‘UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II’ event review
Two years of bad blood was brought down with an almighty thud last night, as the highly anticipated ‘UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II’ fight card hit our screens live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event was always going to steal the show but we witnessed some entertaining supporting fights as well, and the talking points are already coming thick and fast in the wake of one of the more attractive fight cards dotting the UFC’s summer schedule. What’s next for the winners and losers in Sin City? Find out after the jump…
Silva ends rivalry, stops Sonnen in round two as he defends the middleweight title yet again
In August 2010, Chael Sonnen pushed UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, closer to the edge than anyone before only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Last night, Silva drew a line under the long-running feud, putting away the challenger in the second round to retain his belt and move to 15-0 in the UFC in the process.
The two were kept apart during the final instructions from referee Yves Lavigne, and the time for talking was well and truly over as a sold-out greeted the first bell with aplomb,but it was Sonnen who avoided Silva’s early flurry to land a textbook takedown. The challenger flurried from guard and passed to full mount to end a successful first round, taking the frame 10-9 and putting doubts in the minds of even the most staunch fans of ‘The Spider’.
A repeat of the first fight seemed a plausible scenario but the champion had other plans and round two proved to be the undoing of the challenger. After Silva had successsfully stalled an early rush from Sonnen, the champion (who is already being criticised for grabbing his opponent’s shorts at this point) was as baffled as the rest of us when Sonnen threw a sloppy back-fist and stumbled to the floor. With Sonnen crouched against the cage, ‘The Spider’ threw a big knee to the chest area that folded the Oregon native and Silva dropped heavy shots on the stricken Sonnen to prompt referee Yves Lavigne to step in and end the fight, 1:55 into the second round.
Silva finally silenced the deafening mouth of Chael Sonnen and it was good to see the two on friendly terms after all was said and done, but ‘The Spider’ showed up last night and tossed us a finish to remember. Relish the man, he could well be the pound for pound best fighter on the planet.
Next for Silva: The unstoppable champion just hammered the final nail into the coffin of his toughest foe to date and Anderson Silva has nothing left to prove. At 37-years old, ‘The Spider’ has made every legitimate challenger in the past few years look amateur and seems to have no desire to move to 205lbs. Sonnen posed problems to the champion, both in and out of the cage, but when the dust settled, he joined a long line of ‘nearly’ men. If ‘The Spider’ has another fight or two in him, expect him to face the winner of UFC 149′s clash between former Bellator champion, Hector Lombard, and ‘The Barbarian’, Tim Boetsch.
Next for Sonnen: The Team Quest veteran certainly provided value for money during his two-year feud with the champion but when push came to shove, Sonnen went out with a whimper – something that will surely irk his hardcore fanbase. The wrestler started brilliantly but went to pot in bizarre fashion,and all claims of being the ‘People’s champion’ can now be tossed aside. Sonnen will surely be back, though, and the crowd-dividing middleweight could face Rich Franklin or another Brazilian who has taken offense to his loud-mouthed escapades, Wanderlei Silva.
Griffin spoils Ortiz’s retirement party, squeezes by former champion on the scorecards
Buried beneath the relentless hype of the main event was a light-heavyweight rubber-match that saw the original ‘Ultimate Fighter’, Forrest Griffin, spoil the retirement party of former champion and ‘Hall of Famer’, Tito Ortiz.
‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ started well, taking down the bigger man off the cage but Griffin survived the early onslaught and ended the round landing better shots as the two traded. Ortiz landed a messy takedown at the bell, possibly earning him the round.
Early in round two, a fired-up Ortiz dropped Griffin with a punch, but, visibly tired, the former champion couldn’t maintain the pressure and Griffin recovered quickly to cage the veteran. Griffin mixed up his shots, out-pointing a tired Ortiz with low kicks and punches to take the round. The final round got off to a flying start as Ortiz dropped Griffin but was too tired to mount any real offense on the mat. A sloppy final round dragged to a close with Griffin out-striking the exhausted veteran, and all three judges saw it 29-28 in favour of the former light-heavyweight champion, Forrest Griffin.
Next for Griffin: The veteran just beat Tito Ortiz over three fights and the former champion may still have something to offer the 205lb division, should he choose to continue in the sport. A rematch with Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson would be good but if the stars aline, Griffin should be the man to welcome Gegard Mousasi to the UFC.
Next for Ortiz: ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ kept the UFC afloat during the dark days and without Tito Ortiz, the promotion may have gone under. A polarising character who has even won over his haters with the time he sets aside to speak with the fans, Ortiz needs to hang ‘em up and retire with a sense of satisfaction. Love him or hate him, Tito Ortiz has found hs way into your favourite UFC highlights and the ‘Hall of Famer’ deserves a standing ovation to send him off into the sunset.
