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The Forward Roll: UFC 136 Edition

Filed under: UFCJust in case UFC president Dana White had any doubts about what he would do next with the middleweight division — and before UFC 136, he seemed a bit torn — Chael Sonnen made his case with his actions and his mouth. Afterward, it seem…

Filed under: UFC

Just in case UFC president Dana White had any doubts about what he would do next with the middleweight division — and before UFC 136, he seemed a bit torn — Chael Sonnen made his case with his actions and his mouth. Afterward, it seemed clear that White would grant Sonnen his wish for a rematch with division champion Anderson Silva.

According to White, it’s a matchup that Silva wants, too, because, as he told MMA Fighting, Silva “hates him with a passion.” The funny thing is, Silva should love Sonnen. He should send him thank you cards. And 20 years from now, he’ll probably feel that way. Because regardless of his words, Sonnen has helped to raise Silva’s profile and to define his career.

Years from now, when Silva is old and we have a stronger grasp of MMA history, the win over Sonnen will be seen as the defining one of his career. It was a victory that only a champion could have pulled out. Silva was fighting with a severe rib injury, and was trailing badly on the judges’ scorecards — 40-34 on one judge’s card. The fifth round started much the same as the first four, with a Sonnen takedown. But Silva somehow willed one last gasp triangle that caught Sonnen and forced a tapout.

Of course, master fight promoter Sonnen barely waited to begin talk of a rematch. It was at the post-fight press conference that same night when he said, in Silva’s presence, “Here’s the truth: if the commission would sanction it and Dana would move, I would fight him again right now.”

If we’ve learned anything about White over time, it’s that he loves a fighter who proactively campaigns for opportunities. Passion moves him. Whether you love or hate Sonnen, you can’t deny his passion. And after his first performance against Silva, you can’t deny he has a chance to win. That should mean big interest in the fight, and big business for the event, and even Anderson Silva should be able to appreciate that.

Frank Edgar
Edgar has spent the last two years of his life focused on two fighters: BJ Penn and Gray Maynard. He has to be thrilled about moving on. And he also has to be thrilled about finishing his toughest opponent after nearly 12 rounds of war, earning a decisive conclusion.

Edgar will take off the next two weeks or so, and he won’t be back in the cage until early next year. Gilbert Melendez has been mentioned, but for now it seems like Melendez’s status is up in the air. That makes it a toss-up as to whether Edgar will face him next, or a UFC lightweight.

Prediction: Edgar faces the winner of UFC on FOX 1’s Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight

Gray Maynard
Maynard seemed heartbroken after UFC 136, and you can’t blame him. He came within a punch or two of winning the lightweight title in two different fights and couldn’t close it out.

There is a silver lining though, as his competitive performances have shown that he is clearly capable of giving the world’s best a run for their money. And after having been tied up with Edgar so long, there are plenty of fresh matchups out there for him.

Prediction: He faces the loser of UFC on FOX 1’s Henderson vs. Guida fight

Jose Aldo
Aldo received some criticism for his win over Kenny Florian from those who believed he was too conservative with his offense. But with the way Florian was attacking him, Aldo did the right thing. Florian was looking to take away Aldo’s explosiveness by either taking him down or grinding him against the cage. By FightMetric’s count, Florian tried 19 takedowns (and only completed one).

Even if you didn’t watch the fight, from those number you can surmise that Florian didn’t give Aldo much room to operate. Aldo had to worry about defense for good reason, and he did a great job with it. It may not be any easier in his next fight.

Prediction: He faces unbeaten Chad Mendes in early 2012.

Kenny Florian
At least in the immediate aftermath of UFC 136, Florian looked like a man who was done with fighting. Verbally, he wouldn’t commit to either continuing or retirement, and rightfully, Florian should take time to consider all his options. At 35 years old, Florian is still a very good fighter, and he could certainly continue on and seek out intriguing matchups if he so chose. But Florian has always said his goal was a UFC championship belt, and now it appears that will never happen. That leads me to wonder if he will have the proper motivation to go through the grind of training camps. Hopefully he makes a decision he can embrace wholeheartedly.

