Tag: Thiago Silva

UFC on Fuel 10: How Werdum Tapped Nog and Silva Starched Feijao

UFC on Fuel 10 provided some exciting matchups and as many of you will have already heard, broke the promotion’s record for most submission wins on a card. It is always good to be reminded that cards which are short big-name matches can still provide i…

UFC on Fuel 10 provided some exciting matchups and as many of you will have already heard, broke the promotion’s record for most submission wins on a card. It is always good to be reminded that cards which are short big-name matches can still provide incredible entertainment. 

Today I would like to talk about three fights which took place last night, Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Thiago Silva vs. Rafael Feijao from UFC on Fuel 10, and Mamed Khalidov vs. Melvin Manhoef from KSW 23.

These matches provide wonderful examples of several different principles in combat sports, and I hope you will join me in appreciating them.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

I spoke in the lead up to this fight about Werdum’s improved kicking and love of the collar tie vs. Big Nog‘s new “clinch against the fence” style. I believed that much of the match would come down to Nogueira’s ability to take Werdum to the fence.

I have previously criticized Werdum’s ringcraft, as he routinely fights just a foot or so from the fence on the feet, and I shall not be changing my view of that today, as he did exactly the same thing against Nogueira. The main issue was that unless an opponent has Stefan Struve levels of obliviousness to where he is in the cage, he is not going to run right onto the fence.

Instead it is up to the aggressor, in this case this was Nogueira, to rush the fighter who is along the fence and close the distance between himself and the fence, while keeping his opponent in between. Nogueira just looked too slow and tentative to do anything about it most of the time and let Werdum move around half of the octagon along the fence.

Nogueira attempted to get in with his jab over and over but just as often got caught with a punch or a hard inside low kick. When he did close the distance, he often did it too slowly and head first, allowing Werdum to grab the back of Nog‘s head and use his forearms to keep separation between them in a double collar tie.

Nogueira did eventually get to his favourite position: against the fence with an underhook, his head underneath Werdum’s and working to free his other hand in order land slapping punches to the head and body.

However, Nog just isn’t a great wrestler and Werdum has been working on his own wrestling constantly, allowing him to shift his hips out and escape or work for a single or double collar tie after very brief periods of clinch fighting.

The ground work in the early going of the fight was extremely entertaining as Nogueira kept fighting back to his half guard and working to get under Werdum (something which he did remarkably well in their first bout), but Werdum had the good sense to use his top position from an MMA perspective rather than a grappling one and hammered Nog with some good strikes.

What marked the end of the bout for Nogueira, however, was a tactical decision with his grappling which is almost equivalent to poor ring craft in the stand up portion of the fight.

First, Werdum baited Nogueira into overcommitting on his clinch strikes, then turned Nogueira and threatened the takedown. This caused Nogueira to drop for the guillotine and give up top position to the younger, slicker grappler.

Werdum, with his back to the fence, gripped Nogueira’s punching hand and as Nogueira broke free and threw a punch, Werdum used the opportunity to secure an underhook on that side. From here, he turned Nogueira onto the fence and ducked down onto a single-leg attempt.

Smart stuff to bait Nogueira into opening himself up with the punch. From here Nogueira, obviously pressured by the threat of the takedown, fell back into a guillotine which Werdum briefly turned to his side to escape, then came up on top in Nogueira’s guard. Moments later, he was on Nogueira’s back and moving to lock in the fight-finishing armbar. 

Grabbing a guillotine and jumping guard, particularly with arm-in guillotines, just doesn’t work very well against the elite grapplers in MMA. Alan Belcher recently threw away a decision win to world-class blanket Yushin Okami by jumping guard with a guillotine and giving away a round on two separate occasions.

Nogueira famously threw away a win over the turtled and hurt Frank Mir by jumping on a guillotine attempt and flopping to his back, giving Mir top position.

Against Werdum, Nog didn’t lose so immediately that we can entirely blame the guillotine attempt, but it seems like Nogueira gave away a move to the ground that favoured Fabricio in hopes of finishing what is ultimately a low-percentage submission for most fighters.

Obviously, it is commendable that these fighters are attempting to finish fights and stay active when otherwise they will just be attempting to fight their way off  the fence and defend takedowns, but against good or better grapplers (and Werdum is one of the best in the world), it is often the case that if the submission fails, the guillotine-attempting fighter will lose himself the round and possibly the fight.