Le edges out Cote, defeats former title contender over three rounds
Sanshou master and part-time Hollywood icon, Cung Le, rolled back the years last night as the 39-year old veteran picked up his first UFC victory at the expense of injury replacement, Patrick ‘The Predator’ Cote.
A cagey first round saw Le trip the knockout artist to the mat but Cote recovered his footing, only to spend much of the round eating neat counter-shots from the striking maestro. The second round was fought almost entirely standing, with a frustrated Cote stalking down the more nimble Le who peppered ‘The Predator’ with counter-shots. Both men went to their respective corners sporting some blood, setting up what should have been a rip-roaring final round.
The two strikers traded shots early, with Le landing a sneaky trip to keep the judges on their toes, and the Vietnamese-American veteran turned up the heat as the clock wound down, throwing an array of slow kicks before landing a late takedown on Cote to effectively win the round. All three judges gave a verdict of 30-27, handing Cung Le his first UFC victory.
Next for Le: The former Strikeforce middleweight moves to 1-1 in the UFC and has already been groomed to carry the FUEL TV card set for November in Macau, China. The sanshou master can clearly hang with the younger dogs, and could face a contender left in the dark when the title-shots are being handed out – Rich Franklin or Alan Belcher would do nicely.
Next for Cote: The Montreal native’s UFC record looks bleaker, but Cote did Joe Silva a favour by accepting a tough fight on short notice so expect the French-Canadian to get another shot. If ‘The Predator’ loses against a striker such as Alessio Sakara, he’s definitely reached his sell-by date.
Maia stops Kim in bizarre welterweight clash
Former middleweight title contender, Demian Maia, made his welterweight debut on the main card and the Brazilian barely broke a sweat as he scored a bizarre victory over Korean prospect, Dong Hyun Kim.
Maia immediately pushed for the takedown and bundled the taller man to the floor early in round one, moving effortlessly to mount where he unloaded a few tame shots but the fight was already over – as Kim landed, he shouted in pain, having seemingly damaged ribs. Referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in just 47-seconds into the very first round, handing Maia a strange but vital victory.
Next for Maia: The BJJ black-belt cannot be judged at all on last night’s fight but Maia gets back to winning ways and makes a solid start at 170lbs by taking out a top prospect in Kim. The grappler could face Jon Fitch next.
Next for Kim: ‘Stun Gun’ falls to 15-2 and the Korean will be bitterly disappointed by the manner of his exit last night. Kim remains a top prospect and could face wrestling ace, Charlie Brenneman, for a place on the roster.
Mendes makes mincemeat of McKenzie, finishes his opponent in 31 seconds
Featherweight contender, Chad Mendes, was last seen being destroyed by UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, in January but the Team Alpha Male powerhouse got back to winning ways last night as he tore through TUF veteran, Cody McKenzie.
Making his 145lb debut, McKenzie struggled to utilise his reach and was dropped like a stone by a right hand to the chest, sending the ‘AK Kid’ into turtle mode as Mendes threw a few more shots that forced Steve Mazzagati to call the fight, just 31-seconds into round one.
Next for Mendes: ‘Money’ moves to 11-1 and the wrestler showcased some of his striking last night but in all honesty – Mendes was a lock to win what seemed to be a huge mismatch on paper. The prospect could face grizzled veteran, and former champion, Mike Thomas Brown, in the autumn.
Next for McKenzie: The Washington native is perhaps the biggest one-trick pony in the UFC and makes a disastrous debut at 145lbs – a fight he should probably have declined. McKenzie will get one more chance, either facing a newcomer of BJJ guru, Milton Vieira.
Easton becomes the new player at 135lbs, takes out Menjivar over three rounds
Maryland’s Mike ‘The Hulk’ Easton made last night his coming out party, as the Alliance MMA prospect out-classed veteran Ivan Menjivar in a closely-contested three round war.
Menjivar, usually the aggressor, was forced onto the backfoot constantly by Easton who hammered the veteran with leg-kicks and crisp hands, wearing Menjivar down. ‘The Hulk’ followed the same blueprint to close out the third and final round and after out-striking and moving Menjivar, Easton took the clear-cut 30-27 decision from all three judges.
Next for Easton: The well-rounded Easton is now 3-0 in one of the thinner divisions in the UFC and ‘The Hulk’ could be one major win away from the title picture. Easton could face former WEC bantamweight champ, Brian Bowles, or the loser of this month’s blockbuster Interim title fight between Urijah Faber and Renan Barao.
