Tag: UFC 146

UFC 146 Medical Suspensions: X-Rays to Determine the Fates of Velasquez, Silva, and Varner Among Others


(And to think that all “Bigfoot” did was ask Arianny for a hug. Image courtesy of Fightcove.) 

UFC 146’s all-heavyweight lineup promised to deliver the violence, and sweet baby Jesus did it ever. We were treated to five finishes in five fights on the main card alone, including what was initially labeled as a broken arm on Lavar Johnson’s part, as well as the above mutilation of Antonio Silva, which more closely resembles a scene from Saw movie (specifically, the pig soup sequence from the third installment) than anything else. But perhaps the most surprising of suspensions to come as a result of Saturday’s action were that of Cain Velasquez and Jamie Varner, whom, despite earning quick and violent finishes against Silva and Edson Barboza, respectively, could be looking at up to six months out of action pending x-rays of their hands. That’s some shit luck for Velasquez, who Dana White pegged as the probable number one contender (in Ubereem’s absence, of course) following his victory.

Though it appears that “Big” Johnson’s arm was not actually broken in the first round of his PPV lead-off scrap with Stefan Struve, he will need to have his elbow cleared by an orthopedist before he can return to action, and is looking at a minimum suspension of just over a month regardless.

Check out the full list of suspensions after the jump. 


(And to think that all “Bigfoot” did was ask Arianny for a hug. Image courtesy of Fightcove.) 

UFC 146′s all-heavyweight lineup promised to deliver the violence, and sweet baby Jesus did it ever. We were treated to five finishes in five fights on the main card alone, including what was initially labeled as a broken arm on Lavar Johnson’s part, as well as the above mutilation of Antonio Silva, which more closely resembles a scene from Saw movie (specifically, the pig soup sequence from the third installment) than anything else. But perhaps the most surprising of suspensions to come as a result of Saturday’s action were that of Cain Velasquez and Jamie Varner, whom, despite earning quick and violent finishes against Silva and Edson Barboza, respectively, could be looking at up to six months out of action pending x-rays of their hands. That’s some shit luck for Velasquez, who Dana White pegged as the probable number one contender (in Ubereem’s absence, of course) following his victory.

Though it appears that “Big” Johnson’s arm was not actually broken in the first round of his PPV lead-off scrap with Stefan Struve, he will need to have his elbow cleared by an orthopedist before he can return to action, and is looking at a minimum suspension of just over a month regardless.

Cain Velasquez: Needs X-ray of left hand. If broken, he is suspended until November 20 unless cleared by doctor. Suspended at minimum until June 26 with no contact until June 17

Antonio Silva: Needs X-ray of nose. If broken, he is suspended until November 20 unless cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor. Suspended at minimum until July 23 with no contact until July 11 for lacerations

Jamie Varner: Needs X-ray of right hand. If broken, he is suspended until November 20 unless cleared by doctor. Suspended at minimum until June 26 with no contact until June 17

Jason Miller: Needs clearance of right thumb and left knee by orthopedist or sports doctor or suspended until November 20. Suspended at minimum until July 11 with no contact until June 26 for tough fight

C.B. Dollaway: Needs X-ray of left thumb. If broken, he is suspended until November 20 unless cleared by doctor. Suspended at minimum until June 26 with no contact until June 17

Jacob Volkmann: Needs clearance of left elbow clearance of right thumb and left knee by orthopedist or suspended until November 20

Frank Mir: Suspended until July 23 with no contact until July 11 for TKO loss

Dave Herman: Suspended until July 23 with no contact until July 11 for TKO loss

Shane Del Rosario: Suspended until July 23 with no contact until July 11 for TKO loss

Duane Ludwig: Suspended until July 23 with no contact until July 11 for TKO loss

Lavar Johnson: Needs evaluation of left elbow by orthopedist. Suspended at minimum until July 11 with no contact until June 26

Edson Barboza: Suspended until July 11 with no contact until June 26 for TKO loss

