The last time that the UFC went to Brazil, fans were treated to a lackluster card that included a rematch no one asked for in the main event and five promotional newcomers on the main card.At UFC 153, big-name stars Anderson Silva and Minotauro Nogueir…
The last time that the UFC went to Brazil, fans were treated to a lackluster card that included a rematch no one asked for in the main event and five promotional newcomers on the main card.
Silva faces Ultimate Fighter pioneer Stephan Bonnar in a light heavyweight contest that promises to produce fireworks. Billed as a battle that can only end in a spectacular knockout or an incredible upset, there is little question that the fight is the type of battle that fans crave.
Big Nog sees action for the first time in 10 months when he meets 21-4 heavyweight Dave Herman in another brilliant stylistic matchup.
Top prospects Erick Silva and Glover Teixeira will both try to live up to their hype when they meet Jon Fitch and Fabio Maldonado, respectively. Will either man be upset, or will they contender to climb the divisional ladder?
A rematch between light heavyweight standout Phil Davis and undefeated Brazilian Wagner Prado takes place on the card, as well as an exciting welterweight matchup between exceptional grappler Demian Maia and relentless Rick Story.
Only a few days away from fight night, let’s take a look at UFC 153, including fight previews, odds and predictions for all six main-card bouts.
Anderson Silva has accomplished more than any other fighter in UFC history. By accepting a light heavyweight bout against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153, which was previously headlined by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, Silv…
Anderson Silva has accomplished more than any other fighter in UFC history. By accepting a light heavyweight bout against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153, which was previously headlined by a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, Silva has added “event savior” to his long list of descriptions.
With Aldo and co-headliner Quinton Jackson being forced off of the fight card due to injuries, the UFC needed one of its biggest stars to step up in order to avoid cancelling a second event in as many months.
Though it has been pegged as one of the biggest mismatches in MMA history by oddsmakers, the bout between Silva and Bonnar helped the UFC avoid serious embarrassment. Additionally, Silva training partner Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira took a fight with Dave Herman on short notice to give UFC 153 a stronger co-main event.
With the event set to take place this Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, let’s take a look at the rest of the fight card and the competitors who should walk away from UFC 153 with a win.
Another busy weekend in the world of mixed martial arts and UFC takes the action inside the Octagon across the pond for a special UFC on Fuel card that features a heavyweight clash between Stefan Struve and Stipe Miocic.The 6’11” Struve is looking to p…
Another busy weekend in the world of mixed martial arts and UFC takes the action inside the Octagon across the pond for a special UFC on Fuel card that features a heavyweight clash between Stefan Struve and StipeMiocic.
The 6’11” Struve is looking to prove that he is much more than just a gatekeeper in UFC. He has won his last three fights to run his UFC record to 8-3 (24-5 overall). His ability to use his size, long limbs and strength to get opponents down makes him a nightmare to prepare for.
Miocic is slowly making a name for himself in the heavyweight division. He’s not on the verge of stardom, but he does have a career record of 9-0 and has won his last two fights with impressive knockouts. This will be, literally and figuratively, the biggest test of his career.
Where: Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England
When: Saturday, September 29. Main Card Fights start at 4:00 p.m. ET. Facebook Preliminary Fights start at 1:30 p.m. ET
Watch: Fuel TV (Main Card); Facebook (Preliminary Card)
MAIN CARD ON FUEL TV
Heavyweight Bout: Stefan Struve vs. StipeMiocic
Welterweight Bout: Dan Hardy vs. AmirSadollah
Welterweight Bout: John Hathaway vs. John Maguire
Bantamweight Bout: Brad Pickett vs. Yves Jabouin
Welterweight Bout: Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig
Lightweight Bout: Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman
PRELIMINARY CARD ON FACEBOOK
Light Heavyweight Bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. JimiManuwa
Middleweight Bout: Tom Watson vs. Brad Tavares
Featherweight Bout: Andy Ogle vs. AkiraCorassani
Featherweight Bout: Jason Young vs. Robbie Peralta
175-Pound Catchweight Bout: DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson
Struve‘s Keys to Victory
Use kickboxing skills to grind Miocic down; dominate the ground
Struve‘s game is dependent on being able to work the ground, but he does have strong kickboxing skills and should be able to land some hard strikes to get Miocic out of his element.
