Anderson Silva is undefeated in 15 UFC bouts. At UFC 153, he will attempt to stretch that number to 16 in an unlikely light heavyweight fight against Stephan Bonnar.After injuries forced Jose Aldo and Quinton Jackson out of UFC 153, the organization wa…
Anderson Silva is undefeated in 15 UFC bouts. At UFC 153, he will attempt to stretch that number to 16 in an unlikely light heavyweight fight against Stephan Bonnar.
After injuries forced Jose Aldo and Quinton Jackson out of UFC 153, the organization was in need of a star to step up and save the event. Silva, Bonnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Dave Herman all helped out their employer by giving UFC 153 a completely new main event and co-main event.
In addition to the last-minute additions to the fight card, Saturday’s event will also feature a number of Brazilians attempting to rise toward the top of their respective divisions.
Heavily hyped light heavyweight Glover Teixeira will attempt to pick up his second UFC win in a bout against Fabio Maldonado. Fast-rising welterweight Erick Silva meets Jon Fitch in a bout that could propel the Brazilian toward contending for the 170-pound title.
To promote UFC 153, which will be held at the HSBC Arena in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, a pre-fight press conference will be held on Thursday at 12 p.m. ET. Event headliners Silva, Bonnar, Nogueira and Herman will likely join UFC president Dana White for the presser.
Video of the press conference will be streamed live on the above video player. After the presser, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all the latest on UFC 153 and the rest of your MMA needs.
UFC 153 goes down this Saturday from HSBC Arena in fabulous Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The evening’s co-main event pits heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Dave “Pee Wee” Herman.Nogueira has done himself some living after 36 years on the pla…
UFC 153 goes down this Saturday from HSBC Arena in fabulous Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The evening’s co-main event pits heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira against Dave “Pee Wee” Herman.
Nogueira has done himself some living after 36 years on the planet. He’s seen a few things. He’s seen fire, and he’s seen rain. He’s seen broken arms that he thought would never mend.
But after all this time, here he still is, carrying on in the pro MMA game and now fighting in front of his countrymen for the second time.
So yes, he’s getting on in years, but he’s not the only one. Far from it, actually. To illustrate, here are the 10 best UFC fighters over 35.
This ranks fighters based on their skill sets right now. It is not an all-time list. Ages, overall records and their records over their last five fights were considered.
Sit back. Or turn the bed to your favorite incline setting. Clap down the lights. Pop open a bottle of Ensure. And enjoy.
MMA deity Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is set to take on Dave Herman at UFC 153 on October 13th. With a victory, Nogueira will add another chapter to the legendary story of his career, an epic that is as whimsical and improbable as it is lengthy. Long…
MMA deity Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is set to take on Dave Herman at UFC 153 on October 13th. With a victory, Nogueira will add another chapter to the legendary story of his career, an epic that is as whimsical and improbable as it is lengthy.
Long revered for his ability, and what almost seems like a preference to absorb punishment in exchange for victory, Nogueira has cultivated his fighting image by taking the best shots of the best heavyweights in the world, and sending them on their way.
While Nogueira’s reckless tactics, once iron jaw and otherworldly passion to prevail has endeared him to MMA fans of all kinds, the tools he’s relied on are not ones that promote career longevity, and Minotauro now finds himself treading water in a deep UFC heavyweight pool.
Over his last five contests, Nogueira has amassed a 2-3 record. While his recent lack of success is only somewhat alarming, the fact he’s been stopped in each loss—something he avoided over the previous 37 fights of his career—really drives home the point that he’s no longer what he used to be.
In the twilight of his career Nogueira finds himself a master craftsman with nothing to rely on but tools blunted by overuse. No longer can he take damage and prevail, snatching victory from the midst of his opponent’s onslaught the way he used to.
And, at age 36, Nogueira is too old and conditioned to reinvent himself as a competitor. The blunt tools he now wields are the only ones he’s comfortable using—alternatives too unfamiliar to be successfully adopted in time to make an impact.
But, Nogueira is still a master craftsman all the same, capable of producing some nice results now and again, even with over-worked instruments. And by no means is he done producing.
Nogueira is still quite capable of putting up staunch resistance against great heavyweight fighters, and is even capable of defeating some good ones. The latter capacity is particularly relevant to Minotauro‘s UFC 153 fight, as opponent Dave Herman is more good than great.
Against Herman, Nogueira will have the opportunity to show off what he is still capable of doing. He could conceivably win the fight; in fact, he enters the bout as a decided favorite.
