UFC 149 - Faber vs. Barão Breakdown

UFC 149 has undoubtedly reiterated the fact unexpected injuries are an inevitable aspect of Mixed Martial Arts. 

 

The upcoming Calgary, Alberta event will be headlined by an interim bantamweight bout between Urijah “The Calfornia Kid” Faber (26-5-0) and Renan Barão (28-1-0, 1NC). Following his submission win over Brian Bowles at UFC 139, Faber was scheduled to fight fellow Ultimate Fighter Coach Dominick Cruz (19-1-0) in a rubber match. Unfortunately the bantamweight champion was bit by the recently active UFC injury bug, and tore his ACL, consequently forcing him to drop out of the scheduled bout. 

 

As always the UFC made efforts to repair the card, this time by introducing Brazilian Renan Barão into the main event mix, and in my opinion, rightfully so. Although Barão is new to the spotlight, there’s no doubt he is dangerous. Riding a 28-fight win streak, including victories over the likes of Cole Escovedo, Brad Pickett, and most recently, Scott Jorgensen, there’s no doubt Barão will look to solidify his spot as a top contender in the UFC’s bantamweight division. With a sole loss coming from his professional debut in 2005, Renan remains a mystery that has long-gone unsolved. As a member of Brazil’s Nova União, Barão has trained alongside fellow teammate UFC featherweight champion José Aldo. Aldo, who earned a unanimous decision victory over Faber at WEC 48, has played a critical role in preparing Barão for this bout as his mentor. 

 

Come July 21st at the Scotiabank Saddledome “The California Kid” will look to solve the mystery and bring Barão’s win streak to a halt. Faber, a former WEC featherweight champion who successfully defended his title five times, is no stranger to main event pressure. Unsuccessful in his last four title bouts, Faber will aim to prove he is still a credible force in the bantamweight division worthy of a trilogy match against current champion Dominick Cruz. 

 

With the match set and the interim title on the line, let’s break it down. 

 

Striking

Faber possesses good boxing skills, lightning-fast strikes, and has displayed progressive improvement in the striking department. In his UFC 132 match against Cruz, Faber consistently put Cruz on his back with counter strikes. 

 

With a Muay Thai kickboxing approach, Barão’s striking is far more unorthodox and versatile. Often incorporating explosive knees and kicks into his stand up game Barão has proven to be a credible striker. As seen in Faber’s fight against José Aldo, Barão’s leg kicks can easily become a deciding factor in this bout. 

 

With a longer reach and well-rounded striking I’d give the advantage to Barão. 

 

Wrestling

I think Faber is one of the best wrestlers in the bantamweight division and in the UFC. Wrestling since the eighth grade, Faber, a collegiate-level wrestler, undoubtedly has the advantage in this aspect of the fight. I wouldn’t be surprised if Faber aims to neutralize Barão’s striking advantage with takedowns followed by ground control. Barão’s takedown defence will be a crucial element in deciding how advantageous Faber’s wrestling skill-set will be for him.

Ground Game

Both fighters have proven to be among the top submission artists in the bantamweight division. Barão holds 13 professional wins via varying submissions, while Faber holds 14 submission victories predominantly via guillotine and rear naked choke.

Despite a close number in submission victories I’d give the advantage to Barão. While Faber holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Barão’s training is extensive in comparison. Barão received his black belt in BJJ from Nova União co-founder and head coach, André Pederneiras. Pederneiras, a black belt in BJJ under the late grandmaster Carlson Gracie, has also trained the likes of José Aldo and BJ Penn. 

 

Although Faber holds a brown belt in BJJ and has experience facing BJJ black belts I’d give the advantage to Barão. Faber should utilize his counter wrestling to avoid giving Barão control on the ground, or it could cost him the fight.

 

My Pick 

 

Tough call... It’s hard to predict whether or not Barão will succumb to main event pressure, a state Urijah Faber is all the more used to. With that said, I still believe Barão possesses a skill-set which can overcome Faber earning him the interim title.

 

Renan Barão 

 

Come this Saturday two very skillful fighters will look to prove they are worthy of a chance to capture the gold. This is a bout you don’t want to miss.

UFC 148 - Did It Live Up to the Hype ?

