Melvin Guillard once again showed why he is a top contender. His speed and hands are some of the best in the lightweight division.Shane Roller is a very solid wrestler, but made the mistake of staying on the feet and attempting to trade punche…
Melvin Guillard once again showed why he is a top contender. His speed and hands are some of the best in the lightweight division.
Shane Roller is a very solid wrestler, but made the mistake of staying on the feet and attempting to trade punches. Early on all was well, then Guillard starting landing hard shots which rocked Roller and led to the end for him.
Post fight, both men were respectful. The doctors were attending to Roller who appeared to be OK, while Guillard celebrated and spoke facts. He did not demand a title shot and his post-fight speech truly made him look well in the eyes of the big names of the UFC.
There are many fights that both men could take after this, but one thing is for sure, and that is it is time for Guillard to get a top guy so that we can truly see where he is at in the lightweight division.
Next for Roller? There are a few names that come to mind, but the best that does is the loser of Siver vs Wiman. Wiman would match up pretty well with both guys, and while Siver has superior stand-up, Roller’s wrestling could truly make the difference.
Next for Guillard? He is at the top of his game. A fun match up for him would be Anthony Pettis.Guillard would have the advantage considering his teammate is coming off of a victory over Pettis.
Pettis is healthy and that could be perfect for a meeting in Dallas, TX later this year.
Sotiropoulos vs Dos Anjos had all of the makings for a grappling war, but this fight is the one that you do not need to blink. If you did then odds are you miss the beautiful knockout Dos Anjos scored. This fight was expected to be the fight to put …
Sotiropoulos vs Dos Anjos had all of the makings for a grappling war, but this fight is the one that you do not need to blink. If you did then odds are you miss the beautiful knockout Dos Anjos scored. This fight was expected to be the fight to put Sotiropoulos back in the title hunt, but at the end of the day it boosted Dos Anjos’ stock and put Sotiropoulos in an interesting situation.
There are many fights that could now take place, and a good on for Dos Anjos would be the winner of the Denis Siver vs Matt Wiman fight, while Sotiropoulos could fight the likes of Anthony Njokuani or Anthony Pettis.
This was a solid upset and will really have the potential for interesting match ups. Both men have an excellent ground game, with Dos Anjos having the superior striking, which will benefit for future match ups.
After the fight, Sotiropoulos exited the cage pretty fast and headed to the back as you could see the obvious disappointment on his face, while Dos Anjos and his camp appeared extremely happy as they celebrated loudly on their way to the back. Great early start to the night, this should be sign for even more great fights to come, because this whole card up to now has been nothing less than impressive.
This fight is now the early front runner for knock out of the night, will anyone top this? Stay tuned to find out.
As “Sandstorm” blasted out of the sound system, the audience’s level of appreciation rang through the packed out MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The blind aggression was in the face of the great Wanderlei Silva, with his lines and scars…
As “Sandstorm” blasted out of the sound system, the audience’s level of appreciation rang through the packed out MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The blind aggression was in the face of the great Wanderlei Silva, with his lines and scars telling their own story.
While it is undoubtedly exciting to see “The Axe Murder” in that mindset, I couldn’t help but think why he would approach this fight in such a manner.
I know what you’re thinking—Silva can only fight one way. Swinging wide hooks from his hip, “a berserker” is the description they constantly play with in an effort to describe the wild attacks of the Curitiba native.
The Boston CEO confirmed that the 27-second knockout to Chris Leben could have been the last action we ever see from one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport.
I believe these suggestions to be completely premature and in all honesty, perhaps the UFC should think of what was expected from Wanderlei Silva before he even stepped into the Octagon last night.
We all know the Pride champion. The Wanderlei Silva that only has one gear. Some of his fights were so graphic, you could see the Japanese audiences cover their eyes in an effort to block out what appeared to be an assault, despite it actually a competitive MMA matchup.
When Silva signed up to the UFC, we all expected to see the same man in the Octagon. Beginning his second wave with the promotion at 205, Silva fought Chuck Liddell and despite losing a decision, at least we still saw the man we had waited for.
Again, in May 2008, three years ago, Wanderlei banked the last knockout of his career against Keith Jardine up to this point. The punch went on to win him Knockout of the Night honours as well as Knockout of the Year honours at the MMA awards.
Then, the third part of the Rampage trilogy came upon us, with Rampage laying out the former Pride champion, with a left hook that signaled the end of Silva in the light heavyweight division.
This also signaled something else in Silva, in his next two fights we saw a calculated approach and a real game plan from the master. At a catch weight of 195, Silva was unlucky not to edge out a decision against Rich Franklin, the man who went on to “retire” Chuck Liddell.
This led to Wanderlei’s full middleweight debut, in February of last year at UFC 110. His opponent was Michael Bisping, a man known for his ability on his feet and his improving ground game. Silva approached this bout like a true professional, his game plan was evident and he was unlucky to not finish the fight on two occasions, coming out with the decision in the end.