But even if he is able to churn out a result that’s reminiscence of his former masterpieces, remember the divide between good and great is significant, and that yet still beyond great, lies the elite.
Nogueira’s days of competing at the pinnacle of heavyweight mixed martial arts are, sadly, over. He can no longer succeed against the best with his battle-weary chin, diminishing speed and predictable tactics.
Sure, his heart and lingering abilities will carry him for awhile against some tough opponents, but the best are now simply out of his league.
Jon Fitch may have suffered a 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks last time he fought, but it’s important to remember that he’s still Jon Fitch.You know, the guy that’s spent the last three years patrolling the line between the the greatest welt…
Jon Fitch may have suffered a 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks last time he fought, but it’s important to remember that he’s still Jon Fitch.
You know, the guy that’s spent the last three years patrolling the line between the the greatest welterweight fighter of all time and the rest of the world.
The guy who fought nothing but contenders the last four years and defeated most of them handily.
The guy with a 13-2-1 UFC record.
So why is it that Jon Fitch, the guy who is all of these things, is entering his UFC 153 bout with Erick Silva as an underdog?
Well, Silva is riding no small measure of hype and momentum as he preps for the October 13 showdown, having scored three impressive first round stoppages (though one led to a disqualification loss) in his first three UFC bouts.
And that should be worth something. It really should be. Just not enough to make Fitch—a guy who might be the third-best welterweight to have ever graced the Octagon—an underdog.
Silva’s role as fight-favorite becomes increasingly peculiar when we consider that his most meaningful victory came against UFC washout Charlie Brenneman. Sure, every win is worth something, but again, this isn’t enough to suggest he’s capable of taking on Fitch, let alone that we should fully expect him to as a favorite.
To Silva’s credit he has done as much as he possibly could have to this point—we can’t fault him for not having beaten a top contender when he hasn’t been given the chance to do so yet. And given the glimpses of brilliance he’s shown on the stages he’s been provided, there is no reason to believe he isn’t a legitimate star in the making.
But still, that alone provides no justification for favoring Silva in a fight against a guy who stands where Silva is going.
Luckily, oddsmaking has no impact on the outcome of a bout, so Fitch will have the opportunity to rectify things in the Octagon. And he will do just that.
Silva’s combination of power striking and sensational grappling ensure him a bright future with the UFC—maybe even a title down the road—but Fitch is a guy who knows precisely how to deal with what Silva brings to the table, and he knows how to neutralize Silva’s tools.
How Fitch goes about doing so has not endeared him to many fight fans, but his blanketing wrestling offense has made him a mainstay in the win column for the past several years, and will get him his hand raised at UFC 153.
Silva’s time will come, but his fight against Fitch will be the first roadblock he encounters as a UFC fighter. He’s going to lose and be better for it in the long run, but he’s going to lose all the same.
Jon Fitch wins via unanimous decision, after controlling his opponent for the better part of 15 minutes.
Erick Silva is easily one of the first names you hear when talking about hot UFC prospects.And so far, it appears that the hype behind him is completely justified. Silva made his UFC debut with a forty-second TKO victory over Luis Ramos.Watching that f…
Erick Silva is easily one of the first names you hear when talking about hot UFC prospects.
And so far, it appears that the hype behind him is completely justified. Silva made his UFC debut with a forty-second TKO victory over Luis Ramos.
Watching that fight made me excited to see more of this fighter competing in the Octagon. Next came his controversial DQ loss to Carlo Prater in a fight Silva dominated.
His latest appearance put him against the smothering wrestling style of Charlie Brenneman. He passed that test with flying colours and won via rear-naked choke.
Silva will take his biggest step yet when he faces the powerful and grinding wrestling style of Jon Fitch. This is easily the biggest fight of Silva’s career, as Fitch has been a perennial contender for many years. That’s okay because Erick Silva is poised to roll over Jon Fitch.
Silva has all the right tools to make Fitch’s losing streak continue: He is fast, he is athletic and he has good striking ability. Having achieved black-belt status in Brazilian jiu jitsu, he is excellent on the ground. He also knows how to handle the grinding wrestling style of Fitch.
Silva also holds a black belt in Judo, which gives him excellent takedown defense. That will be key in his coming fight. He has better striking than Fitch, and I expect him to pick him apart on the feet, while avoiding and defending against Fitch’s relentless takedown attempts.
