By Mike Johnston@MikeyJ_MMA
UFC 126 has come and gone and people will be talking about how the middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort ended for a long time. After a slow first two minutes where neither man threw a punch, Silva knocked out Belfort with a front kick late in the first round. No one had ever been knocked out by a front kick in the UFC prior to UFC 126. Silva improves to 13-0 in the UFC and as always Canadian fans were active on Facebook and Twitter voicing their thoughts on the night’s action.
“While his octagon antics have given the guy a bad image in the past, tonight he proved he truly is one of, if not the best fighter in the world,“ said mixed martial arts photographer Covy Moore from Airdrie, Alberta. “I have heard that if both Silva and GSP defend, the UFC will force a fight between the two of them…Silva can cement his place as the best with [a win over St. Pierre.”
The other highly anticipated matchup, Jon Jones submitted Ryan Bader in the second round of their light heavyweight bout with a modified guillotine choke. Jones dominated and controlled Bader for the entire fight. After the fight, in a surprise turn of events, Joe Rogan announced that Rashad Evans blew out his knee and the UFC wants Jones to fight Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128. “Ryan Bader was outclassed by a fighter who is quickly figuring out the octagon, and any style opponent the UFC throws his way,” said Moore. “I feel Jones deserves the title shot and he has a challenge in ‘Shogun’ Rua to rise to.”
In the co-main event, Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin didn’t participate in a classic slugfest like many predicted, however Griffin won a back-and-forth decision. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Griffin with the TUF 1 winner’s size and intelligent game plan being the difference. “What a great scrap between two UFC veterans and fan favourites,” said Moore. “Franklin never seemed to get that sense of urgency…Fantastic fight between two legends.”
Also on the main card, Miguel Torres won a unanimous decision over Antonio Banuelos. Torres used his reach and poise to outpoint his opponent. Banuelos could do nothing to avoid Torres’ quick, crisp jab. Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduaro Rocha by split decision. After getting controlled on the ground in round one, Ellenberger controlled the standup and landed several takedowns in the final two rounds. One judge mysteriously gave all three rounds to Rocha.
On the Prelims Live broadcast Donald Cerrone picked up his first UFC win as he submitted Paul Kelly with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their lightweight bout. Also, Chad Mendes remains undefeated as he improved his record to 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa. Plus, Kyle Kingsbury TKO’d Ricardo Romero in just 21 seconds. Kingsbury landed strong knees to the body that hurt Romero and the referee was forced to step in. Paul Taylor TKO’d Gabe Ruediger in the second round of their lightweight bout.
Also in preliminary action, fans watched on Facebook as Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a unanimous decision over Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto. Johnson showed his tremendous speed, footwork and takedowns to thwart the knockout power of Yamamoto’s strikes. “Wow! Johnson is easily the fastest fighter in the UFC. I want to see him fight Dominick Cruz. You would miss a bunch if you blinked once,” said big fight fan Mitch Patterson from Brampton, Ontario.
Full Results:
MAIN CARD
For more UFC and MMA info and updates follow @MikeyJ_MMA on Twitter.
“While his octagon antics have given the guy a bad image in the past, tonight he proved he truly is one of, if not the best fighter in the world,“ said mixed martial arts photographer Covy Moore from Airdrie, Alberta. “I have heard that if both Silva and GSP defend, the UFC will force a fight between the two of them…Silva can cement his place as the best with [a win over St. Pierre.”
The other highly anticipated matchup, Jon Jones submitted Ryan Bader in the second round of their light heavyweight bout with a modified guillotine choke. Jones dominated and controlled Bader for the entire fight. After the fight, in a surprise turn of events, Joe Rogan announced that Rashad Evans blew out his knee and the UFC wants Jones to fight Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua for the light heavyweight title at UFC 128. “Ryan Bader was outclassed by a fighter who is quickly figuring out the octagon, and any style opponent the UFC throws his way,” said Moore. “I feel Jones deserves the title shot and he has a challenge in ‘Shogun’ Rua to rise to.”
In the co-main event, Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin didn’t participate in a classic slugfest like many predicted, however Griffin won a back-and-forth decision. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Griffin with the TUF 1 winner’s size and intelligent game plan being the difference. “What a great scrap between two UFC veterans and fan favourites,” said Moore. “Franklin never seemed to get that sense of urgency…Fantastic fight between two legends.”
Also on the main card, Miguel Torres won a unanimous decision over Antonio Banuelos. Torres used his reach and poise to outpoint his opponent. Banuelos could do nothing to avoid Torres’ quick, crisp jab. Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduaro Rocha by split decision. After getting controlled on the ground in round one, Ellenberger controlled the standup and landed several takedowns in the final two rounds. One judge mysteriously gave all three rounds to Rocha.
On the Prelims Live broadcast Donald Cerrone picked up his first UFC win as he submitted Paul Kelly with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their lightweight bout. Also, Chad Mendes remains undefeated as he improved his record to 10-0 with a unanimous decision over Michihiro Omigawa. Plus, Kyle Kingsbury TKO’d Ricardo Romero in just 21 seconds. Kingsbury landed strong knees to the body that hurt Romero and the referee was forced to step in. Paul Taylor TKO’d Gabe Ruediger in the second round of their lightweight bout.
Also in preliminary action, fans watched on Facebook as Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a unanimous decision over Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto. Johnson showed his tremendous speed, footwork and takedowns to thwart the knockout power of Yamamoto’s strikes. “Wow! Johnson is easily the fastest fighter in the UFC. I want to see him fight Dominick Cruz. You would miss a bunch if you blinked once,” said big fight fan Mitch Patterson from Brampton, Ontario.
Full 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)
- 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
For more UFC and MMA info and updates follow @MikeyJ_MMA on Twitter.
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