Its time to start talking about Anderson Silva not only being perhaps the best striker in all of MMA, but maybe in the top 3 pound for pound fighters in the world! Obviously, Silva went into Rich Franklin's hometown and destroyed him yet again. Rich actually did alright in the 1st round, breaking and avoiding the clinch while answering leg kicks and landing some one two combinations. Then disaster in the name of Silva knees attacked at the end of the round. Anderson backed Rich into a corner and landed one right hand that sent Ace to the floor. Time ran out before he could finish things and corner man Matt Hume literally had to carry Rich to his corner. Glass eyed Franklin listened to his corner but I question if he knew where he was.
The 2nd round began and it was actually Rich landing combos and pressing the action. Anderson threw absolutely everything in this fight including a roundhouse kick and a spinning backfist. Rich was doing all the right things but had no answers for myriad of leg kicks, body shots, and punches coming at him from all angles. Silva locked in his muay thai clinch he had been searching for and landed those deadly knees. One, two, right on the money and Franklin hit the floor again this time for good. The ref stepped in and Anderson Silva 20-4 looks for someone in the Middleweight division who can challenge him.
Tim Sylvia got the decision win over Brandon Vera by pressing his giant body against Vera and up against the cage. Its all clinching and thai knees in the 1st. In the 2nd frame Vera actually got Tim to the floor but as he stood back up landed an illegal knee to the head just before the round ended. No point was taken. The 3rd decided the affair as Tim came out with the punches and Vera could only answer with leg kicks. Its an easy unanimous decision for Sylvia.
Stephan Bonnar defeated Eric Schafer in a lopsided affair. The much larger Stephan made Eric look like he should drop down to 185. In the 2nd round, Schafer pulled guard (like he did for the 1st) but Stephan kept a good distance in his positioning and began to land a torrid of strikes. Schafer's ju jitsu was no where to be seen as he simply turtled up as Bonnar continued to unload with downward punches and hammer fists. The ref gave him all the time in the world but Eric stayed curled up in the fetal position getting punched until McCarthy stopped the fight.
Kalib Starnes got robbed in his fight with Alan Belcher when the Doctor stopped the fight due to a nasty cut. Belcher rocked Kalib early in the 1st which caused all the blood and damage. However, Kalib came back with a flurry of his own and showed some heart that he had been missing in previous fights. Starnes boxes well to start the 2nd but the ref wants the Docs to check the eye again and they stop the fight! Kalib wants to continue but the fight is over. Cuts should not decide fights!
Alvin Robinson got the decision win over hometown boy Jorge Gurgel by working non-stop on the ground with punches while Jorge looked flawed in his supposed amazing ju jitsu and couldn't gain position or secure any submission attempts. Jorge just is not impressive and will not be a Top 10 Lightweight.
Yushin Okami did everything we expected from him as he dominated Jason MacDonald in route to a unanimous decision win. Yushin was the last man to defeat Champ Anderson Silva (via illegal DQ kick) back in January of 2006. We may have a new contender for the Middleweight Crown.
Former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar was announced as signed with the UFC and his 1st fight will probably be the annual Super Bowl weekend show in February. Early opponent seems to be Jack O'Brien. This is definitely a big deal as casual fans will love it. Brock is a monster and this should get interesting real fast.
Demian Maia quickly subbed Ryan Jenson while Josh Burkman got the split decision win over Forrest Petz. Jason Black got a split draw with Matt Grice until it was later announced the cards were miscalculated and Grice had won! What, if anything Black won this fight and the garbled decision only adds to this controversy. The fight should've been stopped in the 2nd when Black was blasting the crap out of Grice. This continues my conspiracy theory that the 3rd round is always worth more than the 1st two. Black won both the 1st and the 2nd but did nothing in the 3rd. How that adds up to a Grice win in beyond me. Something needs to be done about this mess.
OK how about my picks. I say I went 5 correct and 2 wrong. The Black decision is just plain wrong and my "cuts don't win fights" rule, not to mention the fact Starnes was winning that fight, equal draws. Hey my site, I make the rules. I can accept being wrong about the new guy Maia and my blinding mancrush on Franklin, but crap is crap and those two boys (Starnes/Black) got jobbed.
Where Rich Franklin goes from here is any one's guess. He's always going to be in the top Middleweights but he cannot beat Anderson Silva. Yushin "The Decisioner" Okami seems a logical choice but why not bring back Dan Henderson and his Pride FC belt for a super-fight!?! Other than perhaps Thales Leites, there is no challengers for the Spider. Tim Sylvia called out Cheick Kongo and I'd love to see those swinging giants go at it. Brandon Vera will be fine, he had a rusty performance against a giant and maybe now he'll go to the Light Heavyweight division where he truly belongs. 7 of Stephan Bonnar's 8 UFC fights have all been against great opponents and he deserves some credit for crawling his way back in the picture. He still has a ways to go to be considered a contender but maybe a fight with gatekeeper Tito Ortiz is in order.
Weak card overall and UFC 78 is probably worse. Enjoy the veal.
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