Next for Menjivar: ‘The Pride of El Salvador’ sees a three-fight streak ended but Menjivar won’t fall too far down the ladder and will be thrown into another high-profile fight soon enough. The Tristar Gym bantamweight could feature on the FUEL TV card in Macau, China, in November.
Preliminary Card round-up
The prelims were headlined by a lightweight contest pitting veteran knockout artist, Melvin Guillard, against high-level BJJ black-belt, Fabricio Camoes. A tepid affair saw Guillard keep moving and defending takedowns well, even having the odd spell on top on the grappling front. Camoes had nothing for the New Orleans native standing, and Guillard simply picked his way to a clear-cut unanimous decision.
Next for Guillard: The not-so-young ‘Assassin’ stops the rot and bounces back from two straight submission losses. Guillard is relied upon to headline or co-headline FX and FUEL TV cards but we may see the knockout artist face Canadian kickboxer, Sam Stout, at UFC 152 in September, in Stout’s backyard.
Next for Camoes: ‘Morango’s UFC record now reads 2-2-1 and the BJJ sensation is not coping well in the UFC’s 155lbs bracket. Camoes may be cut but if he’s kept around, expect to see the Brazilian faced the likes of Jacob Volkmann.
Another high-level lightweight contest saw Brazilian powerhouse, Gleison Tibau, take on undefeated Chechnyan sensation, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two contenders almost cancelled one another out but ‘The Eagle’ got the nod from the judges seemingly based on aggression alone, as Tibau looked baffled by the dubious outcome.
Next for Nurmagomedov: Now 17-0, with a stroke of luck, the Russian has just squeezed by a recognised name in Tibau and ‘The Eagle’s going to get a big leap in competition. A fight with the winner of August’s meeting of Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner, might be next for the promisiing prospect/
Next for Tibau: The Brazilian has every right to feel aggrieved and Tibau drops a fight that he probably won, in all honesty. The grappling powerhouse may face quirky American, Jacob Volkmann, when he returns to action.
In the middleweight division, promising New Yorker Costa Philippou moved to 4-1 in the UFC as he managed to out-work and out-point Japanese bruiser, Riki Fukuda. A hard-hitting prelim saw Philipou win the striking battle but in the final round, he caught a brutal, accidental poke to the eye. The Serra-Longo Fight Team prospect battled through and took a clear-cut unanimous decision.
Next for Philippou: The former professional boxer continues to impress and frustrate in equal measure but Philippou is now the owner of a proud 4-1 UFC record. Expect the striker to face a fellow surging prospect, Ronny Markes, in the months ahead.
Next for Fukuda: The Japanese veteran falls to 1-2 in the UFC with only a lacklustre decision won to his name and a slight robbery that saw Nick Ring defeat Fukuda on the scorecards. The well-rounded Asian import has likely got one more shot at the big leagues, possibly facing Nick Catone for a spot on the roster.
In the lightweight division, former WEC standout Shane Roller stopped the rot in a must-win undercard fight against Xtreme Couture veteran, John Alessio. A closely contested three rounds leaned towards Roller who secured Alessio’s back several times and used his strong wrestling base to grind out the win.
Next for Roller: The Oklahoma native salvages his UFC career having come into this fight off the back of a few losses. Roller looked good at times last night and the NCAA wrestler may face Swedish prospect, Reza Madadi, in the autumn months.
Next for Alessio: ‘The Natural’ falls to 0-2 in his latest and equally unimpressive UFC run and we can wave goodbye to the Canadian who will be back on the regional circuit in no time.
The opening fight of the evening came via Facebook as Brazilian lightweight, Rafaello Oliveira, finally put the brakes on and avoided another Octagon loss by convincingly handling Cuban prospect, Yoislandy Izquierdo. ‘Tractor’ was in control for much of the fight, taking down the striker with ease and utilising his BJJ to contain the rookie for three rounds, taking the unanimous decision.
Next for Oliveira: ‘Tractor’ seemed a shoe-in for being cut this weekend but the grappler out-foxed a tidy prospect and earns himself a stay of execution. If Oliveira stays at 155lbs, a fight with recent TUF graduate, Myles Jury, could be next.
Next for Izquierdo: ‘Cuba’ joined the UFC as a 6-0 prospect with bags of upside, and just months later, Izquierdo will be leaving with his tail between his legs and a 6-2 record. The striker has been exposed as having little skill on the ground and will be sent packing to improve his record.
That’s a wrap for UFC 148, a pay-per-view card that did not disappoint. Remember, we’ve got a midweek fix of mixed martial arts on Wednesday, July 11th with UFC on FUEL TV 4, so check out MMABay for a break down of all the fights set for San Jose, California.
By Steve Davies
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