UFC 117

[Furd]

Let's hope that Chael can bring it. But I think that he's going to take a beating and lose by submission.

 

Rooting for Roy Nelson, but he's going to lose to Dos Santos.

 

Rootong for Fitch, but Alves is going to beat him.

 

Well, at least Matt Hughes is going down.

[Gopher]

I agree with everything you said (especially rooting for Sonnen), except I think Fitch will win. Great card, though... I haven't purchased a UFC event in a few months, now, but this one is a no-brainer.

[wildcat2334]

on my out the door- awesome card top to bottom

 

Silva is gonna murder that dooscher Chael by whatever he wants, knee, arm bar, rear naked choke. What a moran he is by the way, can't even stand to watch him open his mouth

 

war big country!

 

Fitch Alves is gonna be awesome

[Azazello1313]

Let's hope that Chael can bring it. But I think that he's going to take a beating and lose by submission.

 

instead he dished out a beating and lost by submission. wow.

[theprofessor]

Chael Sonnen walked his talk and absolutely dominated Silva every round with 3 of the rounds probably 10-8 rounds. Unbelieveable ending as Silva wins with a desperate submission. I thought it was interesting how Chael walked into the ring to resounding boo's from the crowd but totally won them over and had the crowd cheering for him at the end. He earned everyone's respect tonight, especially Andersons.

[Furd]

Chael Sonnen walked his talk and absolutely dominated Silva every round with 3 of the rounds probably 10-8 rounds.

 

The official scorecards were 40-34, 40-36 and 40-35. link

 

Sonnen (who has poor submission defense skills) could have just laid on top of Silva for the last two minutes while protecting himself from a submission. He didn't, choosing to work Silva over as he had the entire fight. I'm still not sure if that's an admirable thing.

 

Lesnar will kill dos Santos.

 

On the whole, my UFC prognostications suck, fight in, fight out. Junior should get fitted for the belt right now.

[theprofessor]

on my out the door- awesome card top to bottom

 

Silva is gonna murder that dooscher Chael by whatever he wants, knee, arm bar, rear naked choke. What a moran he is by the way, can't even stand to watch him open his mouth

 

war big country!

 

Fitch Alves is gonna be awesome

 

Couldn't have been more wrong about Chael. Never have we seen an Anderson fight that was even close and last night we watched Chael Sonnen absolutely walk right through and dismantle him. Guy was classy after the fight too, offered no excuses, said he got the "silver". Hope he gets another shot but Anderson will probably be smart to go in another direction.

[I Like Soup]

How could anyone root for Silva these days? The guy is a colossal douchhhhhe for the way he acts in the ring. I don't care how good he is compared to the competition, show some respect for the sport, UFC, your opponent, etc. Goodness I was hoping Sonnen would last the last 1:50 and win that title. When Rogan said "can he start celebrating" I thought what a dumb thing to say. Bam, submission. I hope there is a rematch at some point and Silva gets worked again. It was nice seeing him take a beating. I gotta say though, he can take some shots.

[wildcat2334]

Couldn't have been more wrong about Chael. Never have we seen an Anderson fight that was even close and last night we watched Chael Sonnen absolutely walk right through and dismantle him. Guy was classy after the fight too, offered no excuses, said he got the "silver". Hope he gets another shot but Anderson will probably be smart to go in another direction.

 

gee, ya think? solid Monday am analysis Prof......

 

Chael shocked the hell out of me and everyone else that gave him no chance. I thought he played right into Silva's hands and he fought a great fight

 

a rematch would be awesome and I think it happens

 

I still dislike Chael tho, I think he is a redneck moran who runs his mouth way too much

[theprofessor]

gee, ya think? solid Monday am analysis Prof......

 

Chael shocked the hell out of me and everyone else that gave him no chance. I thought he played right into Silva's hands and he fought a great fight

 

a rematch would be awesome and I think it happens

 

I still dislike Chael tho, I think he is a redneck moran who runs his mouth way too much

 

It's funny I've watched about 6-7 of Chaels fights and never seen him run his mouth like he did before the Silva fight? I thought he was doing it to get Anderson pi**ed off so he would make a mistake and take advantage of it but he simply dominated him for 23 minutes so perhaps it was just a guy very confident in what he could do. I had some doubts going in whether Chael could back up his talk but he did it and you have to give him props for what he did this weekend.

