Tag: Anderson Silva (Page 8 of 8)

      No need to panic: GSP-Silva can still happen despite latest news

      April 11, 2011 /

      nullSome of the bigger news to emerge this past weekend in the UFC was a report that Yushin Okami will take on Anderson Silva for the middleweight title at UFC Rio in August.

      I made light of the fact that many media pundits believe that this fight would spell the end of the Silva-Georges St. Pierre super fight that appeared to be in the works.

      I actually think that the plans for Silva-Okami just play more into the super fight taking place.

      GSP has stated many times that if he was going to take the fight with Silva, he would surrender his welterweight title and take some time to properly put on weight and be in the right condition for the fight. As a welterweight, GSP would probably need at least six months to truly focus on strength training and putting on another 10 pounds of muscle to his frame.

      GSP takes on Jake Shields at the end of April and a win there will clearly clean out the division, leaving no legitimate contenders that he has not already beaten handily. He could then begin his training to move to middleweight and that would put him in place to fight in the winter. I would expect the UFC to target his return for either their New Year’s weekend show in late December or their Super Bowl weekend show in early February.

      If that is the case, Silva last fought on Super Bowl Weekend of 2011, beating Vitor Belfort by first round KO with a front kick. If Silva didn’t fight Okami, that would put him off for nearly a year. The UFC clearly doesn’t want their top fighter sitting out that long without good reason, so putting him in his home country in August makes sense. A win over Okami (which I don’t think will be that easy) would still give him about four months to prepare for GSP, which is standard for most fights.

      Typically the UFC looks to put on its top shows in December and February, which to me makes this fight make even more sense now with the latest developments.

      While GSP has never committed to leaving the welterweight division after this next fight, he also has never said he won’t. I think after his UFC 129 fight is over, GSP will come up with a game plan and announce the move. Then it will be up to Silva to defend his title successfully against Okami.

      With GSP’s wrestling ability and footwork, I think he has as good of a chance as anyone to dethrone Silva. Silva has a weakness with takedown defense once guys get inside his range and GSP will be smart enough and athletic enough to do that. It should be a great matchup physically and mentally.

      Fighters, News, UFC

      What you might have missed: MMA news from the weekend

      April 10, 2011 /

      nullLost in the shadows of Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley Saturday night was a pretty eventful weekend in the MMA community.

      Here are a few things I think you should know about:

      -Saturday night, Bellator 40 took place and rising MMA star, Ben Askren, remained undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Nick Thompson in the main event. The two-time NCAA champion continued to show dominant wrestling form against Thompson, who was helpless against Askren’s takedown ability. Askren changed levels, worked in some striking, and had the cardio to dominate for 15 minutes. Askren is now 8-0 and, if he continues to develop his striking, he can be a real force in the national picture. In other bouts, Jay Hieron picked up a decision win over Brent Weedman to advance to the finals of the Bellator Welterweight Tournament, where he will face unbeaten Rick Hawn. In the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, Michael Chandler won a decision over Lloyd Woodard to advance to the tournament final against Patricky Freire.

      -On Friday night, MFC 29 took place on HDNet and UFC veterans Marcus Davis, Hermes Franca, and Pete Spratt each picked up wins. Davis won a split decision over Curtis Demarce in his first fight after being cut by the UFC. Franca knocked out Robert Washington just 26 seconds into the second round, giving him two straight wins. Spratt pulled off an armbar submission in the second round of his fight against Demi Deeds. The win ended a two-fight losing streak for Spratt.

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      Bellator, Events, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

      Sonnen a TUF 14 coach & other ideas to help the series

      April 4, 2011 /

      nullThe debut of The Ultimate Fighter 13 wasn’t quite the ratings boom that the UFC or MMA fans in general were expecting.

      The debut of the new season pulled between 1.4 and 1.5 million viewers, which isn’t bad, but it still wasn’t what was expected given Brock Lesnar’s drawing ability.

      And, there is already talk of who is going to coach the next season. ESPN is reporting that the UFC is targeting middleweights Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen.

      While Sonnen is an interesting character who will be fun to watch, I don’t know that his trash talk will draw in anyone outside of the hardcore UFC fans. Bisping has already done the show and is somewhat of a villain in the UFC, but again, he isn’t much of a draw.

      My guess is that the UFC is looking for controversy to increase ratings—Bisping and Sonnen will most likely do just that. But, if Brock Lesnar can’t bring fans into the series, maybe nobody can. On a side note, how many fans will begin to lose interest in the reality show before the next season even airs?

      It isn’t surprising that a show may be running its course through 13 seasons, but I still think there are some options the UFC could explore to help the series and its longevity.

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      Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

      MMA pound-for-pound top 10 rankings

      March 31, 2011 /

      nullWhat’s a blog site without rankings?

      Everyone has their say. Everyone has their opinion. Well, as someone that has been watching MMA for almost a decade, I think I have a pretty good eye for a well-rounded fighter.

      Here is my take on the top 10 in all of MMA. This is a list I will update regularly and I am sure there is plenty of room for debate in my choices.

      1. Anderson Silva (28-4): The pound-for-pound king to me is the UFC middleweight champion. The guy hasn’t lost since 2006, and that was by DQ. His last loss by submission or KO was a 2004 loss via flying heel hook. Silva is a work of art and a pleasure to watch in action. He truly is an artist with his striking and he rarely throws a punch or kick that goes to waste. Silva has been unbeatable in the UFC, but the blueprint to beat him seems to be pretty clear. His takedown defense is somewhat lacking and you have to bring the fight to him right away. Many opponents make the mistake of letting Silva go through his feel out process in the first round and once he does, it is lights out. Silva likely has a super fight with Georges St. Pierre or a title defense against Yushin Okami next. Both fighters possess the skills to beat him.

      2. Georges St. Pierre (21-2): GSP is No. 2 on this list simply due to his lack of finishing fights. It would be hard to argue that any fighter has dominated his opponents on average more than St. Pierre, but he still hasn’t been able to win in the fashion that Silva has. St. Pierre has shown very well-rounded skills as he can out-strike, out-wrestle, and out-submit his opponents. His defense is very good as well as he rarely takes damage and is one of the best at staying off his back. For someone to beat the UFC welterweight champion, they will have to either land a clean punch or put him on his back. Both of those tasks will be difficult.

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      Anderson Silva, Cain Velasquez, Dominick Cruz, Fighters, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Rashad Evans, UFC

      With Jones vs. Evans set, will other MMA teammates face off?

      March 30, 2011 /

      nullAs impressive a win as Jon “Bones” Jones had at UFC 128 over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to win the UFC Light Heavyweight title, the victory became somewhat overshadowed by the drama between Jones and former teammate Rashad Evans.

      Evans was originally scheduled to fight Rua for the title but a knee injury six weeks before the fight forced the UFC to find a replacement—Jones. As the fight drew closer the speculation as to whether Jones and Evans would even fight each other if Jones won the title started to pick up. Things were said by both parties and ultimately, the end result is that Evans is now leaving Team Jackson to pursue a title fight with Jones leaving plenty of people with a bad taste in their mouths. Team Jackson is run by renowned trainer, Greg Jackson.

      The fight will no doubt be a big draw for the UFC as there will certainly be plenty of mud slinging going on in the weeks leading up to the bout. This will be one of the first, in what I think the UFC hopes will be many, fights featuring guys who either have or currently train together.

      Here are a few other intriguing fights that could possibly shape up one day or another between training partners:

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      Anderson Silva, Fighters, Jon Jones, News, Rashad Evans, Strikeforce, UFC

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