Redemption sought, redemption gained. This was the recurring theme heading into the main events at UFC 126, and in several ways it’s exactly what MMA fans got to witness.
The main event featured Anderson Silva defending his middleweight strap against Vitor Belfort. In a rivalry entrenched in broken friendships, professional jealousy and more Portuguese than any translator can handle, the stage was set for all-out warfare.
The fight got off to a surprisingly slow start, as the two Brazilians threw feints and gauged their distance. It was Belfort who struck first with a leg kick, eventually scoring with quick takedown. Silva was back quickly on his feet and the two exchanged back and forth.
At just over the three minute mark, Silva scored with a spectacular left front kick to Belfort’s jaw, knocking the challenger down hard. The two punches that followed were a mere formality, as Silva was declared the winner at 3:25 of the first round.
For Silva, the victory erases the memory of the Chael Sonnen debacle, and cements his standing as the top dog both in the middleweight division and in the pound for pound rankings. For Belfort, the loss sends him right back to contender status, a few more fights away from another title shot.
The co-main event saw two Silva victims duke it out, as Forrest Griffin out-hustled and out-worked Rich Franklin to a split decision victory. Griffin got the advantage early with a takedown in the first, proceeding to ground and pound the smaller Franklin.
The second round saw Franklin get a slight edge in the striking, but two takedowns sealed the deal for Griffin in the third. All in all, the three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Griffin.
The win puts Forrest in line to fight the winner of the Machida-Jackson rematch to earn a title shot, and fortifies his place amidst the top contenders in the light heavyweight division. The victory also further puts to rest his embarrassing loss to Silva. Franklin’s loss sends him further into a potential gatekeeper status in the division.
The other big fight of the night saw the fast-rising Jon Jones guillotine Ryan Bader en route to a surprise title shot against light heavyweight champ ‘Shogun’ Rua. The opportunity came on the heels of Rashad Evans, Jone’s fellow Greg Jackson fighter, injuring his knee in training.
Should Jones be victorious over Rua, it will be interesting to see if he and Evans will break the unspoken rule of MMA training partners and fight one another.
Overall, UFC 126 proved to be a solid, action-packed card. Other fights on the televised card include Jake Ellenberger defeating Carlos Rocha by split decision, and WEC alum Miguel Torres making his UFC debut in a unanimous decision win over Antonio Banuelos.
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