[theprofessor]

I gotta say though, he can take some shots.

I was shocked at the way Anderson took those shots too? It appears that he relaxes his mind and body so much that the blows don't seem to have the impact on him the way they do others. He got his A$$ handed to him for 98% of the fight and he only landed 2 decent blows on Chael, both from his back, yet Chael was the only one that was marked up after the fight? Crazy ....

[Gopher]

I'm not going to say I called it (because I didn't post anything here), but I had been telling friends/family/co-workers for a couple of months that this would be Silva's toughest test yet, and that even though I have been passing on more UFC events than I've been purchasing as of late, this was a must-see event for me. Didn't necessarily think Sonnen would win, but I had seen enough of him to know that he's got wrestling skills that are second to none, and he's simply going to push the pace and not back down to any opponent. Going into the fight, I thought that Chael's style would do one of two things... either provide for a VERY tough/uncomfortable test for Anderson Silva, or get Sonnen knocked out in 30 seconds or less. I was hoping for the former (especially since I had been pumping Sonnen up to nearly anyone I talked to about UFC), but fearing the latter.

 

I'm not going to lie... I wanted Sonnen to win pretty badly on Saturday. I probably haven't been that disappointed in a sporting event outcome since the NFC championship game, to be honest. I do agree that he talks a lot, but I found most of his pre-fight interviews to be somewhat refreshing. At the very least, he's well-spoken and isn't afraid to say what's on his mind, doesn't sound like an idiot (like some of the UFC guys do when they try to hype up their fights), and although he said all along that his plan was to "beat up" Silva, he acknowledged that Silva is a great fighter at the same time. More importantly, he acknowledged that, if the fight forced him to stay standing with Silva, he would lose. I have to give Chael props for at least backing up his talk with his actions in the octagon... He didn't back down for one second. In fact, I almost found myself cringing at how quickly/immediately he forced the action on Saturday... simply throw caution to the wind and engage the opponent.

 

Whether or not his accusation of Silva being a fake/fraud, saying that he actually speaks perfect English (despite using an interpretor every time he's interviewed), has any merit, I don't know. If there is no truth to any of that, I'm not even sure why Sonnen would go there... it's one thing to call someone out, but another to make stuff up about them. My guess is that the truth is somewhere in the middle... Anderson (like a number of Brazilians in the UFC) speaks English well enough to have a conversation off-camera, but simply prefers not to embarass himself in front of millions of people by having to answer interview questions in broken English.

 

After Saturday, it seems that Sonnen's main weakness (besides the obvious submission defense) was his inability to finish the fight. Part of that has to be attributed to Anderson's chin as well, but let's be honest... Chael connected with several pretty good shots in the first (and maybe early second) round, but after that, it was like watching a fight in slow motion. In other words, I know Chael is known for having great cardio, and he might not have been completely "gassed" per se, but he was obviously fatigued enough that most of his punches in the last 2/3 of the fight were nearly harmless. Put it this way, if Dan Henderson or Chuck Liddell gets the opportunity to hit a wide-open opponent like Sonnen did on Saturday, it's game over. Sonnen wore himself out early, and spent the better part of four rounds doing nothing more than aggravating Silva with soft punches, elbows, and even the "ear claps." When it was all said and done, Sonnen looked to be the one who was signifanctly worse for wear, even though he had "beat up" Silva for 20+ minutes.

 

Sonnen is known for relentless pursuit, wearing down his opponent, and in many cases, winning decisions where he basically takes away the will of his opponent. He needs to improve his ability to finish fights, by either TKO or submission. His inability to finish Anderson on Saturday hurt him just as much as his lack of submission defense. Meanwhile, as much as I dislike some of Silva's antics in the cage, particularly in his last 2-3 fights, I have to give him credit... he took WAY more punishment than we've ever seen him take before, never panicked, and seemingly sunk in the triangle to end the fight as though it was what he had been planning the entire time. Almost as though he wanted the fight to go five rounds, just to shut up the people who have criticized him recently. Love him or hate him, he's a TOUGH dude with crazy skills.

 

I joked on Saturday that Silva's blood must be clear.. no matter how many times the guy gets hit, you just don't see him get cut. Meanwhile, he gets in a couple of good shots on Sonnen, and there's blood all over the place.