Stipe Miocic: Suspended until June 26 with no contact until June 17

Darren Elkins: Suspended until June 26 with no contact until June 17 for left ear hematoma

Diego Brandao: Suspended until June 26 with no contact until June 17 for tough fight

Mike Brown: Suspended until June 26 with no contact until June 17 for left forehead laceration

Daniel Pineda: Suspended until June 26 with no contact until June 17 for tough fight

One other interesting thing of note from the aftermath of UFC 146 is that, aside from Mayhem Miller announcing his temporary retirement from the sport, Mike Brown also announced his decision to retire, although he later told Joe Rogan over Twitter that “I’m not 100 percent.” Whether Brown is truly hanging up the gloves or not, he will always hold a place in history as the man to end Urijah Faber’s dominant run as WEC featherweight champion, and defend the belt twice thereafter. Although he never seemed like quite the same fighter after losing his belt to Jose Aldo, Brown currently holds an impressive 26-8 record to his credit should he decide to call it a career, and deserves a great deal of respect for his accomplishments, so make sure to wish him your best on Twitter.

–J. Jones

UFC 146 Medical Suspensions: Several Fighters Facing Potential 6-Month Layoffs

Many feared the worst for UFC 146. They saw an all-heavyweight main card as an accident waiting to happen. The image of the UFC’s big boys sloppily swaying their way into the latter rounds of a fight brought tremors of fear to those who plunked d…

Many feared the worst for UFC 146. They saw an all-heavyweight main card as an accident waiting to happen. The image of the UFC’s big boys sloppily swaying their way into the latter rounds of a fight brought tremors of fear to those who plunked down the cash to buy the pay-per-view.

Those fears went unrealized as not one of the five main-card fights went past the 3:14 mark of the second round. And yet, the fight card still had its detractors. These naysayers said, among other things, that the main card bouts were mismatches, they went by too fast and that there wasn’t enough action to justify the cost of the pay-per-view.

I don’t know what any of that says about fans of MMA other than they’ll never be a fight card that makes every fan happy. Speaking of unhappy, the suspensions from UFC 146 were released. There will undoubtedly be some unhappy campers when the list of suspended fighters is perused, and they see the length of some of the suspensions that the combatants were handed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. (via MMAWeekly)

Full list of suspensions:

Frank Mir: Suspended until July 23 with no contact before July 11.

Cain Velasquez: Suspended until November 20 if left hand is broken but can be cleared early by doctor; At a minimum, Velasquez is suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17.

Antonio Silva:  Suspended until November 20, if nose is broken, but can be cleared early by a doctor; At a minimum, Silva is suspended until July 23 with no contact before July 11.

Dave Herman: Suspended until July 23 with no contact before July 11

Shane Del Rosario: Suspended until July 23 with no contact before July 11

Lavar Johnson: Left elbow needs to be examined by a doctor.  At a minimum, Johnson is suspended until July 11 with no contact before June 26.

Darren Elkins: Suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17 due to left ear hematoma

Diego Brandao: Suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17

Edson Barboza: Suspended until July 11 with no contact before June 26

Jamie Varner: Suspended until November 20, if right hand is broken, but can be cleared early by doctor; At a minimum, Varner is suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17.

Jason Miller: Suspended until November 20 but can be cleared early by doctor pending examination of his left knee and right thumb. At a minimum, Miller is suspended until July 11 with no contact before June 26.

C.B. Dollaway: Suspended until November 20 but can be cleared early by doctor pending examination of his left thumb; At a minimum, Dollaway is suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17.

Duane Ludwig: Suspended until July 23 with no contact before July 11.

Jacob Volkmann: Suspended until November 20 but can be cleared early by doctor pending examination of his left elbow.

Mike Brown: Suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17 due to a forehead laceration.