Risky guillotine aside, Nogueira is not nearly as durable as he once was, and incremental improvements in punching power and wrestling aren’t going to stop him from getting hurt or losing. Nog looked sluggish on the feet and struggled to even get to the clinch where he has been staying safe in his last few bouts.

It would not be a great shame for Nogueira to accept that he is one of the best MMA fighters ever and to retire to focus on training his many great students. 

Thiago Silva vs Rafael Feijao

Rafael Feijao is an interesting fighter but ultimately a very limited one. He has a hard right hand and can stuff takedowns well, as well as a good right low kick, but that’s about it.

He can put decent power in his other strikes but he just isn’t all that practised or scientific in landing them. Against Silva, he simply came forward with the same jab-to-overhand-right combination again and again. He ducked out nicely afterwards and avoided many counter blows but ultimately achieved very little with his predictable attacks.

What Feijao offered was the perfect fight for Thiago Silva. Silva is a good banger with both hands who is pretty good at avoiding punches in the pocket. He doesn’t do a great job cutting off the cage and gets frustrated extremely easily.
This is how Lyoto Machida and Alexander Gustaffson had such great success against Silva while Keith Jardine ended the night staring at the stadium ceiling. 

Whenever an opponent retreats more than once, Silva throws his arms out then rushes in with his chin out in front of him and nothing to stop his opponent from punching him as he comes in.

When his opponent obliges him with a brawl, however, he can work his great counter left hook, heavy right hand and decent jab. Silva’s jab worked well against Feijao, who ended up getting battered against the cage.

The final punch of the flurry was a right hook which sailed between Feijao‘s forearms. While Silva achieved this by muscling Feijao to his side with punches, it can be achieved more readily with a leap to the side a la the great Mike Tyson.

Pat Barry’s knockout of Shane Del Rosario came off an almost identical hook which entered from in front of his opponent rather than the side. GIF of the Barry knockout here.

Gif of the Thiago Silva knockout here.

Mamed Khalidov vs Melvin Manhoef

I often don’t get chance to talk about promotions outside of the UFC, but I thought I’d sneak this in here. If you get the chance, watch Khalidov vs. Manhoef from KSW, because it was a good tactical showing by Khalidov.

Melvin Manhoef is not bad at sprawling. He is ridiculously strong and explosive, and he has sprawled on takedown attempts from decent wrestlers before. What Khalidov did was to make his job much, much easier by using kicks to set up his takedown attempts. 

I previously spoke about how I enjoyed the young Chris Weidman’s use of high kicks to stand Mark Munoz up and then shoot in for Munoz’s hips with great success. Khalidov did much the same thing in using his kicks and punches to trouble Manhoef, who was clearly expecting to have to sprawl from the get go.

Using kicks to set up his shot, Khalidov got Manhoef down for a split second then switched to a guillotine as soon as Manhoef was working his way up. This wasn’t Manhoef‘s weak submission defence, this was an excellent example of mixing it all together by an up-and-coming fighter from the new generation.

Pick up Jack’s ebooks Advanced Striking and Elementary Striking at his blog, Fights Gone By.

Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

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‘UFC on FUEL TV 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum’ Aftermath – A Long, Strange Trip


(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.

For what it’s worth, Werdum mentioned that he wants to coach a season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Velasquez when the UFC Network debuts in Latin America this fall. We’ll talk about the likelihood of that ever happening if Velasquez makes it past Dos Santos.

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

@SethFalvo

Antonio Silva Challenges Thiago Silva to Heavyweight Bout, Thiago Responds

Following an impressive knockout victory over ex-Strikeforce champ Rafael Cavalcante at UFC on FUEL 10 Saturday night, it was inevitable Thiago Silva was going to get called out sooner than later. However, he probably wasn’t expecting a challenge …

Following an impressive knockout victory over ex-Strikeforce champ Rafael Cavalcante at UFC on FUEL 10 Saturday night, it was inevitable Thiago Silva was going to get called out sooner than later. 

However, he probably wasn’t expecting a challenge from his former teammate/recent heavyweight title challenger Antonio Silva. 

Shortly after Thiago finished “Feijao,” here’s what “Bigfoot” tweeted in Portuguese: 

The Strikeforce import says he has a “debt to settle” with Thiago, arguing that a heavyweight fight is fair since the fellow Brazilian cuts down from 230 pounds to make the light heavyweight limit of 205 pounds. 

