Tag: UFC on FUEL 4

UFC on Fuel Results: Anderson Silva Is Keeping the Belt Warm for Chris Weidman

Anderson Silva has no chance of beating Chris Weidman. The current champ is simply keeping the belt warm for Weidman. Absurd?Think again. Chris Weidman just dismantled the highly touted Mark Munoz in a fight that didn’t come close to being co…

Anderson Silva has no chance of beating Chris Weidman. The current champ is simply keeping the belt warm for Weidman. 

Absurd?

Think again. 

Chris Weidman just dismantled the highly touted Mark Munoz in a fight that didn’t come close to being competitive. Weidman took Munoz—a highly skilled wrestler in his own right—down with ease and dominated him on the ground. 

However, this wasn’t all Weidman had to offer. He floored Munoz with a devastating elbow and then finished the fight with ground-and-pound. 

This is a man who is tailor-made to destroy Anderson Silva. 

Just look at what another talented wrestler—Chael Sonnen—did to Anderson Silva in the first round of their most recent fight. Sonnen took Silva down at will and even got mount. In their first fight, Sonnen took Silva down at will for the first four rounds!

Of course, Sonnen eventually lost in both fights—in the first by means of a Hail Mary triangle choke, and in the second due to, in large part, an ill-fated spinning back fist that caused him to lose his footing and get pummeled by Silva.

Weidman, a capable striker and literally a world-class submission grappler, wouldn’t make such grievous errors. 

A Silva-Weidman fight would go this way: Weidman would take Silva down (as fast as Sonnen took Silva down this past Saturday) and would use his superior wrestling and grappling abilities to control Silva from the top en route to either a unanimous decision victory (if Silva is lucky) or a submission. 

Silva has nothing for Weidman. Yes, his striking is better, but Weidman’s wrestling and grappling advantage is far greater than Silva’s striking advantage.

Silva can’t submit Weidman, nor is it likely that he could shrug off Weidman’s takedowns and (T)KO Weidman.

“But Silva has clowned impressive grapplers before! Just look at the Demian Maia fight,” you say?

Chris Weidman is no Demian Maia.

Maia is a phenomenal grappler but just a good—not great—mixed martial artist. Also, when Maia was fighting Silva, Maia’s striking game was deficient and anemic.

Weidman doesn’t have such a problem, as indicated by his impressive victory over Munoz and his training with the famed striking coach Ray Longo. Furthermore, Weidman’s wrestling base gives him takedown abilities that Maia lacked against Silva. 

Silva has no answer for Weidman’s overwhelming talents as a mixed martial artist.

The man is an amazing wrestler and grappler, and he’s a skilled enough striker to set up a takedown on Silva and avoid mistakes that would part him from consciousness. The aged Brazilian will not be able to compete with Weidman, who is a fighter from the next generation.

Thus, Silva’s middleweight title reign is at an end. The 37-year-old is now relegated to keeping Chris Weidman’s belt warm until Weidman meets him in the Octagon to claim what is his.

 

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UFC on Fuel TV 4: What We Learned from Chris Weidman’s Victory over Mark Munoz

Chris Weidman is for real folks.The undefeated fighter put on a dominant showing against top contender Mark Munoz in the main event of the UFC on Fuel TV 4 card.Weidman used his wrestling to control Munoz in the first round that could’ve easily been sc…

Chris Weidman is for real folks.

The undefeated fighter put on a dominant showing against top contender Mark Munoz in the main event of the UFC on Fuel TV 4 card.

Weidman used his wrestling to control Munoz in the first round that could’ve easily been scored as a 10-8. It was much of the same in the second round as Weidman again secured a takedown. However, this time Munoz was able to work his way back to his feet, at which point he attempted to land one of his vaunted power punches.

Weidman caught Munoz coming in with a slicing right elbow that seemed straight out of Jon Jones’ playbook. In what was supposed to be a big comeback win for Munoz, Weidman instead stole the title opportunity out from under him in the main event.

 

What Fans Will Take Away from This Fight

Without a doubt this fight will be considered Weidman’s dominant performance.

Munoz is a tough guy, and Weidman controlled him during every second of the fight. Weidman not only controlled Munoz through his wrestling but also with his jiu-jitsu.

It’s clear that training with the Serra-Longo camp is paying big dividends for Weidman; he puts on a better performance each time he steps into the Octagon.

 

What We Learned about Chris Weidman

What can you say about Weidman’s performance that hasn’t already been said by the MMA community?

The guy showcased all of his skills tonight against a very tough Munoz.