Daniel Pineda: Suspended until June 26 with no contact before June 17.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 146 Results: A Heavyweight Review Delayed by USA vs. Scotland Football Game

Here’s the deal.The USA/Scotland football game ran 20 minutes later, and instead of putting their coverage on a 20 minute delay ESPN decided to join the show in progress. It was then that I decided to wait until the next day for the repeat showin…

Here’s the deal.

The USA/Scotland football game ran 20 minutes later, and instead of putting their coverage on a 20 minute delay ESPN decided to join the show in progress. It was then that I decided to wait until the next day for the repeat showing.

So here it is, a little bit later than planned, a look back at the night of heavyweight action as Frank Mir challenged Junior Dos Santos for the title at UFC 146.

All the fights on the main card were in the heavyweight division, beginning with Stefan Struve against Lavar Johnson.

This was quick. Johnson came forward early, connecting with a couple of blows before a clinch against the cage. A few seconds later Struve pulled guard and applied the armbar for the submission win after just 65 seconds. Nice work from the Skyscraper here.

Then it was on to the fight between Stipe Miocic and Shane Del Rosario.

We saw a great display of striking in this one. Del Rosario did a good job in the stand up game, using Miocic’s ribs for target practice. It was a brutal display, and if he’d continued in this vein he the win would have been his.

But when Miocic took the fight to the ground early in the second round he went to work with the ground-and-pound, causing a great deal of damage to Del Rosario’s face. As he connected with a series of elbows the referee wisely stepped in to give Miocic the TKO win.

It was Big Country time next, as Roy Nelson faced Dave Herman.

This was even quicker than the opener. Herman began testing the waters a little, using his height and reach to good effect. But those advantages meant nothing when Nelson connected with a big right that sent Herman down like a sack of spuds.

The referee quickly stepped in to give Nelson the knockout win after just 51 seconds.

The co-main event saw Cain Velasquez going up against the debuting Antonio Silva.

It was a rough debut for Silva, as to say Velasquez was dominant here would be an understatement. Silva began by attempting a kick which the former champion caught before tossing him to the ground.

From there Velasquez went to work with the ground-and-pound, a hard elbow opening Silva up so badly that he began to look as if he’d been in a battle scene on Game of Thrones.

The doctor checked Silva’s cut and allowed him to continue, but with blood flowing in his eyes the Brazilian had trouble seeing as Velasquez continued his relentless attack. With both fighters covered in claret the referee intervened to give Velasquez the TKO win.

The main event saw Frank Mir challenging Junior Dos Santos for the Heavyweight title.

Another great fight saw Mir attempting what many others have failed to do early on: taking Dos Santos down. The champion just shrugged off this attempt before asserting his authority in the striking department.

Dos Santos rocked his challenger towards the end of the first round with a big right, and had this happened earlier in the round he would probably have gained the win then and there.

The champion continued in the same vein in the second round, and when a big right sent Mir sprawling across the cage Dos Santos went in for the kill.

It wasn’t long before the referee saved Mir from further punishment, giving Dos Santos the title retaining TKO win.

Now having read this you’re probably wondering why I haven’t reviewed any of the preliminary fights that were shown during the main broadcast. The reason for this is simple: During the repeat showing ESPN showed some of these after the main event.

These began in the welterweight division as Dan Hardy faced Duane Ludwig.

A very enjoyable encounter saw a bit of a feeling out period at the beginning and a clinch against the cage until the fight settled down into a nice striking battle, with both fighters getting in some good shots.

But when Hardy connected with a left hook, Ludwig went down. The Outlaw celebrated for a few seconds before following his man down. The referee quickly stepped in to give the Brit the knockout victory.

Then it was down to the lightweight division as Edson Barboza went up against Jamie Varner.

Barboza began his evening’s work with a couple of hard kicks to the leg, but when he went for a head-kick Varner caught it and took the fight to the ground.

Varner was only able to get in a few brief moments of ground-and-pound before Barboza managed to get back to his feet. The Brazilian then went back to his tactic of choice until Varner scored with the big takedown.

Varner then went to work with the ground and pound again, and although Barboza kicked him off, Varner went back in for the kill. The referee stopping the fight moments later as Varner took the TKO win.

