Tag: UFC 156

UFC 156: Dana White Says ‘Yes’ on Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman Title Bout

Now that Rashad Evans has lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he obviously won’t be challenging Anderson Silva next. That leaves the door wide open for Chris Weidman.During the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that the undef…

Now that Rashad Evans has lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he obviously won’t be challenging Anderson Silva next. That leaves the door wide open for Chris Weidman.

During the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that the undefeated Weidman seems like the only contender that’s left for “The Spider” at the moment.

White further elaborated that Anderson Silva “does not care who he fights,” and will face any challenger the UFC puts forward.

In fact, while the UFC president said he wasn’t making any matches, he still answered the question quite directly, relayed by MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti:

 

Just a matter of months ago, it seemed like Silva had his pick of fights, as middleweights Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Hector Lombard, Tim Boetsch, Alan Belcher and Chris Weidman were all “in the mix” at one point or another.

But in that span of time, Bisping, Lombard, Boetsch and Belcher have all posted losses that have disrupted their respective winning streaks.

Out of all of them, Bisping has the most marketable name, but suffered a head-kick KO loss against Belfort at UFC on FX 7 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

To boot, Belfort is 3-1 since his own loss to Silva at UFC 126, also by a head-kick knockout.

However, “The Phenom” has his sights set elsewhere, as he used his last post-fight Octagon interview to call out current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a rematch of their UFC 152 title bout.

That effectively leaves Chris Weidman as the “last man standing” in the division, although he’s spent the last month injured since pulling out of a UFC 155 match against Boetsch (via MMA Junkie).

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UFC 156 Results: 5 Fights for Rashad Evans to Take Next

With his second straight setback now official, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has a plethora of avenues that may extend before him—perhaps across two weight classes. His loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was an uninspired performan…

With his second straight setback now official, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has a plethora of avenues that may extend before him—perhaps across two weight classes.

His loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was an uninspired performance, and now Dana White and Joe Silva have to match him up in some creative ways.

Some names that might appeal to him could include:

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Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar: What’s Next for Frankie Edgar?

UFC 156 saw former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar challenge UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo for his 145-pound title. It was a superfight that hardcore fans have speculated on for a while now.For Frankie Edgar, Saturday night was eventful. …

UFC 156 saw former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar challenge UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo for his 145-pound title. It was a superfight that hardcore fans have speculated on for a while now.

For Frankie Edgar, Saturday night was eventful. In fact, it was close in the sense that he should be proud and paranoid. 

He should be proud in the respect that he took the champion the distance. The fight was competitive in every sense of the word.

However, he does not possess the belt. That feat will require some heart, training and skill.

From here, it is tough to call where Frankie Edgar goes. He is a featherweight with a possible bantamweight frame who won the lightweight title.

Is that confusing enough for you?

Anyway, I think Chan Sung Jung would be the best opponent for the former 155-pound champion.

Many people consider the South Korean a top 145er to begin with. I shudder to think that the UFC would give a guy who has not fought in a while a title fight.

It’s not that I think Jung would get destroyed, it’s the fact that I think a full training camp would benefit the Asian assassin.

The fact that a striking battle would ensue is enticing enough. Jung has solid kickboxing skills, while Edgar is one of the best boxers in MMA.

Add to that the fact that Jung is a twister-utilizing, grappling-shy guy who could surprise most with his skill level against a hardened veteran who can wrestle.

Now put that against a wrestler who has submission defense and a knack for making fights exciting, and you have yourself a helluva fight.

Free TV is the way to get fans. This fight would fit that bill.

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UFC 156 Results: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Defeats Rashad Evans

In a spectacular upset, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeated Rashad Evans via unanimous decision at UFC 156 on Saturday in Las Vegas.Nogueira came into the fight as a heavy underdog with Evans but impressed the judges with his boxing and takedown defense …

In a spectacular upset, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeated Rashad Evans via unanimous decision at UFC 156 on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Nogueira came into the fight as a heavy underdog with Evans but impressed the judges with his boxing and takedown defense to win a narrow decision. The fight was much lighter on action than anticipated but Nogueira ultimately did more to win the fight with his effective counter-punching.

Despite losing to the merciless Jon Jones via unanimous decision in April, Evans was a heavy favorite headed into the fight on Saturday against Nogueira.

That’s because the 33-year-old New Yorker figured to pose problems for the Brazilian, both standing up and on the ground. Evans’ combination of speed and agility had many believing he would conquer Nogueira.

