Tag: UFC 153

Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar: Twitter Reaction to New UFC 153 Main Event

When UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday that Jose Aldo and Quinton Jackson had been forced out of their respective UFC 153 bouts against Frankie Edgar and Glover Teixeira, few could have anticipated it would lead to a new main event between mid…

When UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday that Jose Aldo and Quinton Jackson had been forced out of their respective UFC 153 bouts against Frankie Edgar and Glover Teixeira, few could have anticipated it would lead to a new main event between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and veteran light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar. However, as reported by USA Today, that is now the matchup that will headline the October event in Brazil.

Two other fights were added to the fight card, as Fabio Maldonado will replace Jackson to scrap with Teixeira and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira requested to fight in his home country on short notice.

Nogueira has been slated to meet fellow heavyweight Dave Herman, who was also not previously expected to compete at UFC 153. At the moment, former lightweight champion Edgar remains without a scheduled opponent and will not compete at the event.

It was White who informed USA Today of the latest news on the most recent UFC event to be devastated by injuries:

“We’re back on track. Anderson Silva wasn’t scheduled to fight at all. I called him today, and he’s shooting a commercial in Brazil. Anderson Silva steps up, and Stephan Bonnar wants to fight him. The Teixeira vs. Maldonado fight comes together, and then Nogueira was standing right there with Anderson shooting the commercial with him, and he said he wanted to fight, too. This is old-school UFC. A card is in jeopardy, but guys that are world champions and superstars stepped up and jumped in and saved the card. This is why the fans love this sport and why we went on a 12-year run without cancelling an event.”

Needless the say, the mere mention of a Silva fight at light heavyweight caused Twitter to explode with clarifications and reactions to this huge news. So, let’s start with the specifics on the Silva-Bonnar matchup, which were partially cleared up by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com.

My initial reaction to the announcement that Bonnar, who recently tiptoed around a retirement question on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight, would be facing the current middleweight champion was one of bewilderment. Even with Silva’s move up in weight on short notice, Bonnar will undoubtedly enter this fight as a massive underdog.

While that may be the case, it’s better than UFC 153 being doomed to the same fate as UFC 151. It’s also better than waiting until 2013 to see the greatest fighter in MMA history step into the cage again, as was the plan prior to these unforeseen events, as Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter pointed out.

Getting to see Silva compete for a second time in 2012 is great, but it may come at a cost for the Brazilian champion. Aside from the large sum of money he’ll likely accrue from this short-notice showing, this is a lose-lose fight for the middleweight titleholder, and it could spoil an even bigger moneymaker should he come out on the losing end against Bonnar.

Unquestionably, the answer to this question posed by Bleacher Report’s Matt Roth is yes. The thing that makes a superfight between Silva and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre so intriguing is the fact that both fighters are still near the height of their careers and continue to wear belts around their waists.

While a loss to Bonnar wouldn’t cost Silva his championship, it would severely hurt his current standing and would erase much of the interest in a bout with St-Pierre.

Silva’s decision to accept a fight at light heavyweight may have also come as a shock to many of the top middleweight contenders, who had been working under the assumption that their division’s alpha male was holding out for the aforementioned superfight with St-Pierre.

Many have pegged Chris Weidman as the top 185-pound contender after his knockout win over Mark Munoz, but Silva’s management shrugged at the idea of fighting Weidman anytime soon. So, it should come as no surprise that Weidman was hurt by the recent news regarding Silva taking a fight with a low-ranked opponent like Bonnar.

There’s no doubt Silva accepted this bout under extenuating circumstances, and he truly helped out his employer in a big way, but it is fair to question Silva’s motives for avoiding title defenses at middleweight in the short term.

If SIlva was healthy enough to take this bout with Bonnar out of thin air, why couldn’t he have been scheduled for a title fight against Weidman or another 185-pound contender shortly after his most recent championship bout against Chael Sonnen in July?

It’s not a great day to be Weidman, but he’ll surely get his chance to fight for the belt soon if he can decisively defeat Tim Boetsch at UFC 155. Weidman‘s loss is Bonnar‘s gain, and with “The American Psycho” riding a three-fight winning streak, this a feel-good moment to see one of the UFC’s pioneer’s getting a deserved big fight near the end of his career that he can look back on once he calls it quits.