Speaking through an interpreter at the UFC on FUEL 10 post-fight press conference (via MMA Fighting), Thiago Silva offered an explanation for the bad blood and welcomed the Bigfoot match up…as long as it takes place at light heavyweight. 

“He must be sad because I left American Top Team, but if he wants to fight me he has to come down to 205. That’s it,” he said. 

Thiago Silva stands 6’1″ with a 75-inch reach, while Antonio Silva is 6’4″ tall and boasts an 82-inch reach. 

Bigfoot is also known to shed some weight in order to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit, so a light heavyweight bout with anyone seems flat out impossible. 

Thiago Silva’s main card victory over Cavalcante earned him both “Knockout of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” honors, good for a cool $100,000 in bonus money. 

Due to failing post-fight drug tests, Thiago is just 1-1(2) in his past four bouts, though he decisively beat both Brandon Vera and Stanislav Nedkov prior to the wins being overturned. 

While the matchup would be pointless from a ranking standpoint, does anyone think Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Silva would be a fun fight to watch?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show. 

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UFC on Fuel 10 Video Highlights from Nogueira vs Werdum, Silva vs Cavalcante

If you tuned into UFC on Fuel 10 on Saturday night, you got to hear Bruce Buffer call out “and the winner by submission” multiple times over the course of the event. In fact, all but four fights on the card ended via some form of submission. …

If you tuned into UFC on Fuel 10 on Saturday night, you got to hear Bruce Buffer call out “and the winner by submission” multiple times over the course of the event. 

In fact, all but four fights on the card ended via some form of submission.  The two bouts headlining the Brazil fight card did not deviate from that pattern, but the light heavyweight scrap that preceded the co-main event sure did.

Thiago Silva and Rafael Cavalcante both possess black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, but neither fighter showed any interest in showcasing their ground skills on Saturday night. Instead, it looked like their only focus was ending the fight with one punch—something that Silva accomplished when he blasted Cavalcante with an uppercut, putting the seemingly gassed former Strikeforce champion down and out in the first round.

Leonardo Santos took home The Ultimate Fighter Brazil: 2 title when he earned a second-round tapout victory over William Macario.  Santos, fighting out of Nova Uniao, then leapt from the Octagon in search of teammate, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.  When Santos found Aldo in the crowd, the two embraced in celebration before Santos returned to the Octagon to have his hand raised in victory.

The main event, somewhat surprisingly, did end in submission.  The thinking heading into this fight was that Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would be reluctant to take the fight to the ground. Each man knew what the other could accomplish on the mat. 

When the fight began, Nogueira wanted to keep the fight standing, but Werdum, the world jiu-jitsu champion, did not.  Werdum’s takedowns decided that the fight was going to the mat, where he was able to verbally submit Nogueira.

Check out the video highlights for the three fights that headlined UFC on Fuel 10.

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The Good, Bad and Strange from UFC on Fuel TV 10

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 …

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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UFC on FUEL TV 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum — Live Results & Commentary


(Alright, let’s get this shit over with. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Tonight’s UFC event is, without question, the most highly-anticipated FUEL TV card since Mousasi vs. Latifi. In the main event, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum — who served as coaches on a show that you probably didn’t watch — will put on a repeat performance of their battle from the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix. Plus, Thiago Silva slugs it out with Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Erick Silva returns against the streaking Jason High, and the TUF Brazil 2 finalists square off. (Well, not both of the finalists, because once again, one of the finalists was injured before he could make it to the big dance, but look, there will be a fight between two guys on the show, and we were planning on walking our dog during that match anyway.)

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)

Tonight’s UFC event is, without question, the most highly-anticipated FUEL TV card since Mousasi vs. Latifi. In the main event, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum — who served as coaches on a show that you probably didn’t watch — will put on a repeat performance of their battle from the 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix. Plus, Thiago Silva slugs it out with Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Erick Silva returns against the streaking Jason High, and the TUF Brazil 2 finalists square off. (Well, not both of the finalists, because once again, one of the finalists was injured before he could make it to the big dance, but look, there will be a fight between two guys on the show, and we were planning on walking our dog during that match anyway.)

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 Sarafian wins 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.