Once Struve finds his rhythm and figures out what Miocic wants to do, he will be able to shoot for takedowns and use his abnormally long limbs to hold his opponent on the ground to work for a submission or go for the ground-and-pound.
Miocic‘s Keys to Victory
Let speed and precision frustrate Struve
Miocic has a strong boxing background that will keep him in any fight. Make no mistake, though, he is not a pushover. He is not a great all-around fighter, but he can trade with anyone in the division.
He is a lot more comfortable keeping the fight standing, so he has to avoid Struve‘s takedowns at all costs.
This is the biggest test of Miocic‘s career so far, and easily the most high-profile fight he has had. Don’t underestimate the nerves he will have in this spot. When the fight really gets into its groove, he should be fine. But the question is, will he be around long enough for it to reach that point?
What They Are Saying
Stefan Struve is slowly moving up the heavyweight ranks and has a lot on the line in this fight. Like Miocic, this is his first main event. He has to prove that he can fight any style if he wants to be taken as a serious contender in the near-future.
Here is what he told reporters leading up to the fight about his preparation and strategy going into uncharted territory. (via Sports Illustrated)
“I want to show everyone what I can do on my feet,” said Struve. “I want to show that I know how to make use of my reach advantage and that I have finishing power. I want to show that I’ve put it all together and show everyone I’ve become a complete fighter.”
Standing up has always been the knock on Struve, though he has gotten a few knockouts in his UFC career against lesser talents.
Undercard Fight to Watch:DaMarques Johnson vs. Gunnar Nelson
Johnson is one of those fighters that looks a lot better than he really is. He enters this fight with a 15-11 career record and consecutive losses against John Maguire and Mike Swick. He was put in this fight just over a week ago after Pascal Krauss went down with an injury.
Nelson is making his UFC debut after a 9-0-1 record in various promotions, most notably BAMMA. Given that he had to change his preparation after his original opponent went down, it will be interesting to see how he handles himself in this spotlight.
Main Event Prediction
Struve and Miocic is a tremendous clash-of-styles bout. You can make a legitimate argument for either based on how well they do what it is they do—Struve on the ground, Miocic standing up.
History has told me that, when in doubt, always go with the puncher, because he can strike at a moment’s notice.
The drama surrounding Jon Jones may continue long after UFC 152, but Saturday night will be all about fighting for the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. Jones will attempt to defend his belt for a fourth straight time against a former UFC titleholder i…
The drama surrounding Jon Jones may continue long after UFC 152, but Saturday night will be all about fighting for the UFC’s light heavyweight champion. Jones will attempt to defend his belt for a fourth straight time against a former UFC titleholder in Vitor Belfort.
In addition to a 205-pound title fight, UFC 152 will feature the flyweight division’s first ever UFC championship bout. After picking up wins in the semifinals of a four-man tournament to determine the firs ever 125-pound champion, former top bantamweight contenders Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson will battle for a place in the history books.
An important middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and Brian Stann will also be contested on the main card, with the winner taking one step closer to a meeting with 185-pound champion Anderson Silva.
Bleacher Report will provide live coverage of UFC 152 throughout the event. Quick results will be provided below, while round-by-round analysis will be available on the following pages of this slideshow.
Many pundits will try their best to tell you that sports are like life, that they teach lessons and build character. And that’s true in some ways—sports can teach you a lot, mostly about how much of your life you’re willing to devote to them.The …
Many pundits will try their best to tell you that sports are like life, that they teach lessons and build character. And that’s true in some ways—sports can teach you a lot, mostly about how much of your life you’re willing to devote to them.