That being said, going up against an adversary like Silva, this might not end up being a performance that Bonnar will enjoy watching for years to come. 

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UFC 153: Will Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar Ruin Silva’s Legacy?

The recently announced UFC 153 main event of Anderson Silva versus Stephan Bonnar seems like an easy win for Silva—and that’s the problem. In fact, the fight will do nothing but hurt Silva’s legacy as a fighter.Silva’s UFC accolades and phenomena…

The recently announced UFC 153 main event of Anderson Silva versus Stephan Bonnar seems like an easy win for Silva—and that’s the problem. In fact, the fight will do nothing but hurt Silva’s legacy as a fighter.

Silva’s UFC accolades and phenomenal, Neo-like moves have done little to sway the legions of critics. Their primary argument is as follows: Silva is the kingpin of the weakest division in the UFC. As such, he only looks good because he’s fighting lesser fighters. Patrick Cote, Demian Maia, Thales Leites, et al. do not legitimate contenders make, according to the naysayers.

Silva’s foray into the light heavyweight division, too, was studded with mediocrity. Silva was matched up with perennial journeyman and one-time Skeletor look-alike James Irvin as well as Forrest Griffin. Both men were clowned; Griffin even ran from the cage after the fight.

Silva only looked mortal at the hands of Chael Sonnen, who, as Silva detractors claim, was just a light heavyweight who moved down to a weight class with less talent and had success. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, anti-Silva arguments hold some water. That’s why the fight against Bonnar is so unfortunate. 

Yes, it’s great that Silva showed the vaunted “warrior spirit” and decided to fight but, ultimately, fighting Bonnar is more a bane than it is a blessing. 

Silva is expected to dominate Bonnar in a manner not seen in quite some time. Twitter was ablaze with joke tweets about just how bad of a beating Bonnar was in for. 

If Silva destroys Bonnar with one of the greatest highlight-reel finishes in the history of the UFC, it won’t be a big deal. He was supposed to do that. The win will only further perpetuate that belief that Silva’s greatness and godlike aura was built on the back of B-level fighters in a shallow weight class.

If Silva doesn’t win in devastating fashion, it’ll be a blow to his reputation and his legacy; “he couldn’t finish a semi-retired Stephen Bonnar? He SUCKS!” the notoriously fickle MMA fanbase would say.

And if he loses? Imagine the fallout from first Georges St.Pierre versus Matt Serra fight but worse—far worse (like, “Stay off all MMA sites and Twitter for a month or two to keep your sanity” worse).

Furthermore, the contenders in the middleweight division are no longer just the buzzing of flies compared to Silva.

Middleweight is undergoing a renaissance and fighters like Chris Weidman are leading the charge. 

Weidman obviously couldn’t have been moved from his fight with Tim Boetsch in December to UFC 153 due to an elbow surgery, but the fact of the matter is that Silva should be spending the twilight days of his career defending his title against valid challengers rather than gallivanting into a lackluster pay-per-view main event.

By fighting Bonnar, Silva is opening the door for critics to say that he’s ducking the valid challengers to the middleweight title in favor of an easier fight at a different weight class. Even if this isn’t true, rabid Silva-haters will latch onto it and never let it go; Silva will be a “ducker” on the level of Jon Jones.

The issues of Silva versus Bonnar and Silva’s Legacy are amplified by Silva’s age. He’s 37 years old now. Despite his intention to compete for several more years, he might not be able to do so at a high level (or at all). 

There are only so many Anderson Silva fights left—especially when he’s still young enough to bring it as hard as he can—it’d be a pity to waste any of them on a fight that ultimately means nothing and is tantamount to a pro-wrestling squash match both in importance and in practice.

 

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UFC 153: Anderson Silva vs Stephan Bonnar Is Better Than Another Canceled Card

Unless the impossible happens, Anderson Silva is going to knockout Stephan Bonnar. Sure, we’ve seen huge upsets happen in MMA, (Matt Serra vs Georges St-Pierre, anyone?) but Silva has proven to be nearly unbeatable over the last six years and the…

Unless the impossible happens, Anderson Silva is going to knockout Stephan Bonnar.