There was also the fact that, despite scoring a TKO against the overmatched Tito Ortiz in UFC 140, Nogueira hadn’t fought in over a year’s time. And despite the 36-year-old’s confidence in his wrestling abilities, he had simply been outwrestled in previous losses to Phil Davis and Ryan Bader.

Before his loss to Jones in April, Evans had won four straight fights. He also had posted a 17-2-1 mixed martial arts record (12-2-1 UFC) before the loss on Saturday to Nogueira, using an impressive blend of takedowns and takedown defense to do most of the damage.

As for the Brazilian, he had a 20-5 MMA record, but had only gone 3-2 in the UFC. 

One thing’s for sure: Nogueira showed that he was underrated on Saturday, backing up a convincing victory over Ortiz with a sensational display against Evans. Despite Evans being a heavy favorite in Vegas, Nogueira apparently didn’t get the memo. 

Evans came into the fight on Saturday with serious title aspirations, whether it be at light heavyweight or middleweight. But after Nogueira’s surprising performance, Evans is still wondering where it all went wrong.

 

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UFC 156: Antonio Silva Shocks Overeem; Throws Heavyweight Division into Chaos

Antonio Silva just put the entire UFC heavyweight division on notice.In one of the most memorable upsets in MMA history, “Bigfoot” managed to do the seemingly impossible and defeat title contender Alistair Overeem by KO Saturday night in Las Vegas.Silv…

Antonio Silva just put the entire UFC heavyweight division on notice.

In one of the most memorable upsets in MMA history, “Bigfoot” managed to do the seemingly impossible and defeat title contender Alistair Overeem by KO Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Silva was down on points as the fight went past the first round, as Overeem beat him to the punch with slick striking and strong grappling.

It looked like the second round would be more of the same, but Silva amazingly battled back from getting dominated on the ground, catching Overeem on the feet with huge shots.

Sensing an opportunity, Silva pressed the attack on the international kickboxing champion, as hook after hook after hook got through Overeem’s guard, eventually dropping “The Demolition Man” to the floor like a bad habit.

And now, the entire UFC heavyweight division is in chaos.

Not only has “The Reem” been knocked out for the first time since 2007, but Silva’s victory wrecks an assumed game plan for heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

However, “Bigfoot” may not be the clear contender.

After all, it wasn’t too long ago that Silva was smashed open by Velasquez during a horrifically one-sided loss at UFC 146, where he was bloodied on the Octagon mat just over three minutes into the first round.

Still, Saturday night belongs to Silva, and as a former Blackzilian who was ousted from the camp by Overeem’s arrival in Florida, victory couldn’t be sweeter.

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UFC 156: Why Demian Maia Deserves a Shot at the GSP vs. Nick Diaz Winner

Sometimes, the arduous task of dropping a weight class turns you from a good fighter into a world-class elite threat.That’s exactly what happened to “elite strangle expert” Demian Maia, as he’s gone from middleweight title contention to welterweight ti…

Sometimes, the arduous task of dropping a weight class turns you from a good fighter into a world-class elite threat.

That’s exactly what happened to “elite strangle expert” Demian Maia, as he’s gone from middleweight title contention to welterweight title contention in less than four years.

It’s an incredible achievement for someone who was once an afterthought at 185 pounds.

Now, Maia has an extremely good case for challenging the next welterweight champion, whether it’s Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz.

Few men have completely dominated Fitch like Maia did on Saturday at UFC 156, and despite the rampant jeering from the bloodthirsty Las Vegas crowd, all 15 minutes of that fight was a breathtaking sight.

From the first round, Maia stuck to Fitch’s back like a curse, sinking in underhooks, dragging him to the floor, grabbing limbs and doing damn near everything he could to keep the advantage.

Poor Fitch just uncharacteristically looked out of his depth, even illegally grabbing the cage fence at two points in the match.

Only St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks have trounced Fitch so badly, and in each case, both men battered the American Kickboxing Academy veteran on the feet, with GSP making his foe look like a murder victim.

But if Maia can smother the best wrestlers in the division, maybe he can provide a stiff test for the division’s next champion.

With Georges St-Pierre, the question is whether “Rush” has the wrestling and the grappling skills to manage and stop Maia’s relentless, octopus-like jiu-jitsu attack.

But against Nick Diaz, the contest is just as multifaceted.

Not only is Diaz a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but he’s also a dangerous boxer who wears men down with volume attacks. Maia’s striking skills have come a long way, but with his expert ground game, there’s no telling where that fight would go.

If Joe Silva and Dana White aren’t going to give Hendricks his fair shot (or if “Bigg Rigg” loses at UFC 158), they need to get the next best thing going and put Maia into the title picture.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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