Anderson Silva Vs Vitor Belfort: UFC 126 Bottom Line
By Ben Bieker
Main Event:
Anderson “The Spider” Silva (27-4-0, #1 Middleweight) vs. Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (19-8-0)
One thing is for sure about this fight it will not go the distance. I think that past do not matter when it comes to this fight. I think when these two fights meet in the center of the cage everything said before this fight, or what has happened before will not matter. Vitor is coming off a long layoff, has never had great cardio, and is dropping down to 185 so he will need to finish this fight fast. He has the ability to having showed his knockout power multiple times over. Anderson has not had the knockout cold power that Vitor possesses, but with his pinpoint accuracy he has shown to be able to stop anyone. So, it will just matter who gets off first which I think will make this fight not be the most interesting. There will be a lot of dancing and a lot of posturing, but eventually someone will go for it and get the win or get caught. In the end, it is hard to tell who will win as speed will be the determining factor, and since these two fighters are faster than all of there opponents it is hard to tell who is faster.
The Bottom Line: I will go with Vitor in this one since this would be the ultimate redemption story if he were able to come back and win a title after the life he has had. Plus, I always like the more humble fighter.
Co-Main Event:
Forrest Griffin (17-6-0, #5 Light Heavyweight) VS. Rich “Ace” Franklin (28-5-0, #10 Light Heavyweight)
A fight between Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin is one that the fans don’t lose on. Both of these fighters leave their hearts, and a little piece of them in the cage every time they fight. Between both of them they have broken their fair share of bones, and their opponents’ bones when fighting. Both have also reached the pinnacle of the sport having been the UFC champion in their perspective divisions, but both are on the hunt to come back for a second chance at that success.
Forrest Griffin has had some disappointing performances as of late. After losing his championship to Rashad in a fight he could have won, then he got blown out by Anderson Silva in his last fight at 205, and finally he barely eked by in a fight with a past his prime Tito Ortiz. The careless Griffin that showed up for those fights cannot show up for a fight against Rich because he will make him pay. Hopefully the time off for Griffin won’t have resulted in much ring rust as he has to come in as he did against Rampage and Shogun, a fighter with something to prove, if he wants to make a run up the ladder again.
Rich Franklin on the other hand has been playing the company man as of late. After losing his shot to redeem himself and regain his title against Anderson Silva, Rich had a one off fight with one time contender Travis Lutter. Form there he decided to move up to 205 to make a run at the title. In doing so he took out friend Matt Hamill, and from there he took three fights more for the fans and for the company then for his own challenge of moving up the Light Heavyweight ladder. He went 1-2 with losses to Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort which sandwiched his win over Wanderlei Silva. Two of those bouts were at 195 which was more for his opponents benefit than Rich who wished to stay at 205 and try to gain weight. After his most recent win over Chuck Liddell it looks as if Rich has found his home at 205 and looks to build off that with a win over Forrest.
In this fight both fighters are relatively even. I think standing that Rich does hold the slight edge having a little bit more knockout power, more speed, and a little more dynamic striking. This can be evident in his fights with Anderson, in which, he lasted longer and did not look nearly as slow as Forrest did against Anderson. On the ground I think that Forrest may hold the edge in grappling, but the takedowns are relatively even. I do not think that Forrest would be able to submit Rich though, considering that it has never been done. Rich is also more of a finisher having finished 25 of his 28 wins, and Forrest has only finished 10 of his 17 wins. This fight is one for the fans, but also one for both of these fighter’s legacies.
The Bottom Line: Rich takes this because he is just more active and a faster fighter. Unless Forrest can bully Rich he losses this fight more often than not. It will be hard for him to finish Forrest since he has great cardio, but he will take an unanimous decision win.
Ryan “Darth” Bader (12-0-0, #6 Light Heavyweight) VS. Jon “Bones” Jones (11-1-0, #7 Light Heavyweight)
As with almost all the fights on this card this one is an even match too. Ryan and Jon have both been impressive in their fights, but for different reasons. Also, both are essentially undefeated with Jon’s only loss coming from an often criticized stoppage of Matt Hamill. They also came into the UFC differently with Ryan making his way into the big show through the Ultimate Fighter, and Jon coming in on the merit of his spectacular wins outside the organization.
The main difference to me between the two fighters is essentially there fights. To me Ryan has fought the harder competition as his record has the names like Antonio Nogueira and Keith Jardine, while Jon has been more impressive when he has fought his opponents, having essentially stopped his last three opponents in the first round. Which is no small order when your fights have been in the UFC.
There has been much hype coming into this fight on who has the better wrestling, and while that is important I do not think it is nearly as important as the standup. It is said a lot when two fighters who a really good at one discipline like wrestling that it almost cancels each other out. If that is the case here the standup will decide the outcome which even that is muddled. Jon probably has the better more dynamic standup since he has a vast array of kicks, punches, and elbows in his arsenal, but Ryan has the power. He has shown that innate ability to put people on their ass with his power. So, he will most likely be head hunting for that one punch while Jon tries to stop him by using more than one technique.