Sure, we’ve seen huge upsets happen in MMA, (Matt Serra vs Georges St-Pierre, anyone?) but Silva has proven to be nearly unbeatable over the last six years and there’s no reason to believe that Bonnar has a legitimate chance at taking out the pound for pound best fighter in the history of our sport.

Even if Bonnar’s legendary toughness enables him to go the distance with “The Spider” and avoid becoming another victim on Silva’s highlight reel, the odds of him doing enough to eke out a decision on the judges scorecards are roughly a million to one.

Despite the obvious mismatch placed in front of us, the MMA world should be overjoyed that we’re getting an event at all.

When both featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top draw Quinton “Rampage” Jackson went down with injuries earlier this week, it became a very real possibility that UFC 153 would end up in the same boat as the defunct UFC 151 card and be cancelled altogether, but Dana White and company were able to do what was needed to save the day.

When Jon Jones decided to turn down a short notice fight against Chael Sonnen just over a week before UFC 151 was set to take place, the organization was forced to cut its losses and completely abandon the Labor day weekend show, a move that cost the promotion both fiscally and in the eyes of the public.

This time White avoided a serious disaster by finding a way to salvage what was left of a once promising event in UFC 153.

Is anyone as excited for Silva vs. Bonnar as they were for Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar?

No, and they shouldn’t be, but the UFC is in the business of putting on fights and if it has any chance at making that happen it needs to do its job, which is what it did by creating the new UFC 153 main event.

Based on what we know, Bonnar shouldn’t fare much better against Silva than his The Ultimate Fighter cast-mate Forrest Griffin did, but the fact remains that we get to see the greatest fighter in the world compete for a second time in 2012.

We’ve paid to see Silva battle the likes of Thales Leites, Patrick Cote and Travis Lutter in the past, and while I’m sure the vast majority of fans would have preferred to see Anderson take on someone along the lines of Wanderlei Silva or Shogun Rua, Bonnar really isn’t a terrible consolation prize.

Over the course of his UFC career Bonnar has provided us with plenty of entertaining battles, and while he has never really earned a win over a top tier fighter, his fights with Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin at least proved he is able to hang tough with some of the better fighters in the game today.

Throw in “The American Psycho’s” insane ability to get hit on the chin and remain upright, and it could end up being a pretty fun fight to watch if Bonnar is able to get any offense off.

We still get to see Glover Teixeira and Fabio Maldonado throw leather in what should be an amazing stand up war; Minotauro Nogueira agreed to come in on short notice to help the card gain a little of the credibility it lost over the last few days, and previously announced welterweight bouts featuring Demian Maia vs. Rick Story and Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva remain on the card to give it some much needed prestige.

Throw in a sixth main card bout between Phil Davis and Wagner Prado, along with a preliminary card filled with some of the most exciting young fighters Brazil has to offer, and we should still end up with an awesome night of fights.

UFC 153 is officially one of the most disappointing cards of the year, especially considering how stacked it appeared when it was first announced, but to be completely honest, we got lucky.

We could have had to suffer through the UFC 151 debacle all over again.

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UFC 153 Fight Card: Anderson Silva Headlines the Worst Main Event in UFC History

There’s a lot to admire about Stephan Bonnar. He’s a competent television announcer and a good storyteller who helps fans understand what it takes to compete inside the cage. He was a pretty solid fighter, too, combining with Forrest Griffin in the fin…

There’s a lot to admire about Stephan Bonnar. He’s a competent television announcer and a good storyteller who helps fans understand what it takes to compete inside the cage. He was a pretty solid fighter, too, combining with Forrest Griffin in the finale of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter to let the world in on a little secret—MMA is awesome.

I’ve seen Bonnar described over and over again as “tough as nails.” That captures his essence, for good or ill. He will never back down, that much is true. But unfortunately for the journeyman light heavyweight, it’s mostly a nice way of saying Bonnar’s good at getting punched in the face.