Bisping is now going on to coach the newest season of TUF alongside Jason Miller, and is widely regarded as one of the top five middleweights in the world after stringing three wins together after his loss to Silva.
This brings us to last night. “The Axe Murderer” has such a long lay off due to injury, and was put into a fight where he was basically being coaxed into fighting in his old style. Something he hadn’t really done since his last knockout loss to Quinton Jackson three years before.
There was talk from the UFC of “Fight of the Decade” and with Wanderlei Silva’s loyalty to the fans, I think he decided he would go back to his roots and swing for the fences and hope for the best. This is not how Wanderlei should perform these days, and I think he showed an awareness of that in his two previous contests.
A tough contest still lies in Chael Sonnen who dished out the dirt after last night’s performance in an interview Ariel Helwani. However, with the outspoken former contender out for the time being, why not put one more challenge in front of this great entertainer before ruling him out altogether. He has shown he is capable of fighting in the new world of MMA, now let him try. He has given the sport too much, and he deserves another fight.
One of the most anticipated bouts at UFC 132 saw Tito Ortiz pick up one of the biggest victories of his career, after he defeated light heavyweight prospect, Ryan Bader. Both men came out and began to feel each other out, trading leg kicks in the…
One of the most anticipated bouts at UFC 132 saw Tito Ortiz pick up one of the biggest victories of his career, after he defeated light heavyweight prospect, Ryan Bader.
Both men came out and began to feel each other out, trading leg kicks in the process. Ortiz and Bader continued to circle. Then Ortiz stepped inside and landed a right hook that knocked down Bader. Ortiz continued his assault on his opponent shortly after, and applied an arm-in guillotine choke to submit Bader within two minutes of the opening round.
What’s next for Tito Ortiz? –
The win for “The Huntington Beach Boy” ended a five-fight winless streak, which has allowed Ortiz some breathing room for the moment and remain in the UFC. Since 2006, Ortiz has remained competitive throughout his losing skid, fighting some of the top fighters in the world such as Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida. The win not only earned Ortiz a victory over a top fighter, but a chance to maintain some drawing power, as it could lead to a bout against respected veteran like Vladimir Matyushenko or the winner of Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
What’s next for Ryan Bader? –
After suffering his second consecutive loss, Bader will likely remain out of action for the rest of the year. Bader’s time away will give him a chance to redefine his overall gameplan and evolve as a fighter. While a return to the Octagon before the end of the 2011 is a bit premature, Bader will need to re-solidify his status among the light heavyweight division if he intends to stay in contention. A bout against up and coming fighter, Alexander Gustafsson is possible, or a facing fellow wrestler Matt Hamill is also likely.
UFC 132 saw one of the most impressive knockouts in recent memory when Chris Leben was able to defeat one of his idols, Wanderlei Silva, in the semi-main event.But the event may also be memorable for another reason as former middleweight No…
UFC 132 saw one of the most impressive knockouts in recent memory when Chris Leben was able to defeat one of his idols, Wanderlei Silva, in the semi-main event.
But the event may also be memorable for another reason as former middleweight No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen continued his verbal tirade on the organization by challenging yet another Brazilian fighter, Anderson Silva’s friend and fellow Black House member Lyoto Machida.
This came as somewhat of a surprise as Sonnen had been openly bashing Wanderlei in the media for the past few weeks leading up to this event.
“I was cheering for Chris [Leben],” Sonnen admitted tonight to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “I don’t have any ill-will towards Wanderlei; I hope he’s okay.”
Sonnen was in attendance and witnessed Silva get knocked out of the fifth time in his last eight fights.
“He can’t do this work,” Sonnen bluntly stated. “But I certainly hope he’s okay.”
“The only guy that would’ve finished him quicker is me.”
When asked if he would like to be the next to fight Silva, Sonnen shook his head and dismissed the idea entirely.
“No, it doesn’t make sense,” he explained. “Wanderlei is going to need to do something else. I don’t have any interest in getting in there with him. I don’t want to be the next guy to force him to have a flashlight shined in his eyes.”
But he did have his eyes set on a fight, surprisingly one outside his own middleweight division. For whatever reason, Sonnen apparently wants to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
“There’s a karate guy at 205 pounds. I might stop there on my way back to 185. For a tune-up fight, take out Machida.”
Machida is coming of a huge win over Randy Couture at UFC 129. Though the fight against Sonnen would certainly be one that fans would look forward to, it’s hard to say that it would be a great fight for Machida to take if he hopes to move back up the ranks in the light heavyweight division.
With Sonnen having been off for nearly a year at this point and moving up in weight classes, it’d be difficult for matchmaker Joe Silva to give Machida much credit if he were to defeat the loud-mouthed 185-pounder.
That said, expect to hear much more about this potential fight in the coming weeks.
As “Sandstorm” blasted out of the sound system, the audience’s level of appreciation rang through the packed out MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The blind aggression was in the face of the great Wanderlei Silva, with his lines and scars telling their own story.
