Review and analysis of UFC 153
Roar Pro It went exactly as most expected. At the UFC 153 main event last Sunday, reigning middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva took out TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar in the champ’s third outing at light-heavyweight.
Bonnar attempted to use his size advantage by pressing Silva against the cage to impose his will. Nevertheless, Silva controlled every facet of the fight.
At one point, Silva even took time out to calm his corner as he stood with his back to the cage and dared Bonnar to strike – but to no avail.
A sharp knee to Bonnar’s solar plexus quickly ended affairs, with some ground punches serving as a mere formality. The fight was declared over at 4:40 into round one.
What’s next for Silva? Despite all the clamour and talk, both Silva and light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones have refused to fight one another. If Silva chooses to remain at 205lbs, look for him to go up against a top contender as he cements his legacy.
What’s next for Bonnar? After admittedly coming out of semi-retirement prior to this short-notice bout, Bonnar will most likely make his retirement permanent. It’s well-deserved for a man who has always put on entertaining fights and helped to put the sport on the map.
Old-school fans were elated as former PRIDE heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera made a triumphant comeback against Dave Herman in the heavyweight co-headliner.
Noguiera, who suffered a gruesome arm injury against Frank Mir at UFC 140 last December, went back to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu roots in defeating Herman via armbar at 4:31 of round two. The submission win comes on the heels of Herman’s vocal scepticism on the merits of jiu-jitsu.
“I feel so happy, because this man said jiu-jitsu doesn’t work, but jiu-jitsu does work and it’s a Brazilian art,” Nogueira said. “It was a beautiful position. I’m sure that he does practice jiu-jitsu, because he knows how to defend himself.”
What’s next for Noguiera? Brushing aside retirement talks, the active legend has said that he wishes to fight a top-10 contender next.
What’s next for Herman? Some lessons on a jiu-jitsu mat perhaps?
Other main card results:
Glover Texeira def. Fabio Maldonado via doctor’s stoppage after Round two (light-heavyweight). This one was an absolute war, with Texeira surprising the former boxer Maldonado with his punching skills. Credit to Maldonado for absorbing so much punishment yet still holding his own. It’s no wonder that a lot of fighters refuse to fight Texeira.
Jon Fitch def. Erick Silva via unanimous decision (welterweight). There’s still a lot of promise in the 28-year-old Silva – in this fight, he was merely outlasted by a cagey veteran who is used to going the distance. Silva’s first outing in rounds two and three inside the octagon should serve as a lesson for him in the future.
Other results included Phil Davis def. Wagner Prado via anaconda choke in round two (light-heavyweight) and Demian Maia def. Rick Story via neck crank In round one (welterweight).
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The Crowd Says (6) | Page 1 of Comments
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October 17th 2012 @ 2:34am
NF said | October 17th 2012 @ 2:34am | Report comment
Main card was a joy to watch, the prelims left a lot to be desired but were serviceable. Dana needs to pull out every thing he has to make Silva vs Jones it got to happen.
October 17th 2012 @ 7:59am
Jerry said | October 17th 2012 @ 7:59am | Report comment
This Jones/Silva situation is total BS. They’re not training partners, they’re not old friends. There’s no decent reason for them to refuse to fight.
Instead we get crap like Jones v Sonnen in the most undeserved title fight in a long time.
October 17th 2012 @ 11:11am
Ronnie Liddle said | October 17th 2012 @ 11:11am | Report comment
agreed. while sonnen hasn’t done anything to deserve the title fight Sonnen will promote the fight like never before. the trash talking is going to be huge… after a season of TUF, a round of promo interviews. everybody will buy the card. Dana will make $$$ out of that fight.
October 22nd 2012 @ 3:45pm
CBDoggz4lyfe said | October 22nd 2012 @ 3:45pm | Report comment
beg to differ Jerry. Silva took the fight to ensure the card would go on. Also he advised he would was not be staying at this weight as much as we fans would love to see him continue. We fans demand the fight because of the way boxing has been and figthers moving up and down weight classes. MMA is a way different kettle of fish move from say 185 to 205 may not seem as much but when the inches and the actually fight weight on the night get added, the difference then becomes a big factor, why you think GSP is hesitent to move to 185? SIlva would destroy him
October 17th 2012 @ 8:18am
Bill Larkin said | October 17th 2012 @ 8:18am | Report comment
Silva was taking the piss leaning against the cage and waiting for Bonnar to do something. He could have ended the fight at any time.
I really don’t see a Jones v Silva fight happening. The size difference will just be too great.
October 18th 2012 @ 11:04pm
Sam Brown said | October 18th 2012 @ 11:04pm | Report comment
This was an exhibition fight if there every was one, Silva could have stopped it within seconds if he wanted. It is such a pitty Silva and Jones will probably never fight, it almost (almost) smells of shenanigans on Dana White’s part, so one of his two best fighters doesn’t wind up ruining the other’s legacy and therefore his earning potential.
Aside from the main event though, Glover Texeria is shaping up to be a very interesting prospect and I am looking forward to his a potential show down with Jones (assuming Texeria wins his next couple of fights).