The Bottom Line: Ryan Bader is one of my favorite fighters, but I just have the sinking feeling that he is going to lose this fight. Usually I pick wrong so to give Ryan the best chance at winning I will go with my gut and say Jon Jones by unanimous decision.
Jake Ellenberger (22-5-0) VS. Carlos Eduardo “Ta Danado” Rocha (9-0-0)
There is not much to this fight for me as Jake is a really good wrestler, and that ability makes him able to keep the fight standing. In doing so he takes away Carlos’ greatest tool, his ground game. Without his ground game Carlos will be highly ineffective against Jake, who at this point in his career should be fighting a higher level of competition. Jake may only be three fights into his UFC career, but he has been impressive in all of his wins and losses.
In this fight, all Jake needs to do is win is to keep the fight standing as he showed highly impressive standup in his debut against Carlos Condit dropping him multiple times, or use his wrestling to control Carlos, but not get caught in his submission. Jake was supposed to be fighting Jon Fitch on this card, but he got pulled for a bigger fight, and Carlos is a step down in competition because he is unproven. After this fight, as long as Jake does not misstep in it, I hope he gets bigger fights because the way he has been performing he needs it.
The Bottom Line: Jake overwhelms an outclassed Carlos en route to a second round stoppage due to strikes.
Miguel Torres (38-3-0, #5 Bantamweight) VS. Antonio Banuelos (18-6-0, #6 Bantamweight)
Not known to every UFC fan, but the average fan will know these two fighters when they hit the cage Saturday night. This is a sleeper hit for fight of the night with both Banuelos and Torres go for broke style. In addition, with these fighters they bring a certain level of experience to the cage you do not see with most fighters now and days. Having both fought all over the world and at multiple weight classes a win for each fighter moves them up the Bantamweight rankings.
Miguel is coming off a rough road. He lost his title by being knocked out for the first time, and then in his first fight back tot he cage he was given his first submission loss. Since then he has rebounded with a win over lightly regarded Charlie Valencia. A loss here would not a spell the end of his UFC tenure, but it would put him out of title contention for a while, since a fighter who is 1-3 in his last four fights should not be anywhere the title.
Antonio has been around forever and when I say forever I mean it. He was with the WEC since its fifth time putting on fights. He fought for the first ever Bantamweight title and put up a respectable 10-5 record in the organization. Even though his record stands at 18-6 he has recently hit his stride by going 4-1 in his last five fights with his only loss coming to Scott Jorgensen, who he had a previous win over. Antonio is a long time training partner of Chuck Liddell and with a win over the former champ Torres he may have just punched his ticket to have a date with the titleholder.
It is hard to determine how this fight plays out since Miguel’s strength is his grappling having 23 wins come by submission, but Antonio’s strength is his wrestling which he will more than likely use. Which means he will have to fend off submission when he does take it to the ground. That will be hard since Miguel has a six inch height difference which will give him an advantage for locking up submissions on the ground. Standing this fight is a different story where the years training with Liddell has honed Antonio’s standup skills, but again when he has a disadvantage with reach which can cause a loss with two fighters this even.
The Bottom Line: I think that Miguel will have trouble in this fight as Antonio can match his intensity, and when the fight does not hit the ground since Antonio does not let it he will get hurt. Antonio by stoppage in the third.
The UnderCard
Chad “Money” Mendes (9-0-0, #9 Featherweight) VS. Michihiro Omigawa (12-8-1, #3 Featherweight)
This fight is hard to range on what will happen because both the competitors in the fight are still such big question marks in their division. Chad Mendes is still young in his career, but after only 9 fights he has been impressive. Coming from Uriah Faber’s Alpha Male camp and since entering the WEC has taken substantial steps up in competition. Fighting someone like Anthony Morrison to beating a veteran like Javier Vasquez is a big deal. Plus, to be able to be on the ground with a BJJ master like Javier is a testament to how good Chad’s ground game is. So, he always has it in his back pocket that he can get the fight to the ground, if and when he needs to.
Omigawa headed back to Japan after a disappointing 0-2 run in the UFC, which he pushed his record to 4-6. He lost his next fight after leaving the UFC, and since his first draw he has went 8-1 with his only loss coming to Masanori Kanehara in a split decision. In his time in Japan Omigawa has beaten some of the top prospects, but this will be the first time he is challenged by a NCAA division 1 wrestler. Omigawa does have a strong background in Judo, but I don’t know if it will be enough to counteract Chad’s wrestling since he was handled on the ground by Matt Wiman. This fight will answer a lot of questions about each fighter.
If Chad is able to beat Omigawa he will have beaten a legit contender to the Featherweight title, and may have staked his claim as the next divsion challenger. On the flip side if Omigawa can defend the shot, or submit Chad on the ground he may do the same in an attempt to get a shot at divisional kingpin Jose Aldo. I’m not sure how this one will play out, but it will be fun to watch since both fighters have expressed their desire to be the UFC champion.
The Bottom Line: If it comes down to who can be more dominant on the ground, which I think it will, Chad will take this as he has proven he can stay out of submissions. Chad by unanimous decision.
