Odds are that UFC president Dana White did not plan on announcing that Antonio Silva had earned Knockout of the Night accolades following UFC 156, but there he was standing at the podium at the post-fight press conference and revealing that “Bigf…
Odds are that UFC president Dana White did not plan on announcing that Antonio Silva had earned Knockout of the Night accolades following UFC 156, but there he was standing at the podium at the post-fight press conference and revealing that “Bigfoot,” with his third-round TKO of Alistair Overeem, had earned himself $50,000 on top of his $70,000 salary for his effort on February 2.
If someone tries to tell you that this fight was intended to be anything more than a glorified sparring session for Overeem on his road to a bout against UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, don’t believe that for a second.
The UFC didn’t feature Overeem’s mug on the most recent edition of UFC 360 magazine, thinking he was going to do anything but destroy Silva when they met on Super Bowl weekend.
Yet, 10:25 after the fight began, there was Silva, standing over the crumpled body of Overeem screaming God knows what at his unconscious form as referee Herb Dean attempted to hold him back. For anyone who witnessed the fight, it was a moment that will not be forgotten. For the UFC, it should be a moment to be thankful for.
Sure, the promotion lost a guaranteed money maker in Velasquez vs. Overeem, but one thing that we have learned is that no one fighter is bigger than the UFC.
Overeem’s loss to Silva is but a minor inconvenience for the UFC, a much more minor inconvenience than what would have faced the promotion had Overeem stood in the center of the Octagon, smirk firmly in place as Dean raised his hand in victory.
An Overeem victory and a scheduled UFC title fight would have brought a lot of attention to Overeem. Attention, judging from some of his UFC 156 fight-week actions, unwanted by the heavyweight fighter.
Questions have been floating around for quite some time about how Overeem packed so much muscle onto a once skinny frame. When he was popped for having an unusually high level of testosterone in his system during a random drug test, well, that was all the proof that some needed to point and say, “See, told you so.”
Overeem used the old faithful excuse of “I didn’t know what was in the injection” when he was questioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as to why his testosterone to epitestosterone level was 14-to-1, far higher than the 6-to-1 allowed by the commission. As a result of the test Overeem was denied a license to fight in Nevada for nine months.
When it came time to apply for a license for UFC 156, it was revealed that Overeem had passed several surprise drug tests in the time leading up to his hearing. He also had submitted the results of some random drug tests to the Commission, all of which he passed.
The part that struck me about this was that Overeem had gone above and beyond to prove that he was a clean fighter, submitting to voluntary testing that was not required. A commendable act, however, one that felt a little hollow after he revealed that odds were against him continuing to submit to voluntary testing after he had been licensed.
Things got a little more cloudy during UFC 156 fight week when he gave Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated a “next interview, please” response when asked if he ever knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.
That cloud got a little darker when he walked out to weigh-ins sporting a shirt that read “Haters Gonna Hate.” It also appeared that the physique underneath, that not-so-subtle jab, was a lot flatter than the one he carried to the last UFC weigh-in he participated in when he sent Brock Lesnar into retirement at UFC 141.
When Overeem spoke to USA Today, according to Ben Fowlkes, and said of his doubters that he was “not in the process of trying to change their minds,” that cloud was ominously hanging over the UFC’s future.
Silva helped remove that ugliness with his TKO victory, and you better believe things would have gotten ugly around Overeem.
The media, well within their rights, would have never stopped asking Overeem about the failed drug test, about how he was going to assure everyone that he was indeed a clean fighter. For every “next interview please” or mind he didn’t care about changing, the line of doubters and those asking the same questions would have increased.
If Overeem had defeated Velasquez and had UFC gold strapped around his waist, what then? What would have that done for the sport?
For now, the UFC doesn’t have to worry about those questions. For that, the UFC owes a debt of gratitude to Antonio Silva.
It’s time to step into the Octagon once again as we take a look back at UFC 156, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain. This five-hour marathon began with the preliminary fights and the lightweight enco…
It’s time to step into the Octagon once again as we take a look back at UFC 156, shown live in the early hours of this past Sunday morning on ESPN here in Britain.
This five-hour marathon began with the preliminary fights and the lightweight encounter between Yves Edwards and Isaac Vallie-Flagg.
I really enjoyed this one. We saw all of the aspects of the MMA game in a fight filled with top notch action.
Both fighters put on good displays in the striking department early on, and although the veteran Edwards connected with some good shots Vallie-Flagg began to outshine him.
