UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva continued his dominance in the UFC middleweight division with an incredible highlight reel knockout over Vitor Belfort at the weekend.
By Dermot Walsh
With bad blood flowing throughout the week between the Brazilians, with the pair trading insults and a certain mask being worn at the weigh-in, fight fans were hoping for a war between the two MMA veterans.
Only a single strike – a leg kick from Belfort – was landed in the first half round of the fight. Belfort soon followed with a lunging left, set up a takedown with a left head kick, but then ate a knee strike as Silva quickly got to his feet.
Then the magic happened as Silva landed a picture perfect front kick straight to the chin of Belfort, a dazed Vitor hit the floor and looked to be in big trouble and ‘The Spider’ followed up quickly with two more punches to seal the deal; the referee promptly stopped the fight.
GSP v Silva
So, the legions of UFC fans who believe Anderson is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world can continue to think so with this impressive showing, but what does the UFC do with him from here? Sure there are a couple of contenders that are in contention for a title shot such as Japanese wrestler Yushin Okami, however, the UFC must stage the super fight everybody wants to see: George St Pierre v Anderson Silva.
Both fighters have defeated everybody who’s anybody in their respected divisions; in GSP’s case he’s beaten the best in his division twice over. If this were to happen down the line it would surely be the biggest fight in UFC history.
In the co main event two wiley veterans Rich ‘Ace’ Franklin and Forrest Griffin, both former champions coming off long layoffs, went head to head. Griffin, who was fighting for the first time in 15 months due to a shoulder injury and long recovery, met a fighter also dealing with possible ring rust.
Grappling
Franklin defeated Chuck Liddell seven months ago at UFC 115 but suffered a broken arm in the process. In this fight the better grappler was going to be in control, which was Griffin. Forrest jumped out to a quick lead after corralling his opponent, taking him to the mat, and delivering a sustained attack of punches and elbow strikes throughout the opening round. The second round was a stand up round with Griffin in control using his jab low kick combo to good effect, Franklin landed some good clean shots too but Forrest stole the round when he staggered the former middleweight king with a left hook.
Forrest Griffin, left, lands a kick against Rich Franklin
Rich battled back to win the third round as he seemed to be figuring out Griffin’s timing but the original Ultimate Fighter winner took the unanimous decision 29-28 in all judges’ score cards. An important comeback win for Griffin which will do the world of good for his confidence. Meanwhile, Franklin continues to ebb and flow with a win loss record each of his last six fights.
In what could easily have been a main event on any other card, two of UFC’s hottest young contenders Ryan ‘Darth’ Bader and Jon ‘Bones’ Jones matched up in a huge light-heavyweight fight which, little did the two fighters know, had instant title ramifications. It was the man with the longest reach in the UFC ‘Bones’ Jones who dominated this fight with his superior wrestling and ground game.
Evans cries off
Moments after the fight was stopped after Jones tapped Bader with a slick guillotine choke, Joe Rogan informed the MMA world that Rashad Evans has pulled out of next month’s title fight with Shogun Rua with an injury. He went on to explain that Jones would have the chance to fight for the title in March.
“I feel great,” Jones said. “I’ve got it so great. I’m going for a world title baby,” said the obviously delighted light-heavyweight. Jones’ quick rise through the UFC ranks has been nothing short of spectacular as he put together a string of exciting finishes to his recent fights. Is it too soon for a fighter that could only be described as the most hyped fighter in the UFC in the last two years? The answer will be revealed in just over a month and it will surely be a match up for the ages.
In the other two match-ups on the main card, Jake Ellenberger overcame a rough first round and avoided his opponent’s dangerous ground game to score a come-from-behind split-decision victory over fellow welterweight Carlos Eduardo Rocha.
Carlos Eduardo Rocha, left, lands a kick to the head of Jake Ellenberger
Miguel Torres outpointed fellow WEC vet Antonio Banuelos in a fight that only had one winner from the first bell to the last, with Torres teeing away while moving in and out of range, the stout Banuelos simply couldn’t close the distance. Any counter-shots missed wide by a good foot, and only a few punches landed clean and usually resulted in a battering of counter-shots.
Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Donald Cerrone and Paul Kelly each earned $75,000 “Fight Night” bonuses for their performances at Saturday’s UFC 126 event.
Silva earned the night’s “Knockout of the Night” award, Jones got the “Submission of the Night” bonus, and Cerrone and Kelly each earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Results – Main Card
- Champ Anderson Silva def. Vitor Belfort via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:25 (retains middleweight title)
- Forrest Griffin def. Rich Franklin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jon Jones def. Ryan Bader via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:20
- Jake Ellenberger def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- Miguel Torres def. Antonio Banuelos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Results – Preliminary Card
- Donald Cerrone def. Paul Kelly via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:48
- Chad Mendes def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Demetrious Johnson def. Norifumi Yamamoto via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Paul Taylor def. Gabe Ruediger via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 1:42
- Kyle Kingsbury def. Ricardo Romero via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:21
- Mike Pierce def. Kenny Robertson via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:29