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (18-3-0-1) VS. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (7-1-0, #10 Bantamweight)
The last time that Demetrious faced a decent wrestler he was beat, even though he looked good in defeat. Kid on the other hand is a good wrestler, but can be beat when facing stiffer competition as seen by his loss to Joe Warren. Demetrious is on the rise in the division, while some people have felt that Kid is on a decline. I think that he has actually just had a bad go of things as of late. The fact of the matter is that when he had his back-to-back losses he was going through a divorce with his wife and I think that contributed to his losses more than his own performance. He redeemed himself with his last fight, but I think he shows it again here. I am not saying that Demetrious does not have a chance, but his are of expertise is standup, and Kid has that area covered.
The Bottom Line: I believe Kid announces himself in the 135 pound division with a knockout in the second round.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (13-3-0) VS. Paul “Tellys” Kelly (11-3-0)
Paul Kelly generally losses to people who can overwhelm him on the feet, and who he can’t control on the ground. Unfortunately for him Donald Cerrone is one of those people. Being 28-0 in kickboxing and having 11 submission wins out of 13 wins in your MMA career means your relatively well rounded. Paul Kelly has always had the potential to be a good fighter, but has never really lived up to it.
This is Donald first fight in the UFC, and I believe that he has faced stiffer competition in the WEC fighting opponents like Jaime Varner, Benson Henderson, and Rob McCullough. Given he has lost to most of those opponents, but being in their with that tough competition will give him the ability to endure when he is in the octagon. Paul will make it rough for him, but Donald should be able to overcome.
The Bottom Line: Donald by unanimous decision.
Mike Pierce (11-3-0) VS. Kenny Robertson (10-0-0)
Mike Pierce has had a whole lot of upside to him, but he is getting the treatment most people get who are not highly entertaining. He is fighting a newcomer to the UFC in Kenny Robertson which is a not the best thing for an up and comer. If you lose to someone with a no name then you don’t get much credit, but if you be them you are beating someone you should have at the same time. Being 3-1 in the UFC with your only loss coming to Jon Fitch on short notice is not a bad thing. If Pierce is able to get past Kenny then he may be looking at a big name his next go around.
Kenny is a finisher and is coming into this fight with 9 stoppages out of 10 wins. He has never had a big name win with the collective record of his opponents being 69-44. He won’t have a wrestling advantage over Pierce, but if it does get to the ground he will be competent enough to fend off a submission as he has seven submission wins. He may not even hold the edge there as Pierce was able to submit a BJJ black belt in his last fight. I think this fight will be even, but it will also show how good of a fighter Kenny is by testing him as all undefeated fighters are usually hard to range.
This fight could be contested on the feet or on the ground. Mike is more of a ground fighter with a good submission game and a strong wrestling background. The same goes for Kenny, but he does not have as strong of a wrestling background, but more of an advantage on the feet. This should be fun to see how it plays out since these fighters both have a lot to prove in the octagon.
The Bottom Line: The smart money would be on Mike to win this bout, but I am go out on a limb here and say that Kenny becomes the first man to submit Pierce after hurting him with punches. Kenny by submission in round 3.
Paul “Relentless” Taylor (10-6-1) VS. Gabe “Godzilla Ruediger (17-6-0)
Paul is looking at his last fight in the UFC and so is Gabe, most likely, if they cannot get a win. So, with most fights where the fighters jobs are on the line this fight can go one of two ways. First they can just have a drag out brawl where they leave everything in the cage, or they fight conservatively waiting for their opponent to make a mistake and not pleasing the fans. Luckily with these two fighters they should have a fight closer to the first scenario.
Gabe Ruediger will have the advantage on the ground, but that does not mean he is susceptible to the round game of his opponent. He has been submitted and if that can happen here remains to be seen, but if this fight does hit the ground he will have the advantage over Paul. Then again Paul is not one to back down even when he is outclassed.
Paul Taylor has always been one to bring the fight to his opponent, and has that win or lose style where he lets his opponent know he was in a fight. For this fight if he keeps the fight standing he will be have the advantage over Gabe who has decent standup, but Paul is relentless and that will show as he will be able to take advantage of that style standing up. The fight comes down to takedowns, and who is able to control them. If Paul is able to control them he will win, but if Gabe can get it to the ground then he will most likely win the fight.
The Bottom Line: This is a really hard pick to make, but I think Gabe gets his first win in the UFC as he is able to submit Paul late in the second after some scary moments.
Kyle Kingsbury (9-2-0-1) VS. Ricardo Romero (11-1-0)
This fight is essentially a tossup as the fighters are better than the other at one area. Ricardo’s fight with Seth Petruzelli showed two things. One is that his standup is not the greatest as he got absolutely drubbed in the first round, and second is that he has a very good ground game because he was able to submit Seth after that first round.
Kyle on the other hand will have that slight edge standing because that is where he was able to win most of his fights. He won’t have the edge on the ground though, as that is Ricardo’s forte and that will obviously be where he will want to take it. So again this is a give or take fight where each fighter will try to impose their will, and the one that pushes the hardest may just win.
The Bottom Line: Kyle has never been submitted, and I do not think it happens here. Kyle takes this fight by unanimous decision after a lot of back and forth action.