A lot.

A fighter who all but announced his retirement after his last bout—that’s what Bonnar is. What he isn’t, however, is more germane to this discussion.

He isn’t a great fighter.

He isn’t going to suddenly become a major player at the box office.

And he isn’t worthy of a fight with the greatest of all time, middleweight champion Anderson Silva who will step up a weight class to take on Bonnar in Brazil. 

This fight is a lose-lose proposition for the UFC. Despite the addition of Silva, I don’t think this card will perform well on pay-per-view. At the box office, it’s already a lost cause. Fans expect Silva to decimate Bonnar, which is likely what will happen. 

It’s not the worst thing that could happen if you’re the UFC, though. There remains an even more devastating option.

Bonnar, who opened as a +5,500 underdog courtesy of comedians on Twitter (meaning you’d win $5,500 on a $100 Bonnar bet), could conceivably do the impossible. With four-ounce gloves, anything can happen in the Octagon.

What if Bonnar manages to clip  Silva? What if he slices him open the way fellow underdog Vitor Belfort once took the light heavyweight belt from Randy Couture on a fluke cut?

It’s not likely, but the sport is designed for the unlikely to happen. A Silva loss would be nothing short of catastrophic for the UFC. The legacy he’s built over the years? It won’t disappear, but it will be tarnished if he loses to a never-was such as Bonnar.

Passing the torch to the next champion is one thing. Losing to a guy who never made it to the top of the sport? Ask Fedor Emelianenko how that works out for your place in history.

Supporting this awful main event is a light heavyweight fight between the relatively unknown Glover Teixeira (18-2) and Fabio Maldonado (18-5). Maldonado steps in for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who departed stage right due to an injury. 

I love this fight in many ways. It should be a compelling scrap between two really tough guys. But Maldonado has actually lost his last two fights and sports a UFC record of just 1-2. Teixeira only has one fight in the UFC. One!

I think both belong in the UFC, but putting them together in the co-main event shows in the starkest terms just how much injuries have reduced once-proud UFC matchmakers to simply putting together any two serviceable fighters and turning them loose in the cage.

As a television extravaganza in Brazil, there is little doubt this show is going to be a mega success. As a PPV, it is a disgrace. I can’t imagine how hardcore a fan would have to be to watch a glorified sparring match between Silva and Bonnar, and a fighter in Maldonado, who is on a two-fight losing streak. 

I’m not questioning anyone’s competence or sanity. Injuries have left the roster in disarray, and UFC matchmakers have to work with the fighters they have available. It’s a bad card, but it’s understandably bad. But understanding isn’t the same as hiding our heads in the sand—and it’s hard to look at the top two fights at UFC 153, on paper, as anything but a new low for the UFC.

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Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar Booked for New UFC 153 Headliner; Edgar Removed From Card, Maldonado and Big Nog Added


(“The Burger King Triple Stacker — I don’t jump up to light-heavyweight on short notice without it.”)

After UFC 153 lost its main event and co-main event in the same day, UFC matchmakers needed to get creative if they wanted to avoid another financially devastating event-cancellation. And by God, they’ve gotten creative. USA Today has just confirmed that Anderson Silva will now be headlining the October 13th event in Rio de Janeiro, in a light-heavyweight feature against…Stephan, freakin’, Bonnar. Allow that delicious insanity to sink in for just a moment. Alright, let’s continue.

The report follows an earlier story broken by MMAFighting, which confirmed that Frankie Edgar has been removed from the event altogether. So if you chose “other” in today’s poll, award yourself five PotatoBux.

This will be the third light-heavyweight UFC appearance for Silva, who previously scored brilliant knockouts against 205’ers James Irvin (in July 2008) and Forrest Griffin (in August 2009). Bonnar, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, has been vocal in recent months about his desire to get at least one more big fight before he exits the sport — remember his campaign for a TUF coaching gig against Griffin? — and sort of retired in July due to his frustration that another marquee matchup wasn’t materializing. Well, Bonnar’s got his big fish, for better or for worse. And if he lasts more than one round against the Spider, he’ll do better than any UFC light-heavyweight before him.