[Gopher]

By the way, don't take my comments about Chael the wrong way... As much as I thought he would do well, and was hoping he would win, he still impressed me in a big way on Saturday. And, whether or not he had any power left to pack into those punches, he still dominated Silva for four and a half rounds, no question. All I'm saying is that it was quite clear to me that Sonnen wore himself out in that first round, maybe round and a half. Don't get me wrong... Silva was worn down as well, but the wear and tear he took was just as much mental as it was physical. He had no answer for Sonnen taking him to the ground. I think that's what impressed me most about Silva... it was almost as though he realized, halfway through the fight, that there was no way he was going to avoid ending up on his back. So, rather than spending too much energy avoiding the takedowns, he seemed to be content to just let Sonnen wear HIMSELF out, and look for the submission when he got a chance.

 

Sonnen dominated the fight, no doubt. I just found myself hoping/wishing he could put a little more into some of the mid/late round strikes, as it was obvious to me that he was working on fumes at that point (which makes it that much more impressive that he was able to take Silva down repeatedly, despite being obviously exhausted).

[Gopher]

As for the other fights, I think what impressed me most about the entire night was Roy Nelson's chin... THAT guy took an absolute beating. If he actually made an effort to get into some sort of shape, he could be a seriously talented contender, but skills (with little to no cardio) can only get you so far. I agree with what was said about Junior earlier in the thread... he's in trouble if he gets a title shot, but you never know.

 

I don't want to say that Matt Hughes got lucky, but I think Almeida is a better fighter than he showed. Just proves that just like anyone can get "caught" with the right punch, they can also get caught in a submission that they didn't see coming. Hughes was fortunate that he stunned Almeida with that punch early enough in the fight that he was able to get a good "grip" on the submission. Once he locked that thing in (considering he hadn't even broken a real sweat yet), he could have put anybody to sleep.

 

Where does Clay Guida get all of his energy? That guy has to be on something. His fights are always entertaining, though.

 

Love Fitch... similar to Sonnen, in the sense that he just takes the will from his opponent, with his wrestling. Looks like Charles Manson with a haircut.

[theprofessor]

As for the other fights, I think what impressed me most about the entire night was Roy Nelson's chin... THAT guy took an absolute beating. If he actually made an effort to get into some sort of shape, he could be a seriously talented contender, but skills (with little to no cardio) can only get you so far. I agree with what was said about Junior earlier in the thread... he's in trouble if he gets a title shot, but you never know.

 

I don't want to say that Matt Hughes got lucky, but I think Almeida is a better fighter than he showed. Just proves that just like anyone can get "caught" with the right punch, they can also get caught in a submission that they didn't see coming. Hughes was fortunate that he stunned Almeida with that punch early enough in the fight that he was able to get a good "grip" on the submission. Once he locked that thing in (considering he hadn't even broken a real sweat yet), he could have put anybody to sleep.

 

Where does Clay Guida get all of his energy? That guy has to be on something. His fights are always entertaining, though.

 

Love Fitch... similar to Sonnen, in the sense that he just takes the will from his opponent, with his wrestling. Looks like Charles Manson with a haircut.

 

Spot on.

Fitch = Unabomber

[piratesownninjas]

Sonnen (who has poor submission defense skills)

Wrist control wrist control wrist control. These are things they start teaching you as a white belt in bjj. I know that Sonnen had to work on some bjj coming into this fight, and I would imagine it would be sub defense... From that position one of the things you can't allow is wrist control. Silva had it and Sonnen didn't care...

[Puddy]

I couldn't stop looking at the tumor thingy sticking out of Sonnen's side. What the hell is that?

 

Oh and a heckuva card. Last minute decision to purchase it with some neighbors and glad we did.

[Azazello1313]

so silva, for the first time in a long time, looked very human and beatable. but you gotta admit it shows some heart to get your ass kicked for 4.5 rounds, yet hang in there and capitalize completely on the one opportunity you get. he never really seemed demoralized. if nothing else, it helps turn around his image as a guy who showboats, taunts his opponents and doesn't take them seriously, etc. seems like silva loses some tarnish as a nearly unbeatable fighter coming out of that, but maybe gains some cred as a champion.

[no one]

Lesnar will kill dos Santos.

 

I hope not ...

[Furd]

he never really seemed demoralized.

 

It was pretty much that way when Silva was fighting Dan Henderson. Henderson was in top control and throwing some decent elbows. Silva was eating them, but they didn't even irritate him. He looked bored.