Fans were well aware of Weidman’s grappling skills with a strong wrestling background coupled with solid jiu-jitsu, but he showed some new wrinkles in his game tonight.

Weidman landed a picture perfect elbow to not only cut Munoz but also dropped “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” to the canvas. The stoppage capped an amazing performance by Weidman that could see him become next in line for a title shot.

 

What We Learned about Mark Munoz

I’m not sure if it was Weidman being on his A-game or if it’s a case of cage rust, but Munoz really didn’t look himself tonight.

An early takedown and a dominant round by Weidman looked to frustrate Munoz. He never really threatened Weidman throughout the contest, looking instead like he was in survival mode during the fight.

 

Where Do the Fighters Go from Here

For Weidman it may be Anderson Silva.

A lot of fans and analysts were already high on Weidman as a prospect coming into the bout, but after this performance he’s effectively jumped to “in-the-mix” status.

If it isn’t “The Spider,” then Weidman should be paired up against another top-level guy. Chael Sonnen and Alan Belcher are two names that are being floated around as great possibilities.

Munoz looked extremely depressed after the fight following his performance and will need to go back to the drawing board. Whether or not it was the lengthy layoff—or he simply came out flat against Weidman—Munoz was anything but a wrecking machine tonight.

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UFC on Fuel 4 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Weidman Versus Munoz

At UFC 148, middleweight legend Anderson Silva defended his title for a second time against Chael Sonnen. It was one of the most amazing spectacles in UFC history.From the prefight trash talk, to the action-packed weigh-in, to the spectacular knee that…

At UFC 148, middleweight legend Anderson Silva defended his title for a second time against Chael Sonnen. It was one of the most amazing spectacles in UFC history.

From the prefight trash talk, to the action-packed weigh-in, to the spectacular knee that was the beginning of the end for Chael, it was a night to remember.

With Chael out of the picture, the UFC desperately needed a new contender to Silva’s crown. Tonight, they found one in Chris Weidman.

The prospect squared off with Mark Munoz in San Jose, a bout between two proud athletes with much more than pride on the line—a title shot was also up for grabs for whoever could reach out and grab it.

With his TKO win, Weidman snatched it.

As great as he was, Weidman wasn’t the only fighter on the card. There were other winners, and some checked the “loss” column.

Let’s run down the card and pick out the fighters who truly made their mark, for good or ill, on this free television broadcast.

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UFC on Fuel TV 4 Results: What We Learned from Joey Beltran vs James Te-Huna

The UFC on Fuel 4 co-main event was advertised as a slugfest for the ages between James Te-Huna and Joey Beltran, and for the majority of the bout they delivered. Te-Huna gave us one of the most impressive first rounds in recent memory, landing over 70…

The UFC on Fuel 4 co-main event was advertised as a slugfest for the ages between James Te-Huna and Joey Beltran, and for the majority of the bout they delivered.

Te-Huna gave us one of the most impressive first rounds in recent memory, landing over 70 significant strikes and rocking “The Mexicutioner” multiple times in a lopsided round.

Beltran has always been almost impossible to knock out, and once Te-Huna couldn’t put him away, he gave the fans a show and started to mount a bit of offense of his own, but he was unable to do enough to earn a single round on the judge’s scorecards.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight

We already knew this, but Joey Beltran is one tough dude.

The former heavyweight looked pretty decent in his UFC debut at 205, and even though he was on the wrong end of nearly every exchange, he showed he can hang with a tough young prospect in Te-Huna.

As for the winner, Te-Huna proved he is a force to be reckoned with in the light heavyweight division.

There aren’t many guys in the world that could have survived the onslaught of attack that Te-Huna brought in the first round, and he deserves a chance to show off his skills against a top guy at 205.

 

What We Learned About Te-Huna

The hype behind James Te-Huna has been slowly growing throughout his UFC career, and it’s about to hit a whole new level after that fight.

Complete and total domination is the only way to describe the first round of that fight, and Te-Huna did enough to win the next two rounds despite obviously wearing himself down looking to finish early.

Cardio is still a concern when it comes to the young Aussie, but if he hits the rest of the division as hard as he did Beltran he may not have to worry about it.

 

What We Learned About Beltran

Honestly, not much.

We knew Beltran was one of the toughest fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon, and he proved that once again tonight.

Beltran looks like an improved fighter at light heavyweight however, and if he gets a more manageable opponent in his next fight, he could start to earn some momentum in the division.

 

What’s Next for Te-Huna

Te-Huna was originally set to fight Brandon Vera in this bout, but his chance at fighting a well-known opponent was taken away due to the massive amount of injuries the UFC roster suffered last month.

