Lost in a weekend that saw the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals take place were some big fight announcements from the UFC.
Here is a look at three different UFC events that have added to their cards.
– UFC 140 in Toronto go its main event as heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will have their rematch. The two met back at UFC 92 with Mir handing Nogueira his first stoppage loss. Mir KO’d Big Nog in the second round. Nogueira claimed a staph infection hindered his abilities and has been seeking a rematch since. Mir has won his last two fights and looking to get back into the title hunt with a win while Nogueira is coming off his KO win over Brendan Schaub at UFC Rio. UFC 140 also added Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Brian Ebersole vs. Rory MacDonald to the lineup.
– UFC 139 picked up a big fight as middleweight Vitor Belfort will return to action when he takes on former Strikeforce champion, Cung Le. This will be a battle of perhaps the two fastest strikers in all of MMA. Le hasn’t fought since June of 2010, when he KO’d Scott Smith to avenge his only loss. Belfort is coming off a KO win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133. This fight should come down to which fighter strikes first.
– Jon Fitch will make his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 141 when he faces off with Johny Hendricks. Fitch hasn’t competed since February when he had a draw against B.J. Penn. Fitch had shoulder surgery that put him on the shelf for a while. Fitch hasn’t lost since his 2008 title fight with Georges St. Pierre. Hendricks has one loss in his career, to Rick Story back in December of 2010. He has won his last two fights, but is facing the toughest opponent of his career when he squares off with Fitch.
It’s hard to know what to say after watching Anderson Silva run through another opponent (AP Photo).
The first thought is, Wow! This guy is amazing.
But, then, you chew on the fight for a little while and you are left with this thought: What was Yushin Okami doing?
Coming into this fight I said all that stood in Okami’s way of winning this UFC Middlweight Championship fight was his aggression.
Sure enough, Okami played right into Silva’s hands. He didn’t pressure. He didn’t attempt a takedown. He didn’t get into a “fight” as Chael Sonnen would call it.
What part of standing around and letting Silva pick you apart did Okami think was going to help him win?
Even he had to know when Silva stood right in front of him with his hands down that he was screwed.
UFC 134 takes place on Saturday night from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has an exciting main card.
Here are my picks for tonight’s featured bouts.
UFC Middleweight Championship – Anderson Silva (28-4) vs. Yushin Okami (27-5) – Okami has the right skill set to actually pull off this upset, but he lacks the one thing that he truly needs to win …. aggression. Chael Sonnen had success against Silva by coming out fast and not letting Silva get settled in. If you watch Silva’s fights, he likes to take the first two minutes to dance around and develop a timing for his opponent. Once he has found it, he starts to dance a little and that is when the fight is usually over. Okami can’t let Silva get comfortable, but I fear he will. For that reason, I see Silva scoring a knockout in the second round.
Light Heavyweight Bout – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) vs. Forrest Griffin (18-6) – Griffin won the first fight and I think he wins the second. I think this is a bad matchup for Rua because Griffin is a “dog” that will keep coming at him and push a pace that Shogun can’t handle. I see Rua tiring again in the middle of the fight, which will allow Griffin to control the fight on the ground and with his boxing. I pick Griffin by decision in an upset.
Heavyweight Bout – Antonio Minotauro Nogeuira (32-6-10 vs. Brendan Schaub (9-1) – I love the heart that Nogueira has, but I think his chin has taken a beating over the years and eventually Schaub will catch him with a knockout punch. Nogueira has the edge on the ground if the fight goes there, but he lacks the wrestling ability to takedown the likes of Schaub, who is a strong and burly heavyweight. I pick Schaub to win this fight by knockout in the first round.
UFC Lightweight Bout – Ross Pearson (14-4) vs. Edson Barboza (8-0) – Pearson is a tough fighter that likes to scrap, but it would be difficult to prepare for the type of leg kicks he will see against Barboza. After being hit with a few of those, it can completely throw a fighter off his game. For that reason, I see Barboza winning by decision as he will land the most effective strikes and control the pacing and style of the fight.
Light Heavyweight Bout – Luiz Cane (12-3) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (11-0) – Cane has been an all-or-nothing fighter as of late. His last three fights have ended in the first round, two of them saw him getting knocked out. In this fight, he takes on a fighter in Nedkov that can go to the ground and stay standing. If Cane can keep the fight standing, I think he can win, but he doesn’t have great technical skills, and I think that opens the door for Nedkov to get him to the ground and control him. I will take Nedkov to win his debut by decision in this one.
A while back I posted an interesting interview where Ariel Helwani interviewed Chael Sonnen upon his return back into the UFC.
The original video was funny enough as Sonnen dropped insult after insult on the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, and anyone associated with Team Blackhouse.
Well, someone took the time to take that interview and provided animated background to it. It definitely adds a little punch to it. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Admit it, it was worth the seven minutes of your life.
UFC 134 takes place on Saturday, and has one of the better cards the UFC has put on in a while.
Our friends on at BetOnFighting.com have released odds for four of the main card bouts.
In the main event, Anderson Silva is the favorite (-450) to retain his UFC Middleweight Championship over Yushin Okami (+350). Silva (28-4) is looking to avenge a DQ loss to Okami (27-5) from 2006. Silva threw an up kick to Okami, when he was on his knees, which ended the fight. Okami is a big, strong wrestler, but not as aggressive as the likes of Chael Sonnen. Still, if Okami can get his hands on Silva, he could find a way to win the fight.
In the co-main event, Maurico “Shogun” Rua will look to avenge a loss to Forrest Griffin from back at UFC 76 in 2007. Rua (19-5) is considered the favorite to win this time, with odds of -220. Griffin (18-6) comes in with odds of +180. It should be noted that Rua was a heavy favorite the first time these two met, but Griffin managed to push a pace that Rua couldn’t handle and went on to score a submission in the closing moments of the third round.
For the available odds for UFC 134, including Schaub vs. Nogueira and Barboza vs. Pearson, check out the jump.
Lost in a weekend that saw the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals take place were some big fight announcements from the UFC.
It’s hard to know what to say after watching Anderson Silva run through another opponent (AP Photo).
