UFC 126 Silva vs. Belfort

[Buffalo Dave]

Main Card

• Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort
• Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
• Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader
• Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
• Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos

Preliminary card on Spike

• Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
• Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa

Preliminary fight on Facebook

• Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson

Preliminary card

• Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
• Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
• Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson

Man, this is a pretty solid card all around. The main card has three huge match ups, with the two Light Heavyweight fight winners most likely to square off next and of course that guy named Anderson Silva fighting Vitor Belfort.

The Silva/Belfort fight should be an explosive fight. Both guys have a tremendous striking game, each having multiple highlight reel KO's. Both have an amazing 12 first round KO's. But what's gonna hurt Vitor in this fight other than he is fighting Silva, is that he hasn't fought in pretty much a 1 1/2 due to injuries having to wait for Silva to heel as well. I'm with most people who feel Vitor shouldn't be getting a title shot, as all he did was beat Rich Franklin in a Catchweight fight to earn his title shot and rattled off a few wins for other promotions before that, with the most notable win coming against Matt Lindland. But nothing we can do as we're neither Jay Silva or Dana White. I think we will see Anderson stick and move a lot in this fight as he is not gonna want to stand in there and trade blow for blow Belfort. Silva should pick up a TKO stoppage somewhere in the middle of the fight.

Franklin vs. Griffin I'm still undecided on who I'll think will win. For me it's a tough fight to call, but I think I'm leaning more towards for Franklin to win. Rich is better at the stand up game, while Griffin is better on the ground, but Franklin is no slouch on the ground either. We all know Forrest can take an ass beating, while giving one of his own throughout a fight. I think it will be a close fight that will go to a decision, could possibly end up being FOTN.

Jones/Bader is a great match up between two of the biggest prospects in the Light Heavyweight division, make that in the UFC. Whoever wins will be right near the top of the division and will be only a fight or two away from a title shot. It would also be the first true loss for either fighter, I have to say true because although Jones has a loss on his record, coming from the Hamill fight where he was disqualified for illegal elbows, after mauling Hamill for the entire round with legal elbows and strikes. Bader might have a stronger wrestling background, but I think Jones is the stronger ground fighter, with his huge elbows he delivers with his GnP. Jones has the upper hand in the stand up game. Bader can win the fight if he is able to keep Jones' back on the canvas throughout the fight, if not he can be eating some elbows and losing by TKO or a decision.

Ellenberger vs. Rocha should be a Spike fight at best, but it made it's way onto the main card. Ellenberger has been looking good since his loss to Condit in his first UFC fight. We last seen him in a battle with John Howard where he won the fight by doctor stoppage by giving Howard a Hasim Rahmanesque lump. Rocha made his UFC debut back at UFC 122 and took out TUF finalist Kris McCray quickly by a Sub, in fact all of Rocha's 9 fights end by him winning by a submission of some sort but one. So all Ellenberger has to do is keep this standing and he should be able to secure a win. Jake has a strong wrestling game so he should be able to stuff takedowns from Rocha as well.

Torres/Banuelos will be a good test to see where Torres still ranks as an elite fighter. A lot of people questioned Torres' ability over his past few fights after dropping two of his last three and having fought so many times despite being on 30. Banuelos will put him to the test as he is hard hitting Bantamweight. It is a very winnable fight for Torres as he tries to hush people about him and climb back into title contention.

For the Spike prelims, we get to see Cerrone make his UFC debut against Paul Kelly. Originally Sam Stout was supposed to fight Kelly but had to back out due to injury. Kelly is one of those guys that whenever he fights stiffer competition he comes out on the losing end, why would it be any different with Cerrone. Hopefully we see Cerrone put on the clinic he did in his last two fights. The other fight we get should be damn good as undefeated Chad Mendes fights Michihiro Omigawa in Omigawa's return to the UFC. Since he last fought for the UFC he became the #4 ranked Featherweight in the World. I'm not really sure who will win the fight, but I see it going to a close decision.