Prediction: Florian retires and continues his strong work in broadcasting

Chael Sonnen
Sonnen’s performance Saturday night was nothing short of systematic destruction. Sonnen finished off Stann with the arm triangle choke and got up off the canvas with a stoic, focused look on his face. It seemed like there was something on his mind other than Stann, and we quickly found out what it was. Bring on the rematch.

Prediction: Silva-Sonnen II

Brian Stann
Stann is a strong, powerful dude, but he had no prayer of stopping Sonnen’s takedowns. He’ll always be a tough matchup for strikers, but wrestlers are always going to try to follow the blueprint laid by Sonnen and Phil Davis. Fortunately for Stann, there aren’t an overwhelming number of wrestlers. Anyway, it’s time to retool and reload for Stann.

Prediction: Stann might have a bit of a wait until his next fight. I’m thinking he could face Mark Munoz if Munoz should lose to Chris Leben next month, or if not, Stann gets someone like a returning Alessio Sakara.

Joe Lauzon
Lauzon has some of the best finishing instincts in the UFC, fearless in his attempts to close out a fight. His win over Melvin Guillard was a shocker, entering the fight as a massive underdog. Despite the big win, Lauzon’s only 3-2 in his last five, so it’s hard to figure exactly where he fits in the lightweight hierarchy.

Prediction: TJ Grant looked very good in his lightweight debut. Sounds like a good matchup.

Anthony Pettis
When the UFC announced Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens, no one was expecting a slow grind of a fight. And while it wasn’t Pettis’ best performance, he proved he could go in there against a rugged, powerful striker and win. Ultimately, Pettis isn’t going to win a title with his wrestling, so I don’t expect him to employ the same kind of game plan against anyone. Let’s get him back in there against another striker.

Prediction: Pettis faces Sam Stout

Stipe Miocic
You may or may not have seen the debut of Miocic, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound heavyweight who outlasted the always tough Joey Beltran during the prelims. Miocic looked good but not great against a guy who is among the UFC’s most durable heavyweights. But even though he has plenty of work to do, it was a positive first step.

Prediction: He faces Mark Hunt

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 136 Edition

(If Jesse Ventura ever sees this, someone out there is going to get sued. / Props to MMAFighting.)

As a long time UFC fan, I’ve recently noticed that their marketing team has seemingly taken a break from using corny phrases to label their events. In fact, the last UFC pay-per-view to not be named after the fighters in the main event was back at UFC 125: Resolution, which featured the eventual draw between, you guessed it, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. You just don’t see that kind of irony everyday.

UFC 136 was actually able to provide us with closure, however — more closure in fact than any card in quite a while. Not only did Edgar vindicate himself in triumphant fashion, but Jose Aldo proved to many of his critics that his gas tank is not an issue, Kenny Florian proved that he will never, ever, win a title fight, and Chael Sonnen proved that ring rust is for the weak. But now, we look to the future, and more importantly, try to predict it for the weekend’s big winners. So if you think our future match-ups are garbage, be sure to let us know in the comments section below.

(If Jesse Ventura ever sees this, someone out there is going to get sued. / Props to MMAFighting.)

Frankie Edgar: There weren’t many of us out there who picked Edgar to finish Maynard in such decisive fashion, let alone with strikes. But with his brilliant come from behind win, Edgar showcased yet another ever improving aspect of his game, and has emphatically earned his spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, though maybe not as high up as Dana would think. Though it seems Gilbert Melendez is destined for the next shot, we think the winner of the Ben Henderson/Clay Guida match deserves it just as much, if not more. Henderson presents many of the same challenges to Edgar as Maynard did, so it would be interesting to see if he would fare any better. And the thought of seeing Edgar and Guida bounce around like they had just tasted sugar for the first time is enough to give us an epileptic seizure.

