UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort

[Troy]

UFC 126
Official Fight Card​

Main Card
Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort
Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader
Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos ​

Preliminary Card
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly
Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Lightweight bout: Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
Bantamweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson
Welterweight bout: Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson
Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero​

Finally this fight will happen, fingers crossed that these two can stay healthy for the next month and a half. This was meant to happen on Jan 2 this year at UFC 108 then at 109 and 112. Both fighters suffered injuries which meant the fight kept being delayed. Belfort hasn't fought since September 2009 whilst Silva's last fight was in August 2010. In that last fight Sonnen pushed Silva to the limit so it will be interesting to see if Belfort can be the first man to defeat him in the UFC. I have faith in Belfort and would love to see him win here.​

Pretty good undercard as well. Griffin vs Franklin is a fight between two guys who are trying to get their careers back on track and this win will bring them probably two more wins away from a title shot. I think that Griffin will find his form again after a long layoff and I predict that he will win.​

I can't wait for Jones vs Bader. Both are exciting fighters and must be nearing title shots as both have good records in UFC. Bader is undefeated whilst Jones has one loss due to a DQ which I thought was quite harsh.​

What do you think of the card and who do you think will win?​

 

[Deezy]

Kid Yammamoto finally fights in The Octagon, sure its two years too late, but he can drop a weightclass and return to glory.

Bader and Jones is the one fight, I've been wanting to see for awhile now. This will be most likely a contenders bout, but shouldn't be an offical one, since #1 contender bouts lead to playing safe and not wanting to lose, like Bader did against Lil Nog.

Griffin vs Franklin is a good matchup, both are brawlers who got crushed by a certain Spider, but both are now fighting for a top 5 spot in LHW, ok, I'm embellishing this one since both are hardly even top ten, but they are draws. Should be an entertaining fight, Franklin can knock people out, and Forrest even though he is huge can't finish a sandwich let alone a fight.

Finally the mainevent I've been wanting to see since Vitor made it to Pride. It's been along time coming, since both are elite strikers and finally in the same weight class. I got Vitor in this one, since Anderson hasn't face someone with the handspeed that Vitor has, my wish of seeing Vitor bumrush Anderson with punches like he did to Wandy is the main reason I want to watch this card.

 

[The New F'n Show]

Well Jon Jones keeps adding people to his bandwagon I have been a big fan of his since the first time I saw him fight and his fight with Bader should be a very good one. Not sure who takes it also as Deezy said the main event has one I have wanted to see for a long time as Vitor is one of the few guys who could take Silva down. Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos could be a good opener.

 

[Troy]

Less than a month to go for this PPV and I am pumped. So far so good with regards to the fitness of the main fighters, no injuries which is great. They just need to stay healthy for one more month and then everything will be fine. I still think that Belfort will get the win, Silva hasn't faced anyone recently with the skills of Belfort and Belfort should be able to match him for speed. Can't wait to see how this pans out.

I am leaning towards Jones for the Jones vs. Bader fight. I really like the way he fights and think that he is a great chance at eventually becoming champion.

 

[Dod Draper]

Really pumped for this show.

Silva, Jones and Franklin are my picks for the main fights of the night. Though I think Befort will be Silva's toughest test to date.

 

[Troy]

It sucks, I have a wedding to attend at 5pm on the Sunday and the show finishes at 4:30pm here in South Australia. Means I have to miss the PPV and possibly catch a replay later on. Who schedules a wedding for a Sunday when a UFC PPV is on?

I agree with your picks Dod. I hope that Belfort can push Silva but there is no way that I can tip against him. There are quite a few great fights on the card and hopefully they can deliver.

 

[Dod Draper]

Check here when you get home. They'll probably have a rip ready to download within hours.

 

[Deezy]

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Vitor Belfort: Wow, just wow. I was speechless after the fight, I guess blind fandom and Pre-Zuffa nostalgia overcame my senses, its seriously not a good idea to bet against Silva. If Silva isn't the greatest MMA fighter ever, he definitely is the greatest UFC fighter. 13-0 in the UFC. Now he has to wait for GSP to defend against Jake Shields. That big boot caught Vitor on the chin, surprised he didn't go for a leg drop.