The rest of the prelims, I'm most interested in seeing what Kid Yamamoto will do in his UFC debut as he fights Demetrious Johnson. Hopefully we see those heavy hands in the UFC that Kid brings in his fights, and see a nice KO. Paul Taylor is pretty much in a win or go home fight. Mike Pierce should win his fight and Kingsbury will have a tough challenge in Romero.

 

[jmt225]

Good show.

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort could be a slugfest for the ages, or a fucking snoozefest comparable to Shamrock vs. Severn 2. The last time we saw Vitor Belfort, he was hesitant to strike with Rich Franklin. He waited for Franklin to come to him. If he does that against Anderson Silva, then we will see very little action in this fight. Anderson is simply a counter puncher. That's who he is. Vitor though, before Franklin, was the aggressor and was the one to put pressure of his opponent. Hopefully that's the Vitor Belfort we see against Anderson Silva. Either way I say Anderson wins, but I just hope this fight ends up giving everyone their money's worth.

But even if the main event doesn't deliver, quite honestly... the rest of the card will.

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin is going to be a brawl before someone gets knocked out. And that someone will undoubtedly be Forrest Griffin. Franklin's punching power is HIGHLY underrated and it will take only one of those suckers to put Forrest's lights out. If Forrest, however, makes it a grappling match, he stands a chance, but I don't think we'll see that.

Ryan Bader is just another stepping stone for Jon Jones. Jones will look incredible once again and then move on to bigger and better things. Honestly, I think the only LHWs that can beat him are Shogun and Mousasi. Other than those two though, I see Jones running through anyone he faces in the division.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Rocha should be a lot of fun. Rocha seems to be superb on the ground, and Ellenberger is no slouch himself in that area. Should be interesting to see if they grapple, or cancel each other out in that area and just duke it out.

Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos is just a showcase bout for Torres. It'll be the first time UFC fans see him, and I think the UFC wanted to give him a special debut by giving him someone he should have no problem beating.

And I'm looking forward to Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa as much as anything else on the card. I fucking LOVE Omigawa. He's one of the most exciting fighters in the entire sport, and I fully expect him to do some great things in the UFC, starting this Saturday when he crushes Chad Mendes.

I'm also looking forward to KID Yamamoto making his debut, but I thought they picked a lame opponent for him. Either way, War KID. He's nowhere near my favorites from the Japanese fighting crew, but I have to support any JMMA nonetheless.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

I have high hopes for this card. Three potential fight of the year candidates.

Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort

In no way shape or form i see this fight going to a decision both fighters primary strengths is their striking ability, Belfort being the more explosive fighter and has the speed dynamic to his aid. The thing that prompts me to give Anderson the edge in this fight is like JMT stated Anderson is a masterful counter puncher. He dips and dodges and reads fighters very well, which greatly impacts my decision into Anderson will tko Belfort. Although Belfort an excellent and explosive striker, Anderson outclasses him in that department with him being more versatile. So i expect a stand up war, and a win for Anderson Silva.

Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader

Two of the LHW division top prospects, going head to head. I honestly think Bader doesn't have much of a chance unless he hunts for the decision against Jones. Jon Jones no doubt about it has the most unique striking for a long time if ever, he kicks with accuracy at almost impossible angles and hits punches and elbows almost unexpectedly with i genuinely think Bader can't keep up with. Keep in my mind we haven't seen Jones on his back much if ever, so that could come into play and show us what he has got.

Rich Franklin vs Forest Griffin

I really don't know what to expect from this contest and can't really predict who is going to win. Both have differentiating styles but are well versed in all aspects of MMA. If this fight stays standing i will give it to Rich Ace. If Griffin utilises his ground and grapplin game i give it to Forest. I wouldn't be surprised if this fight ended by decision.

 

[Ryman]

This card is awesome, so many sick fights.

Anderson-Belfort its not much to say really, except Anderson looks seriously motivated. It is a risk that the fight will be boring but lets not hope so.

I am a big Franklin fan so i think he will win against Forrest, this fight is going to great, i just dont see how this could be boring. Fotn here?

It would be funny if Bader ended the Jones hype, just to see what the fans would say. I dont think Bader will win but i think this is going to be closer than what people think.