Edwards’ best work came in the second round when he scored with the takedown. His ground work looked solid as he moved from position to position, eventually taking his man’s back as he looked for the rear naked choke. Vallie-Flagg did a good job of defending against this, but if the round hadn’t ended when it did Edwards may have had a little more success.
Round three clearly belonged to Vallie-Flagg. Even though Edwards was starting to tire he still got in some good shots, although Vallie-Flagg eclipsed his work rate, and the fact that he easily escaped from Edwards’ takedown attempts showed how far ahead he was.
With no knockout or submission the judges came into the equation, with Vallie-Flagg taking the split decision.
The lightweight action continued with Jacob Volkmann taking on Bobby Green.
This was even better than the first fight, a three rounder packed with tremendous action.
Volkmann’s work in the first was top notch. His dominance began as soon as he took the fight to the ground, and there were times when Green looked helpless, particularly when Volkmann took his back and looked for a rear naked choke.
Green came back well from the second round onwards. When Volkmann went for the takedown again Green defended and soon found himself in top position on the ground as he looked to deliver a few shots.
Then we got the rather strange stand up from our esteemed referee. I guess she didn’t see the damage Green had caused to Volkmann’s face.
Even though Volkmann managed to regain control Green took it back in the third. The fatigue factor was clearly coming into play as far as Volkmann was concerned, and as the action went back to the ground and the fight entered it’s final minute Green took his man’s back and locked in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
It was up to welterweight for the next fight as TyronWoodley took on Jay Hieron.
This was one of those encounters where the introductions lasted longer than the fight.
After a brief feeling out period Woodley came forward and connected with a big looping right. Hieron crashed down to the mat immediately, and as Woodley followed him down the referee stepped in after just 36 seconds to give Woodley the knockout win.
Filler material followed in the form of the catchweight encounter between Chico Camus and Dustin Kimura.
This was originally meant to be a bantamweight fight, but when Kimura failed to make weight he chose to surrender a percentage of his purse instead of going back into the sauna.
I’m really glad they showed this one. It began with some nice striking exchanges as Camus put his man on his backside before he scored with the takedown.
However, as soon as they hit the mat Kimura went on to dominate off his back, going for submission after submission which Camus managed to survive.
Camus’ best moments came in the second round with his sound striking game, but when he took the fight back to the ground Kimura attacked from his back once again.
The end came in the third. This time when the fight went to the ground Kimura ended up in the top position, and it wasn’t long before he took Camus’ back and synched in a rear naked choke for the submission win.
It was back to lightweight for the final preliminary fight as GleisonTibau faced Evan Dunham.
This rather intriguing three rounder saw Tibau going for an early finish when he went for a guillotine. Dunham survived that particular attempt though.
The striking battle showed just how different these two were. While Dunham went for the technical approach Tibau seemed to be looking for that one big powerful blow with every swing. This tactic didn’t seem to do much for his conditioning as he began to slow down before the first round had even ended.
So the tone of the fight was set, and as the action went on Dunham’s striking got better and better. The only problem he had was that he just couldn’t score with the takedown, particularly in the third round, although we did get the duelling guillotine attempts at the beginning of that particular round.
With the fight going the distance the judges were called into action once again as Dunham took the split decision.
The main show began in the flyweight division as Joseph Benavidez faced Ian McCall.
This fight was a great example of why I’m a big fan of this division.
Benavidez’s striking was top notch throughout. Although there were a few stray shots early on he managed to stagger his man a few times, particularly in the first.
McCall’s best chances came when he tried to take the fight to ground, especially towards the end of the second. This exchange saw Uncle Creepy avoiding his man’s takedown attempt and coming back quickly to take his back, adding a spot of ground and pound into the equation.
By the time the third round started Benavidez regained control, and although McCall scored with another takedown, Benavidez escaped and returned to his favoured striking game.
But with no finish it went down to the judges again as Benavidez took the unanimous decision.
It was back to welterweight for the next fight as Jon Fitch took on Demian Maia.
It was all about the ground game in this one. For three rounds Maia showed once again that the welterweight division is tailor-made for him.
The Brazilian took the fight to the ground as soon as it began, and it wasn’t long before he took Fitch’s back as he looked for a rear naked choke.
But once again Fitch showed how great he is defensively as he stopped Maia’s attempts each and every time. The only problem was that his best work throughout the fight was his defensive work, his main offensive work being a brief guillotine attempt.
Despite the great efforts of the Brazilian he couldn’t get the finish, which meant yet more work for the judges as Maia took the unanimous decision.