Now it’s time for Te-Huna to fight a decent name in the division, and Stephan Bonnar seems like a great test.

 

What’s Next for Beltran

Hopefully not another fight like that one.

Beltran is fun to watch, but it’s becoming difficult to watch the guy take so much punishment every time he steps inside the cage.

A fight with Kyle Kingsbury would likely end up in another slugfest, but it’s one that Beltran would have a good chance of winning.

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UFC on Fuel TV 4 Results: Is Francis Carmont Ready for the Best at Middleweight?

Tonight, Francis Carmont passed his biggest test to date when he earned a second-round submission win over fellow middleweight Karlos Vemola.In Vemola, Carmont faced a larger, stronger wrestler with all sorts of power in his hands. Even with these fact…

Tonight, Francis Carmont passed his biggest test to date when he earned a second-round submission win over fellow middleweight Karlos Vemola.

In Vemola, Carmont faced a larger, stronger wrestler with all sorts of power in his hands. Even with these factors playing against him, Carmont triumphed with technique, skill and power of his own.

Now 3-0 in the UFC with three impressive wins, Carmont has proven to be ready for the best the middleweight division has to offer.

Training at Tristar, Carmont is getting some of the best training with some of the best training partners in the business. As seen in his corner, Carmont is a training partner and friend of Georges St. Pierre, who has helped the Frenchman with his game. It has shown in his Octagon outings, as Carmont has transformed from a striker to a mixed martial artist.

In his first bout, Carmont absolutely dominated a respectable fighter in Chris Camozzi. Then, he submitted a guy seen as a better grappler in Magnus Cedenblad. And tonight, he arguably out-wrestled a Czech national champion en route to a submission stoppage.

With that, I say bring on the best.

Carmont is a dark horse of the middleweight division. A lot of guys aren’t completely aware of him, but he has the ability to knock them off. I have suggested that Carmont take on Costa Philippou in his next fight, and this may be warranted.

But wouldn’t a showdown with a guy like Brian Stann, Michael Bisping or Cung Le interest you? Carmont is a big, strong, skilled guy who has the ability to make his name off a bigger name like they have.

His run through the Octagon has turned many heads. After tonight, it should have turned enough heads to put him in the running for a top-15, if not top-10 opponent.

This is obviously my view, but take a minute to judge his talent yourself. When all the numbers and factors add up, I am sure you will be impressed as well.

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UFC on Fuel TV 4 Results: What We Learned from T.J. Dillashaw vs Vaughan Lee

T.J. Dillashaw made quick work of perennial underdog Vaughan Lee in their bantamweight contest during the UFC on Fuel TV 4 event. The Team Alpha Male product has now put together two strong showings in the UFC after suffering his first-ever career defe…

T.J. Dillashaw made quick work of perennial underdog Vaughan Lee in their bantamweight contest during the UFC on Fuel TV 4 event. The Team Alpha Male product has now put together two strong showings in the UFC after suffering his first-ever career defeat at the hands of John Dodson.

 

What Fans Will Take Away From this Fight

Dillashaw is finally starting to look like the heralded prospect MMA fans believed he would be while competing on The Ultimate Fighter. Lee put up a good fight by swarming Dillashaw early but eventually succumbed to Dillashaw‘s grappling.

 

What We Learned About T.J. Dillashaw

Dillashaw showed a lot of heart by withstanding Lee’s early storm as the Brit came out throwing good strikes. He started off a little slow but eventually got into his game and used his superior wrestling to take the fight to the mat.

I’m sure Dillashaw would’ve liked to start off better, but he has to be happy with the end result. Fans didn’t really learn anything new from Dillashaw, as he showed us exactly what brought him to the dance.

 

What We Learned About Vaughan Lee

It seems Lee is destined to be the underdog in every fight in the UFC, a point Jon Anik and Kenny Florian were quick to point out. Never the less, Lee came out and showed a true fighting spirit. After some brief moments of success, Lee’s wrestling couldn’t keep up with Dillashaw‘s.

Lee will need to work on his defensive grappling skills if he wants to rise up the bantamweight rankings in the future.

 

Where Do T.J. Dillashaw and Vaughan Lee Go From Here

For Dillashaw, he should fight another middle-of-the-pack type of fighter. Dillashaw had a lot of hype surrounding his arrival to the UFC but a TKO loss to Dodson ended the hype train. Two strong showings have got Dillashaw back on track, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

Lee has now alternated wins and losses in his UFC career, but his sole win was a huge victory over Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. He doesn’t have to worry about his job as Lee seems like a guy who “brings it” each time out, something Dana White is always a fan of.

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