Torres is to good for Banuelos, dont think he will finish him but a decision.

Ellenberger is really good, he just needs to avoid the ground with Rocha. Standing he is better and will get the win.

Cerrone-Kelly is going to be a fun brawl, Cerrone is going to be a little to much for Kelly.

OMIGAWA, please win so that we get to see you against Aldo (is he defeats Homnick)

MightyMouse-Kid is fotn material to, Kid may not be as good as he used to be but he still hits hard and MightyMouse is always entertaining.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

If I'm Vitor Belfort this morning, I'm kicking myself. He should have been more aggressive from the beginning. When he finally landed on Silva, he nailed some shots, and he even rocked him. The kick was amazing and a highlight reel KO, that's for sure. He was too cautious about being countered, devastatingly by Silva, and he wound up losing due to Silva being aggressive. Good fight, and now we're one half of the way to the superfight against GSP that we've all been waiting for.

I was really disappointed by the Franklin/Griffin fight. I'm a huge fan of Rich, but he was exposed tonight and now has lost two of his last three. He was also losing the Liddell fight, and probably would have lost it in between rounds with his broken arm if Chuck didn't have a glass jaw. I think he's just getting old at this point and it might be in his best interest to retire. Not impressed by Griffin's performance at all, he's still mediocre at best and basically used nothing but his size to win. I could see him getting the winner of Phil Davis/Matt Hamill or perhaps the winner of Nogueira/Tito.

Is Jon Jones ready for Shogun Rua? He has six weeks to prepare for this fight, and it's the biggest of his career. IF he had a full training camp, I'd believe Jones would have a real good shot at becoming champion and defeating Shogun, especially where Shogun would struggle on the ground against someone so aggressive, massive, and dangerous from top position like Jones. Jones just had what I'm sure was a grueling training camp for Ryan Bader, and now he has to keep going to prepare for the top fighter at 205. At least Shogun has had a head start where he was preparing for a dangerous wrestler.

As far as Bader goes, not a performance to be ashamed about, he gave Jones fits for a couple of brief moments, and he's still developing. Right now, he needs to focus on fine-tuning his striking a bit more and diversifying his takedowns. Jones was prepared for each takedown.

Rashad Evans really screwed himself over. He put the entire division on hold, as well as his career, for a year to wait for Shogun. Now, he got injured training, which means he'll be out for even longer. What's worse is that the guy who he will not fight under any circumstances is now the #1 Contender for the title. In the chance Jones wins (and he absolutely could, short training camp be damned)... where does Rashad go from there?

The first round of Carlos Rocha vs. Jake Ellenberger was a lot of fun. Then Rocha decided to try to get into a striking battle with Ellenberger, and it cost him. Rocha would have had the advantage from either top or bottom position, and he really should have shot in for takedowns on Ellenberger and tried to do everything possible to keep it on the ground.

Ellenberger looked like shit throughout the entire fight. Wasn't sure if he was looking past Rocha or what, but he really should not want a Jon Fitch fight, he'd be blanketed for 15 minutes.

 

[Window Licker 101]

Words cannot describe how much I hate Anderson Silva after his fights with Patrick Cote, Thales Leites and Demain Maia but man that knockout was a thing of beauty. Belfort had his head kicked off. It was literally something out of a video game. I don't think I've EVER seen a Muay-Thai teep kick to the face. The way Anderson utilisised it made it look like an uppercut with his foot. When he made contact with Vitor's face it looked like Belfort's head was on a swivel. Highlight reel KO. I am pissed that Belfort didn't push the pace after rocking Silva in the start like you said GuyCompton. After securing the takedown he should have brought it to Anderson instead of allowing him time to recover and eventually kick his fucking head off.

The co-main event was a bit of a let down to me. I was expected an all out slugfest ala Bonnar/Griffin I but it never fully delivered. Forrest played things safe in the 1st securing the takedown and controlling him then Franklin came back in the 3rd. It is stupid how Franklin's corner was telling him he was winning when he quite clearly wasn't and when the decision was read out Rich was in shock. I think Forrest should fight the winner of Davis/Hammill next and the winner of that proposed fight gets a title shot.