Jose Aldo: I may be in the minority here, but I wasn’t exactly blown away by Aldo’s performance against “Kenflo” this past weekend. Yes, his takedown defense looked great, but let’s not forget that wrestling has never been Florian’s strong suit. Chad Mendes, on the other hand, has absolutely dominated past opponents with his wrestling, and his stand up is improving by the day. If he can get inside on Aldo, we could be seeing a very different kind of riddle for Aldo to solve. But outside of Mendes and a possible future rematch with Mark Hominick, there don’t seem to be many featherweight match-ups at the moment that spark a lot of interest. Lightweight however, is an entirely different story…

Chael Sonnen: You have to be one arrogant son of a bitch to think that you cannot only hand pick your future opponent’s, but pick the day on which you will fight them as well. Luckily, Chael Sonnen’s arrogance is beginning to take on it’s own persona, and it’s getting harder and harder to disagree with the guy. He dominated a game Brian Stann despite being away from the octagon for over a year, and he made it look easy. Dana White has admitted it would be foolish not to book this rematch, and for once we’re in agreement with “The Baldfather.” Some people are arguing for a Dan Henderson rematch, given he gets past Shogun, but considering that fight is being held at light heavyweight, we don’t really see why the winner would necessarily deserve it over Sonnen, especially since Shogun clearly has no middleweight aspirations. Book it Dana…book it and they will come.

Joe Lauzon: It took “J-Lau” less than a minute to end Melvin Guillard’s hopes of getting the next lightweight title shot and remind us of why he is one of the most dangerous guys in the division. Though his cardio has long been questionable, there’s no doubting the kid’s killer instinct, and it would be nice to see him put together a nice win streak for once. Giving him a crack at the winner of Siver/Cerrone or Dos Anjos/Tibau would really help thin the herd of potential contenders, and that is one thing the lightweight division could use. Another option, and perhaps the one with the biggest potential for fireworks, would be Nate Diaz. This is of course based on the assumption that Nate Diaz decides to hang out at lightweight for a while, and who knows with that guy.

Demian Maia: Maia’s victory over Jorge Santiago was about as typical as could be expected. It showcased his well known ability to control a fighter on the ground while highlighting the fact that his stand up still has a ways to go. Matching him up against someone like Alan Belcher would really let us know where exactly he stands in the middleweight division, but the grappling fanatic in me would really like to see how he’d fare against someone like Rousimar Palhares, who’s striking is quickly becoming as tenacious as his ground game.

Anthony Pettis: After being wrestlefucked by Clay Guida in his UFC debut, the final WEC lightweight champion seemed eager to prove that he is constantly improving upon his weaknesses with a takedown oriented victory over Jeremy Stephens. A fight against someone equally well rounded, like Jim Miller, would be a nice measuring stick for Pettis, as would a match against the resurgent Sam Stout. Or if we really wanted to see how far his wrestling is coming, we could wake Gray Maynard up and throw him in “Showtime’s” direction.

Oh, and can someone throw Jorge Santiago a fricken bone? The poor guy has had about the worst run of luck in the UFC that I can remember, and I’d really just love to see him pull off one of these again.

We’ll let you decide the loser’s fates in the comment section…choose wisely.

-Danga

UFC 136 GIF Party: The Finishes

(Punch-face: Where ‘herp’ meets ‘derp’. Photo via Cagewriter.)

Of the 11 bouts hosted at UFC 136, eight went to the judges — which made the other three seem even more special by comparison. In case you missed ’em on Saturday, take a look back at the two dramatic submissions and one classic knockout from “Edgar vs. Maynard III.”

GIFs are after the jump, via IronForgesIron.

(Punch-face: Where ‘herp’ meets ‘derp’. Photo via Cagewriter.)

Of the 11 bouts hosted at UFC 136, eight went to the judges — which made the other three seem even more special by comparison. In case you missed ‘em on Saturday, take a look back at the two dramatic submissions and one classic knockout from “Edgar vs. Maynard III.”

GIFs are after the jump, via IronForgesIron.

Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard

Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann

On the next page: The main event finish and the slo-mo reverse-angle replay.