Light Heavyweight bout: Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin: Fight was very even throughout, outside of two takedowns for Forrest, the rest of a the fight was basically a sparring match. I found it very boring, and was expecting more from these guys. I guess Rich has to get a tramp stamp tattoo now.

Light Heavyweight bout: Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader: First off, where was the Imperial March Bader? Jinxed himself with shitty walkout music. What can I say about Jon Jones, other than the fact that he came out to played out 50 Cent, he thoroughly dominated Bader, he was on another level than his opponent and more impressive was just how strong he was against Bader. Now he steps in for an injured Rashad and gets a title shot against Shogun in six weeks.

Welterweight bout: Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: Rocha comes out to "Ice, Ice Baby" and then I wanted him to lose. Other than the first round, there was nothing really spectacular in this fight, the highlight was definitely the americana Rocha got on Ellenberger. But the guy didn't have the standup balance to even think about trying those spinning back kicks. There is a reason why they are seldom seen, they are difficult to land and easily avoided. Ellenberger won the fight by securing a few takedowns, but definitely shows he was nowhere near ready to fight Jon Fitch.

Bantamweight bout: Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos : First off, I want to say fuck those fans who were boo happy. Anyone who boos a fight where the other guy can't figure out his opponent only means that they are ignorant to a performance Torres employed. He wasn't being the stupid brawler, he was being a fighter. The difference is dominance is boring to some. They can go to a bar and watch some bums fight. Lanky Torres controlled the fight with a stiff jab and Banuelos had nothing for him.

 

[The New F'n Show]

Well the hype train for Jones gets his title shot now. I am really looking forward to that one as I have been a front runner on Jones bandwagon for a while but Bader worried me. Shogun is in a whole different class than the guys Jones has defeated so this is the true test now.

I have to give Silva props, I though Vitor may take this one but he caught him beautifully with that kick. Belfort never saw it coming.

Other fights were solid but nothing special.

 

[TheGoldStandard]

I like Jon Jones. I really can't believe he is going to accept the title fight in 1 month. That's not a lot of time for him to train for it. Shogun has an usual style of fighting. Jones would need more than a month to prepare for it. I know Rumble Johnson took a fight with Koscheck in less than a month and got owned.

What are they going to do if Jones wins the title? Evans and Jones both have said they won't fight each other.

 

[Dod Draper]

I still can't believe what Silva did- the guy is incredible.

After seeing Silva KO Belfort I felt a lot like I did when he humiliated Griffin; utterly shocked at how good that guy is. Just when you think that he's almost met his match in the striking department, he comes out and pulls a move like that to humble yet another challenger.

Jones dominates another 205er with ease and gets his shot at the title. Jones vs. Shogun is a genuinely interesting matchup and I'm actually going to back Jones. The Jackson camp will have already diligently studied Shogun and worked out a gameplan to face him; Jones would surely be able to adapt to that gameplan. Moreover, add more to that and expand on it. I believe Jones can, and will, outmaneuver Shogun and bully him. It's a great fight though.

 

[Troy]

I finally got around to watching a replay of the mainevent and Silva is simply amazing. KO by front kick is just incredible and the guy keeps beating class opponents. I thought that Belfort would be a handful for him but Silva stopped him with ease. I can't wait for Silva vs GSP that is if GSP can beat Shields which I think he can.

Jones put in another great performance and thoroughly deserves his title shot. It will be very difficult for him to step up again just over a month after this fight. I hope that his performance isn't hampered by having such a short turnaround between fights. Should be a good challenge for him and I think that he can do it.

 

[Dademo]

Sorry to bump this guys.

That kick was just amazing. Yet again shows why I love Anderson Silva and he's my favorite fighter ever. I can't believe I even slightly doubted him. This or Hendo was his biggest victory if you ask me, and he successfully added another highlight reel knockout.

If Silva isn't the MMA GOAT, he's definitely in the top 5 again, if you ask me.