I marked out pro wrestling style when Joe Rogan dropped the bombshell that Jon Jones will fight Shogun Rua at UFC 128. It came as a complete shock as I didn't even know Rashad was hurt. Jon Jones has to be a favourite over every 205lbs fighter in the world. Dude has the total package. I didn't want to see him and Bader fight as I like them both and don't want to see either slip down the lightheavyweight ladder. Congratulations to Bones Jones and I look forward to him throwing down with Shogun on March 19th.

I hold my hands up and admit I didn't think Carlos Eduardo Rocha stood any chance in defeating Jake Ellenberger but man that first round had some of the most beautiful ground fighting I think I have ever seen. That sweep Rocha done into the Kimura attempt was incredible. He looks a force in the Welterweight division but he just needs to tune up his striking more. If he took Jake down a bit more he probably could have won that fight. On another note, who the fuck scored it 30-27 Rocha in that fight?! Thank god two other judges saw sense. I was having flashbacks to Phan/Garcia, Sherk/Dunham etc etc.

The first ever televised UFC bantamweight fight sucked. I love Miguel Torres but man that fight failed to deliver. Torres was looking to counter strike Banuelos but Banuelos didn't want to strike. He looked like he had qualified top of the class in the Sean Sherk school of boxing. Strikes missing Torres' head by clear inches. If the whole fight had been like the final 10 seconds of the 3rd round then it would have easily picked up FOTN. Fair decision but not one which will live in the memory of us fans.

Chad Mendes looks like a threat in the featherweight division after he defeated Michiro Omigawa. His wrestling looked crisp and he nearly KO'd Omigawa right at the start of the 2nd. I would love to see him and Dustin Poirier fight with the winner becoming number one contender to the title after Hominick and Aldo go to war at UFC 129.

Speaking of threats, Donald Cerrone is rapidly rising up the lightweight division. He is never in a boring fight. I think that is his 6th FOTN bonus! No idea what the alltercation at the start of the fight was all about where Kelly refused to touch gloves and sucker punched Cerrone. Nevertheless, justice was served when Cerrone slapped on a tight rear naked choke.

Ricardo Romero has to be cut. Destroyed by Petruzelli before he gassed and then embarrassed by Kingsbury. That man cost me money and I can't see him making any difference in the lightheavyweight division. Congrats to Kingsbury who looks like the lovechild of Mike Swick and Randy Couture...just saying.

Mighty Mouse is quicker than a hiccup. Joe Rogan was going nuts on commentary at how fast Johnson could excecute his takedowns. Johnson would duck under Yamamoto's hook and slam him to the mat. What makes things even more impressive is KID was once considered a P4P king and he once tried out for the olympic freestyle wrestling team with Japan. Decent fight but once again octagon jitters hit the asian and Demetrious cooly picks up the W.

LOL at Gabe Ruediger getting knocked out. After his antics on TUF Season 5 that made me very happy to see fellow countryman, Paul Taylor, bounce his head off the cage with a vicious high kick and knock him clean out. Taylor looked to have shown a significant improvement in his wrestling by stuffing all of Ruediger's attempted takedowns. Sick knockout bettered only by that of the proclaimed best fighter in the world.

Mike Pierce got on the win column again by stopping Kenny Robertson. Pierce looked impressive to me against a veteran of the divison in Fitch so I expect big things for this lad.

Overall UFC 126 was fairly good. The prelims contained some of the better fights but that KO makes up for certain fights (Banuelos/Torres, Ellenberger/Rocha 2nd and 3rd Round.)

I score it 6.5/10

 

[Buffalo Dave]

What a fun night of fights for the most part. The Torres fight took the energy away from the prelims, but after his fight the pace picked back up.

