UFC 126 Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort February 5th, 2011 from Las Vegas, Nevada
So I was completely wrong with all my picks but I am not disappointed at all. The three big fights were very exciting and finally, in my opinion, judged correctly!
Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader - light heavyweight
So I didn't notice before that Jones, only 2" taller than Bader, has a 10.5" reach advantage!! At 84.5" that's nutty, and the longest in the division. He walked into the cage really calm, breathing deep walking around and of course throwing in a nice little cartwheel for the crowd. Jones got the takedown early in the first round but at first Bader had the better position, almost getting Jones in a guillotine. Jones was able to get out of that quickly and move into a north/south position and took his turn almost getting the submission over Bader. Jones lands a nice high kick and easily stuffs Bader's takedown attempt. He finished the round on top landing some rough elbows to Bader's body (which ref Herb Dean has to warn him about, much like his DQ against Matt Hamill for 12-6 elbows).
The second round showed more of Jones' stand up game. He threw a few combinations and some big leg kicks against Bader. The reach didn't seem to make much of a difference as far as Jones' strategy because most of the damage he did was on the mat but it did seem to affect Bader, he didn't get in too close and a lot of the punches he threw came up short. They end up on the mat towards the end of the second round and Jones is able to grab the guillotine choke and force Bader to tap. During his interview afterwards with Rogan, Jones is really well spoken and was even more excited when it was announced that he would have the next title shot against the current champ, Shogun. Rashad Evans was supposed to have this shot but as he is out with a blown knee, Jones is next in line. That fight will take place next month in New Jersey. In addition to earning the title shot, Jones also got submission of the night for this victory.
Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin - light heavyweight
Great night for the original ultimate fighter, he spent almost the entire first round on top. Franklin did do a good job defending from the bottom but he didn't throw a lot from below and with Griffin being able to get some punches through his guard the first round clearly went to Forrest. The second round was a little bit more even, most of the time they were both on their feet. I still think Griffin took that round as well landed some big punches and also a couple big kicks too. The third round definitely got exciting in the last couple minutes. Griffin got a quick takedown but Franklin was able to get the top position. Both guys were standing and continued to throw right up until the final buzzer. The decision goes to the judges and all three call is 29-28 for Griffin. Franklin and Griffin were goofing around, talking about the fight before even hearing the decision. I think Franklin thought he may have won that fight but after the first two rounds I think the judges made the right call. After the fight Griffin admits he's feeling rusty after taking 14 months off for shoulder surgery. The fight was so back and forth and I don't think I saw it as, as much of a dog fight that is actually was because I like both these fighters so much. When one landed a big kick when I would normally be really excited I also had the same feeling I get when one of the guys I like eats a big kick so the whole thing was cancelling itself out. Not sure that makes any sense but trying to take out any opinion about the fighters themselves, it was a really great matchup.
Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort - middleweight Championship
HE'S BaaaAAAACK!! This is how I like to see Silva fight!!! During the weigh ins Silva wore a jabawockeez type mask and got right in Belfort's face, finally showing some sort of emotion. I didn't know that Silva had actually trained with Belfort at one point in his career and was a little offended when he was challenged. NOW I'm excited that Silva is the champ and I am looking forward to see his next matchup. As short as this fight was wow it was exiting. The first minute and a bit Silva was pulling his usual routine, not throwing much, just moving around getting a feel for his opponent and the distance. He strarted to clown a bit but as soon as Belfort landed the first combination of a couple nice punches it was on. Belfort was able to get a takedown and has control for just a second. They stood back up and almost immediately Belfort was on his back. Silva landed a crazy front kick right to Belfor'ts jaw and finished with a beautiful KO. This win keeps two records going, 8 title defences and now 14 consecutive wins. Also note worthy this is the first time Belfort has been knocked out. Of course they still had to have the translator there for the post-fight interview and I'm sure he didn't translate everything that Silva said but overall I'm really impressed with this performance.
I have said it before, I don't care if the fighter doesn't finish the fight, as long as they are working the whole time. Most of GSP's fights go the distance but he doesn't clown, he works and fights the entire 25 minutes. Going into this fight for Silva, I didn't feel like he HAD to finish Belfort but I wanted to see him fight and not dance. Lucky enough, we got both, a great fighter turned up in the cage tonight and an exciting finish. Go Silva!
No comments:
Post a Comment