The big boys of the heavyweight division came out to play next as Alistair Overeem went up against Antonio Silva.
This was the fight I was looking forward to the most, and it was another example of how a fight can turn in an instant.
Overeem dominated the first two rounds. His striking, particularly in the clinch against the cage, was excellent, and when he scored with the takedown in the second his work got even better. His body shots looked absolutely brutal.
But when Silva had a bit of success with his own striking at the end of the second it was a sign of things to come. He staggered the Dutchman as soon as the third round began, and a barrage of punches sent Overeem crashing to the canvas, the referee stepping in to give Bigfoot the TKO win.
The co-main event featured light heavyweight action as Rashad Evans took on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
On paper this fight looked like one of the best match-ups on the show. Unfortunately fights aren’t fought on paper.
It basically felt like this fight had a feeling out period that pasted for 15 minutes. Both guys got in their fair share of blows, but there just weren’t any real game changing events here.
There was also very little action on the ground. Evans scored with the only takedown of the fight with Little Nog defending against his other attempts.
That was basically it, which meant more work for the judges as Nogueira took the unanimous decision.
The main event saw Frankie Edgar challenging Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title.
Now this wash what a striking battle should be. For five rounds these two put on a fight worthy of it’s spot on the card.
Aldo, as always, put on a great display. His combinations were top notch, especially during the early rounds, while his leg kicks were as brutal as ever, although he never used these as his main weapon.
Edgar, for his part, seemed to get stronger as the fight went on. While Aldo seemed to tire Edgar looked minty fresh throughout, keeping the speed that served him so well in the lightweight division and scoring with some nice combinations of his own, particular later in the fight.
As far as the takedowns were concerned Edgar had a couple of successful moments, with Aldo showing some great defensive skills as he avoided the mat time and time again.
But with no finish in sight the judges were called upon for the final time as Aldo took the unanimous decision.
In conclusion – other commitments meant that I only got to watch this show a few days after everyone else. However, it was definitely worth the wait.
The five hour marathon that was UFC 156 proved to be a very good show. Apart from the disappointing Evans/Nogueira battle all of these fights delivered as the Brazilian contingent gave as another enjoyable night of fight action. But even though I enjoyed their work my fight of the night no-prize goes to an encounter that didn’t involve a Brazilian.
Yep, I’m going against the grain once again and giving the prize to Bobby Green’s submission win over Jacob Volkmann. It certainly was a great way for Green to make his UFC debut, and I look forward to seeing more from him in the future.
So with all of that out of the way it’s time to wrap this thing up by giving UFC 156 the thumbs up.
Don’t forget to check out my website at twoshedsreview.blogspot.com. It’s been online in one form or another for nearly 13 years now!
That’s a question that’s likely been burning in the minds of fans since Overeem’s shocking knockout loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156. Throughout the career of “The Reem” two issues have frequently surfaced …
That’s a question that’s likely been burning in the minds of fans since Overeem’s shocking knockout loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156.
Throughout the career of “The Reem” two issues have frequently surfaced as seeming points of weakness: Overeem’s inability to absorb heavy firepower and a questionable gas tank. We witnessed both of these problems rear their heads at UFC 156.
We also saw another major flaw in the Dutchman’s game: overconfidence.
Overeem entered the bout with a smirk on his face, and he fought with that same sense of invincibility through two rounds. However, his lack of regard for Silva’s offensive capabilities came back to bite him in the rear as the third round of their scheduled 15-minute affair began.
Visibly tired, Overeem charged forward, meeting his Brazilian foe head-on in the center of the octagon. Silva responded with a crisp shot that had Overeem immediately backing up. Back against the cage, Overeem was blasted with a lengthy series of unanswered punches.
Out on his feet, the Team Blackzilians rep finally collapsed, a beaten heap of hype, deflated and defenseless.
The loss eliminated what was widely considered to be champion Cain Velasquez’s top contender (assuming he made it past Silva) and halted a five-year unbeaten streak for Overeem. It also played a key part in Overeem’s drastic divisional descent.
Overeem may very well bounce back, just as vicious as ever. But with nearly 14 years and 49 fights banked as a professional mixed martial artist (and 14 under K-1 rules), one must wonder whether “The Reem” has another solid run at the title in him, especially competing in the talent-rich UFC.
If Overeem is incapable of withstanding punishment from heavy-handed strikers, guys like Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Shane Carwin and Mark Hunt will always present imminent danger.
There’s no way Overeem holds his place on the UFC roster and manages to avoid each of these men.