Fitch has been out-struck before, and I see this fight being more of the same. Silva has a very diverse and powerful striking arsenal that is sure to give Fitch problems.
There is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Erick Silva now. Silva wants to prove that he is indeed welterweight elite, and with a convincing win over Fitch, he will be one step closer to achieving that goal.
(It’s pretty obvious who takes the “Cooler Hairstyle” category.)
It’s time for some real talk, Potato Nation. Stephan Bonnar is booking a one-way train ticket to Painsville Station on Saturday night and Anderson Silva is the conductor. I know it, you know it, the bookies know it, and your mom knows it (I asked her last night. Say hi to her for me, alright?). Matter of fact, if “The American Psycho” is simply able to come away from the fight in the same state of matter he began it in, everyone watching will unquestionably declare his performance a win for America, the UFC, and perhaps even the Caucasian race.
But this fight is about more than who’s accomplished what or who holds what title or who may or may not have lost to a decrepit Mark Coleman. There are several x-factors at play here, and when we decided to match up Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva for one of our infamous head to head sessions, the results might surprise you. Let’s get started.
AGE
Bonnar: 35
Silva: 37
Advantage: Bonnar
SIZE
Bonnar: 6’3″, walks around at roughly 235 lbs, 80 inch reach
Silva: 6’2″, walks around at roughly 215 lbs, 77.5 inch reach
Advantage: Bonnar
(It’s pretty obvious who takes the “Cooler Hairstyle” category.)
It’s time for some real talk, Potato Nation. Stephan Bonnar is booking a one-way train ticket to Painsville Station on Saturday night and Anderson Silva is the conductor. I know it, you know it, the bookies know it, and your mom knows it (I asked her last night. Say hi to her for me, alright?). Matter of fact, if “The American Psycho” is simply able to come away from the fight in the same state of matter he began it in, everyone watching will unquestionably declare his performance a win for America, the UFC, and perhaps even the Caucasian race.
But this fight is about more than who’s accomplished what or who holds what title or who may or may not have lost to a decrepit Mark Coleman. There are several x-factors at play here, and when we decided to match up Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva for one of our infamous head to head sessions, the results might surprise you. Let’s get started.
AGE
Bonnar: 35
Silva: 37
Advantage: Bonnar
SIZE
Bonnar: 6’3″, walks around at roughly 235 lbs, 80 inch reach
Silva: 6’2″, walks around at roughly 215 lbs, 77.5 inch reach
Advantage: Bonnar
LAST TWO FIGHTS RESULTED IN
Bonnar: A pair of tedious but smartly gameplanned UD’s over Igor Pokrajac and Kyle Kingsbury
Silva: A pair of absolute clownings over Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen
Advantage: Silva
FINISHING RATIO
Bonnar: 66.7% (10 stoppages in 15 victories)
Silva: 78.1% (25 stoppages in 32 victories)
Advantage: Silva
RECORD WHEN FIGHTING UP A WEIGHT CLASS
Bonnar: 0-1 (TKO loss to Lyoto Machida at HW in 2003)
Silva: 2-0 (both at LHW, both by way of first round KO)
Advantage: Silva by an ass-whooping
RECORD AGAINST FORMER UFC CHAMPIONS
Bonnar: 0-6
Silva: 5-0
Advantage: Silva by sweet Jesus, Bonnar’s a dead man
PERFORMANCE AGAINST JON JONES
Bonnar: Hard fought but completely one-sided UD loss
Silva: Would rather just stay friends
Advantage: Bonnar
FRIEND OF CAGEPOTATO
Bonnar: You know it, son!
Silva: Won’t return our calls, filed for three separate restraining orders.
Advantage: Bonnar
SALARIES
Bonnar: $34,000 to show at UFC 139 (seriously, Dana?!)
Silva: $200,000 to show at UFC 148
Advantage: Silva by a Ferrari
GREATEST WAR
Bonnar: One half of the fight that basically pulled the UFC out of the dark ages at the TUF 1 Finale
Silva: Overcame four round deficit to submit Chael Sonnen in the fifth at UFC 117
Advantage: Bonnar by *picks up phone* You gotta see this fight bro!
POST FIGHT CELEBRATION
Bonnar:
Silva: It doesn’t matter. Bonnar clearly wins this round.
Conclusion: Well, well, would you look at that, this fight is actually going to be a lot closer than most of you predicted, with Bonnar actually emerging victorious on paper…
