses Santos against the cage.Patolino goes for an outside leg trip. In the center of the cage, Patolino grabs Santos and drags him down. Patolino is in Santos’s guard. Not much doing. he stands up and doves back in. Patolino is in half guard now and fires some good shots. Patolino is smothering Santos, who gets to his feet. Patolino again has Santos on the fence. They separate; low kick from Santos. Knee from Patolino. Santos goes for a trip, and Patolino is going for his back when the round ends.
Rd. 2: Santos misses a big head kick. Santos shoots, but Patolino sprawls. Patolino’s hands are really low. Nice knee from Santos as Patolino tries to clinch. Patolino takesdown Santos and in his guard now. They’re back up. Neither fighter is throwing more than two punches at a time, and both seem to have slowed their pace. The ref warns Patolino not to hold the fence, which he did as Santos went for the takedown. Nice 1-2 from Santos. They clinch, and Patolino has Santos on the cage. Santos gets the takedown, mounts Patolino, and starts throwing. Head and arm choke. Looks tight. Tappy tap.
Leo Santos wins via Rd. 2 submission.
Santos jumps into the crowd and hugs teammate Jose Aldo. Santos is the TUF Brazil 2 season winner. Mazel tov.
Minotauro Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum
Rd. 1: Here we go. Werdum fires two hard low kicks and circles out. They clinch, Nog grabs a single, and Werdum is in half guard. Werdum lands some shots from top position. Nog nearly reverses. Werdum knees as Nog stands up. Werdum jabs well. Nog wades in with his head straight up and presses Werdum to the fence. Werdum kicks at the lead leg of Nogin the center of the octagon. Nog does body work on the inside during a brief exchange and pressures Werdum against the cage again. Werdum wants the single leg, but Nog defends. Inside elbow from Nog, who’s smothering Werdum on the fence with seconds left in the round.
Rd. 2: Heavy opening leg kick from Werdum. And again. Big right from Werdum. Nog is looking to get into rhythm with punch combinations. Werdum goes for a double, and Nog nearly gets the guillotine. Werdum is in side control now. Back to half guard after a short scramble. Back control for Werdum. Werdum goes for the armbar on the left arm. He’s got it. And Nog taps.
Fabricio Werdum wins via Rd. 2 submission.
That’ll do it. Some great finishes tonight. Later, CP.
Today’s history lesson comes courtesy of the official Team Nogueira Youtube page and depicts Nogueira’s second professional fight, which took place all the way back in October of 1999. He was a younger Minotauro, a faster Minotauro, a Minotauro who had no idea of the horrorsthat awaitedhim in his life’s pursuit. Despite holding a 13 pound weight advantage (or as Tim Sylvia would call it “no weight advantage”), Nog’s opponent, Nate Schroeder, similarly had no idea that he would be stepping into the cage against a future legend of the sport and human boa constrictor. The result was as you’d expect: Nogueira by armbar in under two minutes. Sorry, I forgot to mention the obligatory **SPOILER ALERT**.
Nogueira would win his next four fights (before bumping into Dan Henderson at the 1999 King of Kings Tournament Semifinal), eventually sign with Pride, and yadda yadda yadda LEGEND. To his credit, Schroeder would go on to compile an 11-10 record in MMA, including a notable victory over Paul Buentello and a lone UFC appearance at UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams. He would end up tapping to the strikes of Ian Freeman in the second round of said octagon appearance, but hey, what the hell have any of YOU done with YOUR lives?
Today’s history lesson comes courtesy of the official Team Nogueira Youtube page and depicts Nogueira’s second professional fight, which took place all the way back in October of 1999. He was a younger Minotauro, a faster Minotauro, a Minotauro who had no idea of the horrorsthat awaitedhim in his life’s pursuit. Despite holding a 13 pound weight advantage (or as Tim Sylvia would call it “no weight advantage”), Nog’s opponent, Nate Schroeder, similarly had no idea that he would be stepping into the cage against a future legend of the sport and human boa constrictor. The result was as you’d expect: Nogueira by armbar in under two minutes. Sorry, I forgot to mention the obligatory **SPOILER ALERT**.
