Hi folks, happy Sunday to all. So I went 2-2 in my picks overall, not bad but not great. Still posting a winning record for the year however (5-3) and hoping to keep that up with next weekend's "Fedor vs Silva" card airing on Showtime. Let's get to it :
-In the main event, we saw UFC Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva defend his title for an unprecedented 8th time as he dispatched of challenger Vitor Belfort. The contest, which was being hyped up as "The fight of the Century" in both fighters native homeland, Brazil, saw a feeling out process of more than 3 minutes with a couple of exchanges (and Anderson Silva using the moves he learned from none other than Steven Seagal, who was in his entourage).
At just after the 3 minute mark, Silva landed a front kick that looked more like a goal kick from soccer, his lanky legs giving extra extension to the strike and it landed square on Belfort's jaw. Belfort fell to the ground and Silva finished him off with a few strikes before the ref stepped in at 3:25 of the first round.
Next for Silva : That long anticipated superfight with GSP talk seems to keep popping up. But let's wait to see how the French-Canadian does against Jake Shields in Toronto April 29th.
Next for Belfort : Ring rust was indeed a factor in "The Phenom"s defeat. Perhaps throw him in a fight with Chris Leben or Yoshihiro Akiyama.
In the co-main event, We were treated to a fight between former division champions at middleweight and light heavyweight respectively, Rich "Ace" Franklin and Forrest Griffin. The first round saw Forrest dominate after an early takedown and show his ground superiority, with a lot of short elbows and shots. While Franklin did a good job of containing for the most part, Griffin did enough to win the round 10-9.
The second round saw a lot of stand up action in the first minute and a half featuring a few low leg kick attempts by Griffin, and some counter punching by Franklin. After a head kick from Griffin that was checked by Franklin with his recently broken arm, Griffin took him down and attempted to take Franklin's back. Franklin scrambled and got back up, was taken down again, got back up and created separation and returned to his feet at the midway point of the second round.
Through another exchange of leg kicks by Griffin, he caught Franklin with a left hook that staggered him, but couldn't put him away. Franklin while more competitive in this round, he simply didn't do enough to take it, I gave it to Griffin 10-9.
While Franklin tried to takedown Griffin early in the third, it was reversed and while he showed a lot of fight, he simply didn't do enough on this night and Griffin took all 3 rounds 30-27.
Next for Griffin : Well, he might be another win or 2 away from being back in the title hunt. Throw him in the cage against Ryan Bader.
Next for Franklin : He showed he can still be competitive in this division. A fight between the loser of Rampage Jackson and Thiago Silva might be just what the doctor ordered.
Next, the fight between hot prospects between the aforementioned Ryan "Darth" Bader and Jon "Bones" Jones, had been hyped by many to have future implications in the light heavyweight division, though nobody thought how fast the future could come. Jones dominated Bader from the start, taking him down and avoiding a guillotine choke by Bader. Jones got from into side control and north south, attempting a north south choke but was unable to secure. After a scramble that saw Bader get back up to his feet, saw Jones land a head kick and sprawl at a Bader takedown attempt and reverse him. Jones landed a few elbows, avoided a kimura attempt by Bader and land some more solid shots with elbows to the ribcage.
The 2nd started out on the feet, Jones able to land a few athletic shots, like a flying kick that was reminiscent of Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat, while Bader landed a right hand that would have rocked anybody, but Jones was able to walk through. Jones was able to secure a takedown that lead to another Darth choke attempt. Bader, frustrated by this point, could no longer withstand and tapped at 4:20 of the 2nd round.
Next for Bones : Afterwards, Joe Rogan dropped a bombshell. With Rashad Evans out due to a knee injury, Jones has secured a light heavyweight title shot against kingpin Mauricio "Shogun" Rua on March 19th in Newark due to his victory on Saturday. Shogun was in attendance in Las Vegas, and congratulated Jones on his victory and said he "looked forward" to facing the blue chipper Jones.
Next for Bader : He's still a notch below the top-tier. Either a fight with Forrest Griffin or the Winner of Rampage and Thiago Silva.
The last fight I picked was the one between Jake Ellenberger and Carlos Rocha. Rocha was able to secure quite a few submission attempts early, almost securing a kimura before the first round ended. But he wasn't able to keep the pressure up, and Ellenberger walked away with a split decision victory.
Next for Ellenberger : That fight with Jon Fitch, regardless of how he does against BJ Penn later this month.
Next for Rocha : Carlos Condit doesn't seem to be up to much lately. How about it?
So, what do you guys think? How was the card? Questions? Does Jon Jones have what it takes to dethrone the Champ Rua? Get back to me via e-mail mmarmageddon@gmail.com or twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans.
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