Man, not much to say on the Silva/Belfort fight, only that Silva adds another highlight reel KO to his career. Belfort needed to pour on the pressure early, and failed to do so. Yes he risks getting knocked out in doing so, but he doesn't have the other tools to beat Silva, like using wrestling to get him on the ground and win from there, much like Chael almost did in their fight. Belfort was graced with a title shot, that he barley had to work for, you gotta let it all go when fighting for that title when your the challenger, you chase the champ, the champ doesn't chase you. As much as I wanna see the super fight, I really wanna see Sonnen get his life back in order and get a fight by late spring to be become number contender and fight Silva this summer, now that Silva is healthy. Funny little side note, Silva said that Steven Seagal is the guy the helped him perfect the front kick.

Funny thing about the Franklin/Griffin fight, is that Franklin himself said that Forrest was gonna use his size to control the fight, and that's exactly what happened. Also, those two at the end waiting for the score cards to be read were more interested in talking about the fight then hearing the results. Rich from here, I think goes on to possibly face the loser out of Rampage/Silva or Randy/Machida. Since the loser out of Ortiz/Lil Nog probably isn't with the UFC after they fight, and he already fought Hamil (I just don't see Hamil getting past Davis). For Griffin, possibly the Rampage/Silva winner, there was talk awhile back of Rampage/Griffin 2, something I wouldn't mind seeing happen. If not then Davis/Hamil or Ortiz/Nog either winner like Guy mentioned.

I'm ecstatic that Jon Jones won. But have to agree with Guy that giving him the title shot with only 6 weeks to train for Shogun is gonna be hard for him to do. If anything they should push the fight back a few weeks more, it would be one thing if Rua and Bader had similar styles, so Jones would be pretty much set, but they don't. Plus how drained is Jones gonna be after preparing for the Bader fight, now he's right back at it, training to fight the champion, a lot of pressure on Jones. Either way I'm still looking forward to the fight, even if Jones loses, he's still so young that it doesn't hurt his career at all, just a learning curve for him. As for his fight with Bader, he looked great. I didn't expect him to stuff Bader's takedowns like that. Loved when he jumped over Bader to try and take his back. EDIT: Just saw that Evans is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, so he will most certainly keep his #1 contender spot and fight the winner.

Bader will be fine, the fight only cost him to dip in the rankings, like Jones he is young enough to pick right back up and continue on. I would like to see him get Couture next if Randy loses to Machida. It would be old school versus the new school.

To answer Guy's question on where Evans goes from here, it really depends on the extent of his injury. No timetable has been announced for him, so it's hard to say. If it is a bit longer, then I could see him fighting the winner out of Rampage/Silva for number 1 contender. If it is short then he might be able to hold his number 1 spot and get the winner out of Jones/Rua.

Ellenberger/Rocha was a great first round, then the fight sorta sizzled from there. Ellenberger looked for the big KO punch one to many times, in the fight. His takedowns late in rounds 2 and 3 is what really secured the win for him. Whoever the judge was that scored it 30-27 needs to be fired or get their glasses a higher perscribed. Gonna blame Peoples for that one. It sucks that Thiago Alves is fighting Rick Story at UFC 130, I think a match up between Alves and Ellenberger is much more intriguing, even though Alves struggles with wrestlers, I think this would turn out to be a stand up war. Rocha will get somebody like Matt Brown.

Torres like I said early in the post wasn't that impressive, but got the win. Probably see him on the under card in his next fight because of it.

The prelims were pretty good, not for the debut of the two Japanese fighters Omigawa and Yamamoto though as they struggled with American wrestling and couldn't stop the takedowns from Mendes and Johnson. If I had to hear Joe Rogan mention how fast Johnson was with his shoot, I was gonna snap. I think he had to mention at least 20-25 times during the fight, no lie. Cerrone continued to go through the bottom tier guys like he does, he took some big shoots from Kelly, but stayed calm and finished the fight by subbing Kelly with a RNC. Time to step it up for him, I think it was JMT that said setup Cerrone vs. Florian, definitely the match up to make.

Bonuses were announced all received $75k

Silva earned KOTN
Jones earned SOTN
Cerrone/Kelly FOTN

 

[Mekanik Kommandoh]

Overall, a good night of fights with one of the sickest knockouts I have ever seen.