The cardio of “The Reem” could also prove detrimental to his career.
There are a number of heavyweight competitors under the UFC banner who are fit enough to battle five hard rounds. If Overeem’s gas tank is running low inside 15 minutes, how can he hope to keep pace with well-conditioned machines like Daniel Cormier?
Even if Overeem rediscovers his confidence quickly, he’s got some technical gaps to fill.
The UFC isn’t the platform for a fighter to begin experimenting with change. Inside the octagon the elite are already fully prepared, and any fighter playing catch-up could find himself in a nasty position.
As much as I hate to say it, Overeem’s days as a top-flight threat to the heavyweight championship are likely over.
He’s now in a position in which he must re-ascend the mountain. And with men like dos Santos and Cormier floating about the ranks, chances are fair that he stumbles long before reaching the summit once more.
(“I’LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME, JAY, WHO TATTOOED THIS AFFLICTION SHIRT TO YOUR BACK?!”)
If the first month is any indication, 2013 is going to be a good year for MMA. There hasn’t been a significant injury in weeks (sorry Patricky), title fights are almost starting to make sense, and on top of it all, the UFC’s primetime ratings are slowly beginning their climb out of the abyss. Throw in the fact that Bruce Buffer’s upcoming autobiography is all but a shoe-in for a Pulitzer and we are left with little to complain about. It feels…good.
So before we jinx ourselves, let’s get to the great news regarding the preliminary portion of UFC 156, which was able to pull in record numbers during its run on FX last Saturday despite the fact that it featured several debuting fighters and not a lot of name power. As MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer reports:
Saturday’s UFC 156 prelims drew 1,897,000 viewers, topping the previous UFC on FX record of 1,860,000 viewers set two weeks earlier for the Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping card from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The number was a huge increase from the prelims on FX on Jan. 26 before the FOX network special from Chicago’s United Center which did 1,208,000 viewers.
The largest previous audience on FX for prelims before a big show came on July 7 when theUFC 148 prelims did 1.8 million viewers. But that was to be expected, since there was more interest in UFC on that day with the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight title rematch than any day over the past two years.
After almost ten minutes of research, we have determined that there are only two real explanations for the UFC’s sudden viewership jump:
(“I’LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME, JAY, WHO TATTOOED THIS AFFLICTION SHIRT TO YOUR BACK?!”)
If the first month is any indication, 2013 is going to be a good year for MMA. There hasn’t been a significant injury in weeks (sorry Patricky), title fights are almost starting to make sense, and on top of it all, the UFC’s primetime ratings are slowly beginning their climb out of the abyss. Throw in the fact that Bruce Buffer’s upcoming autobiography is all but a shoe-in for a Pulitzer and we are left with little to complain about. It feels…good.
So before we jinx ourselves, let’s get to the great news regarding the preliminary portion of UFC 156, which was able to pull in record numbers during its run on FX last Saturday despite the fact that it featured several debuting fighters and not a lot of name power. As MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer reports:
Saturday’s UFC 156 prelims drew 1,897,000 viewers, topping the previous UFC on FX record of 1,860,000 viewers set two weeks earlier for the Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping card from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The number was a huge increase from the prelims on FX on Jan. 26 before the FOX network special from Chicago’s United Center which did 1,208,000 viewers.
The largest previous audience on FX for prelims before a big show came on July 7 when theUFC 148 prelims did 1.8 million viewers. But that was to be expected, since there was more interest in UFC on that day with the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight title rematch than any day over the past two years.
After almost ten minutes of research, we have determined that there are only two real explanations for the UFC’s sudden viewership jump:
1) Americans were riding the violence-fueled high that only the anticipation of the Super Bowl can bring.
2) Jacob Volkmann‘s cult of survivalist troglodytes has gained a far greater following than we previously thought possible. This is probably the correct answer.
Unfortunately, not all is well in the land of UFC ratings…
Granted, these numbers aren’t even in the same ballpark as the shameful lows last season brought, but it kind of makes you wonder how an episode that received so much more publicity failed to stir up the same amount of interest. Any ideas as to this drop in ratings, Taters?
Things have been going pretty good for the UFC over the past few months. Injuries—at least the epic, card-altering variety—have been less regular. TUF 17 has been better than expected by most, and has people talking about UFC 159 even thoug…
Things have been going pretty good for the UFC over the past few months.
Injuries—at least the epic, card-altering variety—have been less regular.
TUF 17 has been better than expected by most, and has people talking about UFC 159 even though it’s nearly three months away.