Joe Lauzon: Melvin Guillard Was ‘Overconfident’ at UFC 136

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Videos

HOUSTON — MMA Fighting caught up with Joe Lauzon after his upset win over Melvin Guillard at UFC 136. Lauzon talks about Guillard’s behavior before the fight, his own performance in the first round and what’s next for him.

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Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Videos

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UFC 136 Bonuses: Frankie Edgar Knockout Leads $75,000 Winners

Filed under: UFC, NewsFrankie Edgar survived another first-round onslaught from Gray Maynard on Saturday.

But this time, rather than going the distance for a draw like the two did in January, Edgar got out of the first, controlled the pace of the fig…

Filed under: UFC, News

Frankie Edgar survived another first-round onslaught from Gray Maynard on Saturday.

But this time, rather than going the distance for a draw like the two did in January, Edgar got out of the first, controlled the pace of the fight in the second and third, and in the fourth he dropped Maynard with a right and finished him on the ground. One of the best rivalries of the year finally had a finish – with an exclamation point – at UFC 136 in Houston.

Edgar’s fourth-round TKO in the lightweight championship main event earned him $75,000 for Knockout of the Night – the night’s only KO stoppage. Joining him with $75,000 bonuses were Joe Lauzon for Submission of the Night and Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia for Fight of the Night.

More Coverage: UFC 136 Results

It was like deja vu for Edgar and Maynard in the first round. Just like their second fight at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, Maynard dominated the first, dropping Edgar with big shots on the feet. In January, it was a decisive 10-8 round for Maynard that Edgar had to come back from. On Saturday, just one just, Doug Crosby, gave a 10-8 to Maynard, while the other two scored it a standard 10-9.

Still, Edgar had to go into rally mode with his face bloodied to start the second round. Maynard was decidedly more cautious in the second and third rounds, both of which saw Edgar controlling the tempo and landing decent shots on the feet. But deep in the fourth round, Edgar landed a right uppercut that stunned Maynard, followed it with several more rights on the feet that put Maynard on the canvas, and then finished with several big shots on the ground.

The end came at 3:54 of the fourth, and Edgar retained his lightweight title. It also gave him a win over Maynard in his third try. In the pair’s first fight, in April 2008, Maynard won a unanimous decision. After Edgar won the lightweight title from BJ Penn and defended it in their rematch, he defended it against Maynard at UFC 125 – and the two fought to a rare title match draw. Finally with some closure, Edgar’s next opponent will be just his third in more than two years after a steady diet of Penn and Maynard the last four fights.

Lauzon’s Submission of the Night was also the card’s biggest upset. It came just 47 seconds into the first round against Melvin Guillard, who was riding a five-fight winning streak and came into the fight a more than 5-to-1 favorite. Guillard came out bouncing around and looking to land big shots, but a left from Lauzon stunned Guillard, and Lauzon pounced, quickly took Guillard’s back and sank in a fight-ending rear naked choke.

Amazingly, Lauzon now has won six straight fight night bonus awards and seven in his last eight fights. He has four submission bonuses and three Fight of the Night awards in that stretch. He also won Submission of the Night in June, a first-round kimura against Curt Warburton.

Lauzon’s only competition for the Submission of the Night award came from Chael Sonnen, whose second-round arm triangle choke of Brian Stann probably earned him another shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen called Silva out after the fight and said that he wants to up the stakes. Sonnen proposed that if he wins and takes the middleweight title, which he nearly did in August 2010, Silva should have to leave the 185-pound division. And if Sonnen loses, he said he will leave the UFC forever.

At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White said it was tough to choose between Lauzon and Sonnen for Submission of the Night, but he ultimately gave it to Lauzon because Lauzon was such a heavy underdog and he rocked the favorite so quickly in the first round.

The Fight of the Night may had checks written for it the day it was announced. Phan and Garcia fought to a controversial split decision win for Garcia at the TUF 12 Finale in December. A rematch was booked for March, but Phan was injured. And when Phan’s original UFC 136 opponent, Matt Grice (who replaced Josh Grispi) was forced out, Garcia stepped in.