Light heavyweight action followed as Kyle Kingsbury took on Glover Teixeira.

No feeling out period in this one. These two began exchanging blows early on, and when the fight went to the ground, Teixeira took control, taking the mount for some ground-and-pound before moving into a position where he could apply an arm triangle for the submission win.

The next fight featured featherweight action as Mike Brown took on Daniel Pineda.

The first fight of the broadcast to make it to the third round proved to be a very entertaining, back-and-forth affair with good performances coming from both fighters.

Both guys had some success in all departments, particularly on the ground. Brown looked great, especially when he was barging Pineda across the cage before taking him down to the ground.

Pineda’s best moment came when he was on his back with Brown on the attack: He managed to escape the hold by pushing Brown off with one hand, sweeping him upwards and taking control. He later went on to control the late stages of the third when he took Brown’s back.

So with neither man able to get the finish it went down to the judges, and they gave their unanimous decision to Brown.

The featherweight action continued with Diego Brandao and Darren Elkins.

The second three-rounder of the show was another very exciting affair.

Brandao clearly controlled the first round, with his crisp striking putting Elkins on the back foot on more than once occasion. But from the second round on, Elkins took control, putting in a good stint and basically beating his opponent up.

Brandao managed to come back into the fight towards the end of the third, but by then it was too little too late. With the fight going the distance, the judges were called into action as Elkins took the unanimous decision.

The final fight of the show saw Jacob Volkmann taking on Paul Sass in the lightweight division.

Not much of a feeling out period in this one, as Sass pulled guard early. Volkmann controlled the action for a few moments with a one arm guillotine until both men grappled for position and Sass locked in a triangle armbar for the submission win.

In conclusion: well, as the old saying goes, better late than never. The problems at the football game in the early hours of this past Sunday morning gave me the chance to see some of the fights I would probably have missed, so let’s take this in two stages.

The undercard certainly delivered some fine performances. We saw some great ground work from the likes of Mike Brown and Daniel Pineda as well as some fine striking from Dan Hardy.

As for the big boys, the all-heavyweight main card delivered big time with it’s explosive finishes, and because of this it’s difficult to pick out one definitive Fight of the Night candidate.

Seeing as I have to, I’m going to plump for Cain Velasquez’s demolition job on Antonio Silva. I hope old Bigfoot comes back strongly though as he was one of the highlights of Strikeforce’s heavyweight division for me.

So with that being said there’s only one more thing left to do, and that’s to give UFC 146 the big thumbs up.

Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com, as well as my Facebook page at Facebook.com/twoshedsreview.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 146 Results: 5 Fights to Make After Dos Santos vs. Mir

We weren’t sure if the UFC’s grand all-heavyweight experiment would deliver, but I think it’s safe to say it did exactly that. In fact, it delivered in spades with one of the fastest pay per view cards in promotion history. All five PPV fights end…

We weren’t sure if the UFC’s grand all-heavyweight experiment would deliver, but I think it’s safe to say it did exactly that. In fact, it delivered in spades with one of the fastest pay per view cards in promotion history. 

All five PPV fights ended in the first or second round, and all ended by knockout or submission. That’s a far cry from the boring wrestle-fests many fans feared when the concept was first unveiled.

Hell, I’m not ashamed to admit that the card unfolded completely different than I thought it would. And that’s a good thing, because UFC 146 should ultimately go down as one of the best cards of the year.

But now, it’s time to take a look at what’s next for some of the bigger stars of last Saturday’s awesome event. Join me, will you?

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UFC 146 Salaries: Dos Santos, Cain, Mir Sock Away $200k Apiece; Three Others Crack Six Figures


(That awkward moment when fireballs fail to shoot out of your hands.)

The UFC paid out $1,513,000 in disclosed salaries and performance bonuses for last Saturday’s UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir card, with Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, and Cain Velasquez‘s matching $200,000 checks eating up about 40% of the total. The full salary list is below via MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that these figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships, undisclosed “locker room bonuses,” or percentages of the pay-per-view revenue that are in some fighters’ contracts.