The Super Bowl Weekend show served as a reminder that the UFC can still do big as well as anyone, and the first FOX show of 2013 showed that marquee to be dialing in nicely as well.
After a 2012 that was—to put it nicely—forgettable, things have been rolling along pretty well.
But you know what you don’t do when things are going well after a protracted stretch of nightmarish frustration, fan displeasure and a suffering product? You don’t start trying to force new ideas out there, particularly when you still have some more notable half-baked schemes still in development.
And yet that’s exactly what Dana White and the UFC are doing.
How so, you ask? Well, the 115-pound division, otherwise known as the strawweight class, is on its way to the UFC.
Now, ignore for a minute that the recently-introduced flyweight division is still in its infancy and working on making new fans. It’s not quite one of those half-baked ideas noted above, but the amount of preparation involved in launching it puts it close.
Ignore that the UFC is in with completely and totally reckless enthusiasm on Ronda Rousey, signing a few women to serve as a “division” for her to headline while they soak up the mainstream media attention that she’ll get them. Fairly half-baked.
Ignore too the aforementioned disaster that was 2012, just to keep a clear head about this.
Even with those things ignored, focusing purely on the implementation of strawweights as a UFC draw, it’s still a bad idea.
Add in those questionable issues you were just ignoring? Well, now it’s just plain idiotic.
The fact is that the promotion is just starting to overcome the perception that they were spread too thin in 2012.
They’re just starting to realize that they need more depth in the division below 155lbs, too.
They’re also just getting into the swing of promoting Rousey’s first fight, so they won’t know what they have there for another few weeks.
But now, of all times, they want to seriously contend that strawweights would be a good move? How? For what reason?
Some argue that many new UFC territories will be rife with smaller fighters looking to make it. Places like Asia, India and Mexico are referenced repeatedly, yet two of those haven’t yet been breached and the other is a combination of countries that have ranged from tepid to impossible on the UFC penetration scale.
Others have said…
Actually, you know what? That’s basically the only reason any of this is being considered. Because when the UFC hits new markets, it wants something for the local talent to strive for. If that means creating a title in a borderline uninhabited weight class that most governing bodies using the Unified Rules of MMA don’t even recognize, then so be it.
This isn’t to rag on the UFC. Honestly, they get it right more often than they don’t. There might even come a time—hell, there definitely will come a time—that strawweights are a viable attraction and a sensible division to promote.
But 2013 isn’t that time. 2013 is the time to rebound from a bad year and get some positive momentum in the new areas that need it. Creating new problems won’t help anybody.
It has been open season for Alistair Overeem put-downs following his upset loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156.MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” told Fight Site (via Bloody Elbow) he believes Overeem lost because he finally “fought without drugs.”On hi…
It has been open season for Alistair Overeem put-downs following his upset loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156.
MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” told Fight Site (via Bloody Elbow) he believes Overeem lost because he finally “fought without drugs.”
On his Facebook page, BasRutten admitted he felt Overeem had a “glass chin.” Junior Dos Santos boasted on Twitter about Overeem’s trash talking being useless if he couldn’t back it up in the Octagon.
Now, Golden Glory coach Ramon Dekkers, an eight-time world Muay Thai champion, has decided to hurl a late verbal jab Overeem’s way on Twitter.
Overeem was a longtime member of Golden Glory gym before making the switch to the Blackzilians a year ago.
His decision came shortly after the proposed “scandal” that led to the UFC/Strikeforce contract terminations of Golden Glory fighters in 2011. Along with Overeem, MarloesCoenen and Jon Olav Einemo were all released from their contracts.
UFC President Dana White told MMAFighting a fighter’s purse is expected to be paid to Golden Glory, who then pays the fighter. This way of conducting business isn’t up to par with the standards set by athletic commissions in the United States, and White had no choice but to terminate the contracts.
A few months later, Overeem left Golden Glory for what he called “harmful management” and a “breach of trust” in his online documentary “The Reem.” There were a pair of lawsuits that followed from both parties, but everything was eventually settled outside of court for an undisclosed amount.
Is Dekkers dwelling on the past? Why kick a man when he’s already down?
Odds are that UFC president Dana White did not plan on announcing that Antonio Silva had earned Knockout of the Night accolades following UFC 156, but there he was standing at the podium at the post-fight press conference and revealing that “Bigfoot,” with his third-round TKO of Alistair Overeem, had earned himself $50,000 on top of his $70,000 salary for his effort on February 2.