In what amounted to a continuation of their first fight, Phan and Garcia again had moments of a backyard brawl. But Phan was more accurate and controlled the pace in the first two rounds, landing more consistently. Garcia may have been on his way to a possible 10-8 third round, but Phan did enough to stay in the round and won a 29-28 unanimous decision.

Both Phan-Garcia fights have been Fight of the Night winners, and while Phan said after the fight he doesn’t want to do No. 3, Garcia said if the fight could be in Houston, in his native Texas, he’d gladly do a trilogy fight.

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Fighter vs. Writer: UFC 136 Picks with ‘King’ Mo Lawal

Filed under: UFCLast time on Fighter vs. Writer, Michael Bisping picked with his heart rather than his head at UFC 135, and it cost him the victory against yours truly.

With UFC 136 nearly upon us, I challenged former Strikeforce light heavyweight cha…

Filed under: UFC

Last time on Fighter vs. Writer, Michael Bisping picked with his heart rather than his head at UFC 135, and it cost him the victory against yours truly.

With UFC 136 nearly upon us, I challenged former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and noted agent provocateur of Twitter, “King” Mo Lawal. There are few fighters more knowledgeable about the fight game (or more confident in their own knowledge of the fight game) than Lawal, so I have my work cut out for me.

As usual, we’ll start at the top of the card and work our way down. Mr. Lawal, you have the honors…

More Coverage: Watch UFC 136 Live Online | UFC 136 Results

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Lawal: Maynard via decision. “I love both fighters. Frankie’s a soldier, and so is Gray. Gray’s Team Thirsty. But I think Gray can pull off the decision, get a few takedowns early on and then coast. But if Frankie starts fast, he could be in trouble.”
Fowlkes: Edgar via decision. He surprised me last time with how well he dealt with Maynard’s wrestling skills, and that was after getting dropped and nearly finished. I think he sticks and moves his way to a win, and we can all finally move on our lives.

Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian

Lawal: Florian via decision. “This whole card is fighters I like, but man, I think Kenny’s going to pull it off. The southpaw stance, the elusiveness, inside leg kicks, and takedowns. I think he pull it off that way.”
Fowlkes: Aldo via decision. I just don’t see Florian being able to wrestle his way to a win before Aldo tenderizes his thighs with those kicks. The champ is too fast and has too many weapons at his disposal. Another weight class where Florian is better than everybody but the very best.

Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann

Lawal: Sonnen via decision. “I like Brian Stann, but I got to go with the wrestler on this one. Chael’s my boy. …His double-leg is tricky. No one’s figured out how to stop it. They all try and guillotine him and it never works. They get taken down. I don’t know how Brian Stann’s going to be able to stop that.”
Fowlkes: Stann via decision. I agree that the takedown will be hard to stop, but if Stann can manage it I think this becomes his fight to lose. Sonnen’s been off for over a year, and Stann’s had a lot of time to hang out in the gym and plan on how to shut down the double-leg.

Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan

Lawal: Nobody. “I think this fight’s going to be a disappointment. Not a disappointment, but there’s going to be more game-planing, and it’ll be more technical than people think. It’s a toss-up. It’s going to come down to who made the adjustments.” Even when pressed, Lawal refused to make a pick. You know what that means. Now he can only get the win on this one if it ends in a draw or, as has actually happened before, doesn’t take place at all.
Fowlkes: Phan via decision. I expect Garcia to show up telling himself he’s not just going to brawl, but then I expect him to get hit once and forget all about that. If Phan can avoid getting sucked into a street fight, like I think he can, he outpoints Garcia clearly enough this time that even the worst judges can’t miss it.

Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon

Lawal: Guillard via TKO. “Stoppage. First round. I think he’s much better, much more dynamic, and he’s more mature now. He’s a different fighter.”
Fowlkes: Guillard via TKO. I don’t know if it’ll come in the first round, but it will come. I don’t see Lauzon being able to get him on the mat, at least not for very long, and Guillard is too fast and too powerful on the feet.

Mo Lawal picks: Maynard, Florian, Sonnen, Nobody, Guillard
Ben Fowlkes picks: Edgar, Aldo, Stann, Phan, Guillard

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