Junior Dos Santos: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Frank Mir: $200,000

Cain Velasquez: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Silva: $70,000

Roy Nelson: $110,000 (includes $20,00 win bonus and $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
def. Dave Herman: $21,000

Stipe Miocic: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Shane Del Rosario: $20,000


(That awkward moment when fireballs fail to shoot out of your hands.)

The UFC paid out $1,513,000 in disclosed salaries and performance bonuses for last Saturday’s UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir card, with Junior Dos Santos, Frank Mir, and Cain Velasquez‘s matching $200,000 checks eating up about 40% of the total. The full salary list is below via MMAJunkie. Keep in mind that these figures don’t include additional revenue from sponsorships, undisclosed “locker room bonuses,” or percentages of the pay-per-view revenue that are in some fighters’ contracts.

Junior Dos Santos: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Frank Mir: $200,000

Cain Velasquez: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Silva: $70,000

Roy Nelson: $110,000 (includes $20,00 win bonus and $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
def. Dave Herman: $21,000

Stipe Miocic: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Shane Del Rosario: $20,000

Stefan Struve: $128,000 (includes $29,000 win bonus and $70,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. Lavar Johnson: $26,000

Darren Elkins: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
def. Diego Brandao: $15,000

Jamie Varner: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Edson Barboza: $18,000

C.B. Dollaway: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller: $45,000

Dan Hardy: $120,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus and $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
def. Duane “Bang” Ludwig: $18,000

Paul Sass: $90,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus and $70,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. Jacob Volkmann: $20,000

Glover Teixeira: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Kyle Kingsbury: $12,000

Mike Brown: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Daniel Pineda: $10,000

Underpaid: Jamie Varner, mostly for the fact that his thrilling and completely unexpected K.O. of Edson Barboza was passed over for a knockout bonus. Also, his $10,000 show money was noticeably less than what he used to make in the WEC. You’d think he’d at least get his old salary to step in on short notice against an undefeated killer. Luckily, Varner made the most of his opportunity and will hopefully be able to re-negotiate after another win.

Overpaid: Antonio Silva. Including his last loss to Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce, that’s two fights in a row where Bigfoot has done little more than offer target practice to AKA’s heavyweight roster. What’s the point of being a terrifying behemoth if you can’t use your freakish size to your advantage? And why should Silva’s to-show money be that much higher than UFC veterans like Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve in the first place?

The Worst UFC Losing Streaks

UFC 146 was the day that Dan Hardy saved his career.The former welterweight title challenger, in search of his first win since late 2009, finally snapped his four-fight losing streak by starching kickboxing specialist Duane Ludwig with a patented left …

UFC 146 was the day that Dan Hardy saved his career.

The former welterweight title challenger, in search of his first win since late 2009, finally snapped his four-fight losing streak by starching kickboxing specialist Duane Ludwig with a patented left hook.

Coming into Saturday night, there was little doubt that a loss would be the end of Hardy’s UFC career, no matter how much Dana White, Joe Silva and company love his penchant for “bringing it.” Three losses in a row are usually a quick ticket out of town, and fans were already calling for Hardy’s contractual head before he even stepped into the Octagon against Ludwig.

(Side note: I’ll never understand the bloodlust of fans in regards to cutting fighters. These competitors literally put their lives on the line for our entertainment and we applaud fighters who ‘go for it’ and don’t ‘play it safe.’ But lose a couple of fights—even in exciting fashion—and watch the tweets roll in from people calling for your livelihood to be taken away. Talk about cold-blooded.)

But now that Hardy has a fresh winning streak to build on, he leaves behind a less-than-esteemed list of colleagues who still have their collective backs against the wall. Consider this your ultimate Who-Needs-A-Win list, as we take a look at the fighters with the worst current UFC losing streaks and where they will go from here.

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