(“The Burger King Triple Stacker — I don’t jump up to light-heavyweight on short notice without it.”)

After UFC 153 lost its main event and co-main event in the same day, UFC matchmakers needed to get creative if they wanted to avoid another financially devastating event-cancellation. And by God, they’ve gotten creative. USA Today has just confirmed that Anderson Silva will now be headlining the October 13th event in Rio de Janeiro, in a light-heavyweight feature against…Stephan, freakin’, Bonnar. Allow that delicious insanity to sink in for just a moment. Alright, let’s continue.

The report follows an earlier story broken by MMAFighting, which confirmed that Frankie Edgar has been removed from the event altogether. So if you chose “other” in today’s poll, award yourself five PotatoBux.

This will be the third light-heavyweight UFC appearance for Silva, who previously scored brilliant knockouts against 205′ers James Irvin (in July 2008) and Forrest Griffin (in August 2009). Bonnar, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, has been vocal in recent months about his desire to get at least one more big fight before he exits the sport — remember his campaign for a TUF coaching gig against Griffin? — and sort of retired in July due to his frustration that another marquee matchup wasn’t materializing. Well, Bonnar’s got his big fish, for better or for worse. And if he lasts more than one round against the Spider, he’ll do better than any UFC light-heavyweight before him.

USA Today also reports that Brazilian gut-puncher Fabio Maldonado will be replacing Quinton Jackson in the UFC 153 co-main event against light-heavyweight rising star Glover Teixeira. Maldonado, who has lost back-to-back decisions against Kyle Kingsbury and Igor Pokrajac, was originally scheduled to fight Jorgen Kruth at UFC on FX 5 later this month, until Kruth retired out of the blue.

Also thickening up the UFC 153 main card will be a heavyweight feature between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira — who’s coming back from his arm-shattering loss to Frank Mir in December — and Dave Herman, who has been knocked out in his last two fights against Stefan Struve and Roy Nelson.

As UFC president Dana White said about the new matchups:

“We’re back on track. Anderson Silva wasn’t scheduled to fight at all. I called him today, and he’s shooting a commercial in Brazil. Anderson Silva steps up, and Stephan Bonnar wants to fight him. The Teixeira vs. Maldonado fight comes together, and then Nogueira was standing right there with Anderson shooting the commercial with him, and he said he wanted to fight, too.

This is old-school UFC. A card is in jeopardy, but guys that are world champions and superstars stepped up and jumped in and saved the card. This is why the fans love this sport and why we went on a 12-year run without canceling an event.”

So what do you guys think of the new UFC 153 main event? Awesome, or totally stupid but still kind of awesome?

Anderson Silva Will Face Stephan Bonnar in UFC 153 Main Event

The wait is over. The main event of UFC 153 has been announced. It was originally planned to be a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, but the bout was scrapped after Aldo had injured his foot in a motorcycle accident. Th…

The wait is over. The main event of UFC 153 has been announced. It was originally planned to be a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, but the bout was scrapped after Aldo had injured his foot in a motorcycle accident. 

The new main event will be a light heavyweight scrap between Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar as confirmed by John Morgan of USA Today via MMA Junkie. This will be Silva’s third time at light heavyweight in the UFC where he defeated James Irvin and Forrest Griffin in previous outings. 

Bonnar spoke openly about retirement this year and how he no longer felt motivated to fight. He did leave a door open, should he be presented with an intriguing fight. Well, Joe Silva called his bluff and proposed the bout with the middleweight champion.

Bonnar brings some very technical boxing with an underrated ground game to the cage. But the most important aspect of his game will be his toughness. He’s going to need to rely on that if he hopes to wear Silva down and survive to the later rounds. 

Silva is widely regarded as the best fighter in the world. He’s immensely popular in Brazil and his involvement on the card will surely be viewed by the Brazilian audience as a reason to watch. He last fought at UFC 148, in which he finished Chael Sonnen in the second round. 

This is a great fight for both Silva and Bonnar. While many fans will count Bonnar out, know that he’s more game than most and one of the few fighters to take Jon Jones to a decision. He matches up well and has the size to really push Silva. 

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