I have no love for Anderson Silva, but I never question his ability. Last night proved why he is arguably the best in the world. I was really worried that the fight was going to be another dance party for the first couple of minutes, but then Belfort kind of engaged and, before we knew it, got knocked the fuck out. That kick had me marking out like crazy and everyone in the bar, even Silva haters, were clapping. I think Vitor could have stood a chance if he was more aggressive, but I suppose we'll never know. Mediocre fight until the finish, but MAN was the finish worth it. Jake Shields is all that stands in the way of a GSP/Silva superfight, and I for one want it badly.

I was pretty bummed Franklin couldn't pull off the victory against Griffin. I was even more bummed that the fight wasn't even that great. Forrest's size was just too much for Rich I think. Still, I thought Griffin looked like shit and his best days are officially behind him (if they weren't already). Maybe he'll prove me wrong and be a contender again, I don't know.

It seemed like everyone hated Jon Jones at the bar except for me, so it was satisfying to seem him dominate Bader. I must have screamed like a little girl when it was announced he would replace Evans in March. Seeing Shogun come in and accept the challenge in such a classy manner was a great moment. Shogun is my favorite fighter, so be forewarned of my bias. I think Shogun's going to take this. Jons is a great, unorthodox fighter, and if he wrestles with Shogun, he has a chance. However, I firmly believe that if he tries to strike with him, it won't end well for Jones. But that's a discussion for another day.

I was not impressed much with Ellenberger, though the fight was pretty entertaining. I thought the bantamweight fight sucked and was a very poor opener, but you can't deny Torres fought a very smart fight. Wasn't exciting at all, but a win is a win I guess. I missed the prelims unfortunately. What a shame Cerrone won and KID got dominated.

The Silva kick and Shogun/Jones announcement may have made this event seem better than it actually was. Still, I left satisfied and I now cannot wait for 128.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

UFC 126 where to begin. Missed the prelims only got to see the main card, because i missed the live broadcast. The mainn aspect of this card that really jumped out at me was hesitation. I am not really going to comment on each fight because what i have to say has pretty much been said by Guy and Buffalo Dave. Every fight on this card was watered down from what we expected because every fighter was hesitant. there was a lot on the line for each and every fighter on the main card. Being hesitant is human nature especially in the MMA aspect, but every fighter just wanted the win and played it safe. One exception, Jon Jones tried to be creative and i am talking about how he took Ryan Bader's back and it caught him off guard which lead to the gullotine. Sidenote, Ryan Bader's offense is very predicatble, he should work on mixing it up and really work on his striking game as Jones read every punch and takedown very well. Guy mentioned this also.

Rich Franklin struggled with Forest's size and literally stood there and took punishment, the hardest work he had to do was not let Forest into his guard.

Miguel Torres from what u have seen played it way too safe. Don't get me started on Banuelos, he was scared to engage and close off the distance.

Rocha and Ellenberger was just a silly fight that didn't really need to take place. Also one of the Judges was on crack or some hallucinogen that gave Rocha the fight 30-27.

As for Anderson, that should certainly silence the critics for a while. I don't understand the hate for Anderson Silva i have nothing but respect for the man, he is built for MMA. But thats for a different thread later on. Nothing much to say kick was beautiful and Belfort was once again was hesitant and not confident in his own ability.

 

[jmt225]

Well, outside of the Jones match and the main event, I actually ended up being terribly disappointed with the show overall.

First, the good though.

Anderson fucking Silva... BEAST. With his incredible knockout, I think people are overlooking those punches from Vitor that he dodged right before he landed the kick. Vitor still has some of the fastest hand speed in MMA and Anderson was able to dodge Vitor's attempted flurry like it was nothing. UNBELIEVABLE. But that front kick, man... bad ass. I remember Forrest Griffin front kicking Tito Ortiz in their last fight, and Tito's mouth piece flying out. It was hilarious, but looked devastating. However, it seemed not to even phase Tito at the time. My girl Gina Carano is another one who uses front kicks quite effectively, but she never got a knockout like the one Silva delivered. It's just incredible how no matter what Anderson hits you with, your ass is going down. Doesn't matter if it's a punch, kick, knee... whatever, he can knock you out with ANYTHING. The guy is spectacular, end of story.

