The UFC will be back in Brazil on Saturday for UFC on Fuel 10, a fight card that will be headlined by a bout between two top-10 fighters in the heavyweight division, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum. The co-main event of the evening w…
The UFC will be back in Brazil on Saturday for UFC on Fuel 10, a fight card that will be headlined by a bout between two top-10 fighters in the heavyweight division, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum. The co-main event of the evening will see the finalists from the second season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil square off for the opportunity to earn a UFC contract.
Full UFC on Fuel 10 Weigh-In Results:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (237) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242)
June is here, and the UFC gets set to bring us more action with two events in back-to-back weeks.The first event comes to you from Brazil. UFC on Fuel TV 10 features Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight showdown. The rematch ha…
June is here, and the UFC gets set to bring us more action with two events in back-to-back weeks.
The first event comes to you from Brazil. UFC on Fuel TV 10 features Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight showdown. The rematch has significant ramifications in the division, and should Werdum win, he could be next in line for the UFC heavyweight championship.
Twelve other fights are happening at UFC on Fuel 10. It will be a good evening of action.
UFC 161 happens one week later. After injuries have altered the card, it is less enticing, but the main event will still deliver. Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson go toe-to-toe to try and reclaim past contender status.
Other contenders and prospects will be in action on both cards. It will be another satisfying month of MMA action.
Here are the fighters to bet on, and the fighters to avoid this month.
The UFC isn’t scared to cut fighters anymore. Not sure they ever really were, but at this moment in time, it doesn’t take much for one to receive his or her walking papers. Earn a few losses and/or fail a few drug tests, and a fighter always gets sent …
The UFC isn’t scared to cut fighters anymore. Not sure they ever really were, but at this moment in time, it doesn’t take much for one to receive his or her walking papers. Earn a few losses and/or fail a few drug tests, and a fighter always gets sent packing.
Well, almost always.
In the case of Thiago Silva, it’s apparently going to take a little more. And that last straw could come this weekend at UFC on FUEL TV 10 against Rafael Cavalcante.
In his past four contests, Silva is winless, though that’s not to say he didn’t originally post wins during the stretch. He did. Twice, in fact. Both victories, however, were overturned due to failed drug tests, placing the Brazilian at an unfortunate 0-2 with two no contests between 2010 and 2012. The losses came against Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson.
Fortunately for Silva, he is a strong talent with exceptional power. He also has a propensity for a brawl. It’s a weakness we saw cost him a win against LyotoMachida at UFC 94. Sometimes it turns into a strength, especially in fights against guys like Keith Jardine. Either way, he’s valuable to the UFC, as their decision to keep him around attests.
Also, his performances in the pair of overturned wins more than proved his ability to top mid-tier fighters in Brandon Vera and StanislavNedkov, though both are on the lower end of that category.
That’s the defense of Silva, the reasoning behind the UFC keeping him around. Would a loss to Cavalcante this weekend send him out of the UFC? Would a third failed drug test?
First of all, I’m moving forward with the presumption that Silva is not unintelligent, nor careless enough to risk a third failed test in five fights. Throw that scenario out the window because he knows another failed test means the end of his UFC days.
The other scenario is a little more intriguing. Why? Silva falls into a category similar to Dan Hardy, Leonard Garcia, and anyone else the UFC keeps around solely based on the entertainment factor. I’d like to think of him as the light heavyweight version of Mark Hominick, who lost four straight at the end of his career and wasn’t released from the UFC. Instead, he retired.
Meanwhile, Garcia lost five straight fights before being released. Hardy, like Hominick, also lost four-straight fights, though he survived the stretch.
Silva’s in a similar situation. He’s too fun for the UFC to let him go just yet. And fun was the only reason Garcia somehow stuck around as long as he did.
Silva’s also too talented. I’d argue, pound-for-pound, he’s more talented than Hardy and Hominick, and he’s obviously more talented than Garcia. But talent coupled with entertainment is the exact reason the UFC never let Hardy or Hominick go, and it’s the same reason Silva’s too great a commodity to be released.
A loss to Cavalcante on the main card of UFC on FUEL TV 10 would be a crippling blow to Silva, who would be winless in five straight contests. Guys have been cut for far less. Add in the failed tests, and it would seem a miracle the powerful Brazilian is still around.
But as quick as the UFC is to cut fighters nowadays, the company is just as quick to commend those who seem unworthy of commendation. Winning isn’t everything in this sport, and a lengthy skid doesn’t guarantee an eviction.
Hardy, Hominick and Garcia already taught us that.
The role of marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug (PED) has garnered much attention since Pat Healy lost a fortune (and a win) for testing positive after his victory over Jim Miller at UFC 159. Thiago Silva, a UFC fighter who knows a little so…
The role of marijuana as a performance-enhancing drug (PED) has garnered much attention since Pat Healy lost a fortune (and a win) for testing positive after his victory over Jim Miller at UFC 159.
Thiago Silva, a UFC fighter who knows a little something about being disciplined for marijuana consumption, recently spoke to bjpenn.com to add his two cents to the discussion.