The vast majority of us prefer sleeping in on weekends, eating at McDonalds instead of yet another grilled chicken breast, going to the movies instead of the weight room and quitting while others continue on.
Drive and desire do just as much as native athleticism to separate athletes from everyday citizens.
They are also the character traits that separate the great athletes, the winners, from the also-rans.
The best of the best have something burning inside of them, a need to win and impose their will. Michael Jordan had it. So do Roger Federer and Tiger Woods. Winning and losing at sports is what defines their lives. They aren’t satisfied with moral victories. A moral victory isn’t even in the vocabulary of a winner.
That’s why, with due respect, Brandon Vera showed MMA fans exactly why he’s gone 4-6-1 in the UFC Octagon since he cockily told the world he was going to hold the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight championships at the same time.
Vera was practically gloating at the post-fight press conference after his fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Sure, he had lost two of the first three rounds and was knocked out in the fourth. But few expected him to do even that well. Against a flat-footed and slow Shogun Rua, he managed to survive a little longer that expected.
Many called it a “feel-good” performance. Clearly it felt good to Vera. You could practically see the joy, and the surprise, on his face every time he landed a blow, every minute that went by, each tick of the clock a feather in his cap.
He was never winning. Each little success was countered, often brutally, by the experienced Rua. To his credit, there weren’t any cringe-inducing moments either, the kind that have haunted Vera throughout his career. He lost, clearly and without controversy, but at least he never looked like a clown.
And that was enough for him. It was a moral victory and he celebrated like he had won the Super Bowl and three Olympic medals. He raised his hand in the air and told the assembled media it was “…for all the haters. You know which finger is yours.”
Imagine Michael Jordan celebrating a loss to the Pistons by telling himself that he “played hard.” Imagine Matt Hughes being smugly satisfied with a moral victory. That just doesn’t cut it for anyone who has the temperament and fighting spirit to truly be the best.
Sports are binary. There are two possible outcomes—winning or losing. Any other result might as well not count.
There are no moral victories. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a defeat, deconstruct it and use it to your advantage. You can learn plenty from a defeat. Everyone loses eventually, and the best come back from a setback mentally stronger than ever. But the most important and lasting lesson from a loss, at least for true champions, is to never to be satisfied with defeat.
Brandon Vera lost to Mauricio Rua. The fact that he celebrated that loss, that a competitive loss was enough for him, tells you everything you need to know about why Vera never has, and never will, meet the lofty expectations he set for himself at the outset of his career.
Vera is happy to be the valiant loser. That’s good enough for him. And that’s why Brandon Vera will never hold UFC gold. It’s not that he isn’t physically capable of it. It’s that he just doesn’t care enough. He’s satisfied with losing in style, an also-ran attitude that eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The most anticipated rematch in recent memory will finally happen on July 7 as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will again put his belt on the line against his toughest foe to date, Chael Sonnen.The pair headline the promotion’s annual Fourth o…
The most anticipated rematch in recent memory will finally happen on July 7 as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will again put his belt on the line against his toughest foe to date, Chael Sonnen.
The pair headline the promotion’s annual Fourth of July weekend event, UFC 148, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
In the night’s co-main event, former light heavyweight champions Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz will settle their trilogy in what will be Ortiz’s final Octagon appearance.
UFC 148 will air live on pay-per-view starting at 8 p.m. ET. A two-hour preliminary card special airs on FX at 6 p.m. ET, while a single bout streams live on Facebook at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Check back for full results and reaction to each of the 11 bouts on the card.
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes
Gleison Tibau vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda
John Alessio vs. Shane Roller
Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo
Photo: Anderson Silva (L) faces off with Chael Sonnen (Josh Hedges/Zuffa, LLC)
Another busy weekend in the world of mixed martial arts and UFC takes the action inside the Octagon across the pond for a special UFC on Fuel card that features a heavyweight clash between Stefan