Nogueira would win his next four fights (before bumping into Dan Henderson at the 1999 King of Kings Tournament Semifinal), eventually sign with Pride, and yadda yadda yadda LEGEND. To his credit, Schroeder would go on to compile an 11-10 record in MMA, including a notable victory over Paul Buentello and a lone UFC appearance at UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams. He would end up tapping to the strikes of Ian Freeman in the second round of said octagon appearance, but hey, what the hell have any of YOU done with YOUR lives?
These days, UFC on FUEL cards are like that son in the family who shows up to Thanksgiving dinner bragging about the “big shot writing job” he got for a “legitimate mixed martial arts publication,” which is to say that no one ever really notices them or pays them any mind until they are forced to deal with them face-to-face. For instance, did any of you realize that UFC on FUEL 10 goes down this Saturday and features not only the finals of TUF: Brazil 2 but a rematch between coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum? Neither did I, and being aware of upcoming MMA events is, like, half of what my big shot writing job entails.
Anyway, in an effort to stir up some last-minute interest for the event, the fine folks over at FUEL TV have made the first meeting between Big Nog and “Vai Cavalo” available for viewing. The fight originally went down at Pride: Critical Countdown Absolute Fun Time Bang-Bang! (part of that title might be stolen from the Japanese laundromat across the street from me) and constituted the quarterfinals of the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix. In a hard fought battle between two of the sport’s best grapplers, Nogueira emerged victorious by way of unanimous decision.
However, Werdum’s career resurgence in the UFC has convinced oddsmakers that Big Nog will enjoy no such victory when the two clash this weekend. Will Nogueira prove us all wrong once again? Tune in this Saturday starting at 8 p.m. EST to find out.
These days, UFC on FUEL cards are like that son in the family who shows up to Thanksgiving dinner bragging about the “big shot writing job” he got for a “legitimate mixed martial arts publication,” which is to say that no one ever really notices them or pays them any mind until they are forced to deal with them face-to-face. For instance, did any of you realize that UFC on FUEL 10 goes down this Saturday and features not only the finals of TUF: Brazil 2 but a rematch between coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum? Neither did I, and being aware of upcoming MMA events is, like, half of what my big shot writing job entails.
Anyway, in an effort to stir up some last-minute interest for the event, the fine folks over at FUEL TV have made the first meeting between Big Nog and “Vai Cavalo” available for viewing. The fight originally went down at Pride: Critical Countdown Absolute Fun Time Bang-Bang! (part of that title might be stolen from the Japanese laundromat across the street from me) and constituted the quarterfinals of the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix. In a hard fought battle between two of the sport’s best grapplers, Nogueira emerged victorious by way of unanimous decision.
However, Werdum’s career resurgence in the UFC has convinced oddsmakers that Big Nog will enjoy no such victory when the two clash this weekend. Will Nogueira prove us all wrong once again? Tune in this Saturday starting at 8 p.m. EST to find out.
(“It’ll never happen, ladies. Now go back to the kitchen and make me an eight-sided sandwich.” / Image via CagePotato’s Facebook page, which you should all follow immediately.)
By the CagePotato.com Staff
They were undeniable truths — until suddenly, they weren’t. Check out our latest list below, and ask yourself: What do I believe now that will turn out to be utter bullshit someday?
1. Alistair Overeem will become the UFC heavyweight champion in less than a year.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)
2. There’s no way a boxer could ever beat a mixed martial artist under MMA rules.
(“It’ll never happen, ladies. Now go back to the kitchen and make me an eight-sided sandwich.” / Image via CagePotato’s Facebook page, which you should all follow immediately.)
By the CagePotato.com Staff
They were undeniable truths — until suddenly, they weren’t. Check out our latest list below, and ask yourself: What do I believe now that will turn out to be utter bullshit someday?
1. Alistair Overeem will become the UFC heavyweight champion in less than a year.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)
2. There’s no way a boxer could ever beat a mixed martial artist under MMA rules.