The Rich/Forrest fight was real disappointing for me. I thought for sure Forrest was going to stand with Franklin the entire fight and that Rich would pick his ass apart, but unfortunately... for the first time ever, Forrest actually used his head. Forrest is said to walk around at 250 pounds, and Rich Franklin is a natural Middleweight... so it's not shocking that Forrest would be able to take Franklin down and dominate him in that area. Rich Franklin still deserves a lot of credit, though. He hung in there and even, in my opinion, won the 3rd Round. But Forrest's size was too much for him in the first 2 Rounds, and it is what it is. If Forrest continues to fight like he did Saturday, then he can become a serious contender once again in the Light Heavyweight Division, no doubt about it. However, I don't we'll ever see Forrest regain that LHW Championship.

Jon Jones.. pure domination, as I expected. Ryan Bader has been overhyped from the get-go in my book, while I always bought into the Jon Jones hype since the Stephan Bonnar fight. I will talk more about my thoughts on Jones in the Shogun/Jones thread.

Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha was a decent fight, but I didn't care for it whatsoever. Neither guy intrigues me, and I don't think either will ever make a real impact in the Welterweight Division.

Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos.... yawn. Fuck Torres.

Donald Cerrone looked great, but fuck him, too. I can't wait to see him in there with some real competition now. If this guy ever wins the Lightweight Championship though... I think I'm going to kill myself. Fuckin' douchebag.

Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa was terribly disappointing. I just don't know what the fuck Michi was thinking. That was not the Michihiro Omigawa I saw against Hiroyuki Takaya, Hatsu Hioki, and Marlon Sandro. He was way too worried about getting taken down. He should have let his hands go and trusted his judo, scrambling, and ground game. But he was way too cautious. And I don't know what the fuck kind of boxing he was doing. It was similar to Nick Diaz, but that shit's not going to work for a 5'6 Featherweight. It works for Nick Diaz because he usually has the reach advantage on his opponent, and at a fight weight of 185, those pitter-patter punches hold some power behind them.

And KID Yamamoto just got lay and prayed on, Jesus Christ. Disappointment doesn't even describe what I felt when I watched the replay of that fight. KID really needs to work on his wrestling and bottom game. Mighty Mouse... I have to give him some credit, though. He's a class act, and I think he be a dominate force in that 135 pound division in the future.

All in all, the show was disappointing because my favorites lost, but it was still a decent show overall thanks to Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.

 

[INDYjon22]

I really loved this show, can't really explain why, but I did. The three top billed fights really entertained me and most of the undercard was really fun to watch. The first two main card fights were relatively shit but I can't complain to much about that.

I am a huge Anderson hater, but even I have to give the man props. That front kick was devastating and probably the coolest head kick finish since Gonzaga/CroCop. If Belfort had been a little more aggressive I think he could have thrown Silva off his game but unfortunately he left his head open and got KO'd.

I love both Forrest and Franklin so it was hard for me choose one over the other. That said, I was really happy to see Griffin come back with a win. It may not have been what everyone wanted but Griffin used his brain and actually fought smart. I actually think he will fight the winner of Rampage/Silva next and either of those fights will be absolute wars.

My boy Jones put on a tremendous performance. This kid is absolutely sick and is the real deal. I do think the 6 week turn around will not help him out against Shogun and Rua will win the title fight, but I do approve of him getting the shot. He deserves it for working as hard as he has in just about 3 years. It was really cool to see Rogan and the UFC spring that on him right after the win, but was also kind of a slap in the face of Bader. On the subject of Bader, he'll be back. He has a ton of potential and I expect him to continue to grow as a fighter.

Great show, anchored by some entertaining main events. I can't wait to see UFC 128 now and hopefully GSP wins his next fight so that the GSP/Silva fight will finally go down.