The light heavyweight combatant, who is scheduled to welcome Rafael Cavalcante to the Octagon on June 8, provided the following perspective:
You know, it’s very complicated what to say about that. A lot of guys, they like to drink, you know; I don’t drink, I like to smoke. I don’t smoke any more, because I really can’t, but I used to like a lot because it helps me to relax. It’s not like a drug like everybody say[s]. So actually, it’s legal in California, you know. To be honest, I don’t think it’s fair, you know, because it doesn’t change your performance.
Silva’s sentiments echo those of handfuls of fans and fellow fighters who recently came to Healy‘s defense. While the legality of marijuana varies from location to location, many feel that its impact on athletic performance is negligible and that testing for it in MMA is arbitrary and pointless.
Counter arguments focus on the safety of the user, citing slowed reflexes and general lethargy as effects of consumption. Other arguments claim that marijuana use dulls pain, granting the user an unfair advantage in a sport where pain is so prevalent.
Many offending parties claim that they consume marijuana weeks before a fight, but since urinalysis does not identify when consumption occurred, all cases must be met with uniform discipline.
The discussion is very much in vogue right now, and Silva is unlikely to be the last fighter to sound off on it, just like Healy is unlikely to be the last fighter busted for usage.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Does testing for marijuana have a place in MMA, or does it lead to pointless discipline for choices fighters make in their personal lives?
Thiago Silva is set to fight Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante June 8 at UFC on Fuel TV 10 in a bout that ensures a stand-up war. Both men are strike-first fighters, and with 21 career knockouts between them, my crystal ball tells me somebody is going do…
Thiago Silva is set to fight Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante June 8 at UFC on Fuel TV 10 in a bout that ensures a stand-up war.
Both men are strike-first fighters, and with 21 career knockouts between them, my crystal ball tells me somebody is going down early in this fight.
For both Silva and Cavalcante, this fight provides the perfect opportunity to score a clean win over a tough opponent in front of his native Brazilian crowd.
Emphasize the word “clean” in that last sentence, if you would.
On the other hand, Cavalcante has never competed under the UFC banner, but his history is no less checkered.
Both fighters have seen big wins stripped and replaced by no-contests, and the upcoming UFC on Fuel TV 10 fight offers each fighter a chance to redeem himself in the grandest of ways.
In light of the recent cuts by the UFC, one would think Silva, in particular, would be worried about his fate should he lose this battle.
One would be wrong. Very wrong, in fact.
Silva told Sherdog.com that remains calm leading into this bout, and he does not feel his future is in jeopardy.
“Actually, I don’t feel threatened,” said Silva. “I haven’t won in four fights, but the UFC treats me very well, despite the doping. I work very hard and put on a show, because nobody wants to see a lukewarm fight. I’ll avoid making mistakes and will look for the win, as always.”
The way in which Silva casually brushed off his circumstance either implies great ignorance or great confidence. I’m not sure which it is, but things got even weirder as Silva continued the interview and talked training with the Blackzilians.
“It’s a team of stars, but without stardom,” Silva laughed. “Inside the ring, we’re all common people, from the least famous to the most famous. There’s no special treatment. I spar with Overeem, Belfort,Tyrone Spong, Rashad, Anthony Johnson, not to mention the coaches. I have great resources available, and I’m enjoying it.”
I particularly enjoy this quote, “Inside the ring, we’re all common people…”
You don’t say!
The Blackzilian team has certainly looked “common” lately. Top fighters Alistair Overeem, Rashad Evans, Michael Johnson, Melvin Guillard, SiyarBahadurzada and Ryan Jimmo all dropped their latest contests inside the Octagon, and Silva will have to overcome Cavalcante‘s ferocious striking attack to avoid a similar fate.
Win or lose, he guarantees a war.
“I know Rafael personally. He’s a tough fighter, a striker, like me, and we both have heavy hands. I don’t know if I’ll knock him out or submit him, but I want to win. It will be a war.”
While UFC on Fuel 10‘s matchup between Thiago Silva and Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante does not carry immediate title implications, it provides something perhaps even better: a chance to clean house and start new.
Both fighters badly need a victory, and both fighters need to notch the win without “extra help,” if you catch my drift.
Can Silva pull it off, or will Cavalcante wreck his hopes?
Let me know what you think, and we’ll discuss the fight.
Whatever the case, Silva will be given what we can only assume is his final, final chance at UFC 162, where he will meet fellow piss test savant Rafael Cavalcante.
(Seen here: Something Thiago Silva has not been able to honestly do since 2009.)
Whatever the case, Silva will be given what we can only assume is his final, final chance at UFC 162, where he will meet fellow piss test savant Rafael Cavalcante. Ironically enough, Cavalcante will also be coming off a drug test-related suspension, this one dating back to last May when “Feijao” was popped for stanozolol in the aftermath of his victory over Mike Kyle at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier. Although if you were to ask Cavalcante, his positive test was the result of a massive conspiracy carried out by the California State Athletic Commission. So we should probably assume that Rafael is on thin ice as well.