 

It’s no secret that UFC 148 headlined by a rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen was one of the most highly anticipated events in MMA/UFC history. With Silva showing uncharacteristic signs of lost composure made obvious by his shoulder shot to the neck/chin of Sonnen at the weigh-ins, it seemed the American Gangster's words had finally secured him a spot under the champion’s skin. With an increased outward showing of animosity between the two fighters, many die-hards and casual fans alike were intrigued by this rivalry and how it would settle come July 7^th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 

 

Featured on the card as the co-main event was a rubber match between newly-inducted Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. This trilogy match was made especially meaningful after Ortiz announced this match-up would be the last of his 15-year career.

 

The remainder of the card featured the following four match-ups:

Cung Le vs. Patrick Côté

Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar

 

We are now left with the question: 

 

Did UFC 148 live up to the hype?

 

If you’re not bored enough to read below, I’ll cut to the chase right here and answer with a No. If you want to know why just keep on reading (keep in mind I am well aware not everyone will agree with my opinion). 

 

I don’t want to focus too much on the first four bouts, but I will say that of the four, the most memorable finish came from Chad Mendes in his bout against Ultimate Fighter alum Cody McKenzie. After just 31 seconds into the bout Mendes was able to capitalize on a damaging body shot and earn a TKO victory. To me however, this outcome really means nothing.  As soon as I heard of this match-up I couldn’t help but wonder if everyone saw it the way I did, an obvious mismatch. I mean no disrespect to McKenzie but where is the logic in matching Mendes, a top-contender who most recently faced sole-reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo, with McKenzie, who in my opinion, has hardly proved to be among the elite of his division.  I wish I could have a conversation with Joe Silva about that one, but moving on...

 

The remaining three bouts leading up to the co-main event went as follows:

Mike Easton def Ivan Menjivar via UD

Demian Maia def Dong Hyun Kim via TKO (injury)

Cung Le def Patrick Côté via UD

 

In my opinion the match-ups leading up to the co-main event were fairly mediocre. I'm not saying that only PPV events comprised of match-ups between top contenders are worth the buy, in fact some of the most exciting bouts I've seen have come from fighters who are not considered "big names" on the UFC's roster. I just think with UFC 148 undoubtedly being an event which drew in many views these fights did not meet a standard which would encourage casual fans to follow the UFC roster more closely. This of course would not be much of a hindrance so long as the main event delivered, I'll speak on that later though.

 

Following Cung Le’s win it was now time for Tito Ortiz to fight in the octagon for the last time. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the fight itself, I think whether or not you agree with the judges’ decision in awarding Griffin a unanimous decision is a matter of how you score fights (e.g doing damage vs. scoring points). While it wasn’t the most exciting fight and in some ways representative of old-age, I will say Ortiz showed a lot of heart and deserves to leave the UFC with his head held high.

 

The fight, however, is not really what I want to discuss. If you watched the fight you know exactly what I'm talking about: 

 

“Run, Forrest, Run!”

 

Following the bout Griffin decided it would be a great time to take a stroll outside of the octagon. The camera proceeded to follow Griffin as he walked away from the octagon, while Dana White instructed him (I’m sure with a few F-bombs) to get back inside. Griffin has said he had every intention to come back in, he was just feeling emotional. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Griffin continued with his antics ruining an otherwise historic UFC moment. He proceeded in grabbing commentator Joe Rogan’s mic and conducting his own post-fight interview with Ortiz. Ortiz appeared rightfully perturbed. Griffin has since publicly apologized to Ortiz on Twitter.

 

In my opinion even if you are not a die-hard Ortiz fan, you can agree that he deserved a lot more respect than he was given. I think Griffin’s behaviour could have easily been perceived as inappropriate following a bout against any fighter. The fact it was Ortiz’s last fight however, made the behaviour much more appalling. I think being the last opponent of an iconic fighter should’ve instilled some respect and a sense of honour into Griffin. For him to say he acted on his emotions sounds ridiculous considering the fact Ortiz must’ve been feeling emotionally overwhelmed in comparison: his last fight and he lost. 

 

With all that said I wish Tito the best of luck with his future endeavours and hopefully Joe Rogan can have him on his podcast for a real interview. 

 

It was now time for the moment we had all been waiting for, a rematch between long-reigning middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the self-proclaimed undefeated people’s champion Chael Sonnen.

 

After a first round reminiscent of Chael’s dominant rounds the first match, it seemed Sonnen had an, although not very exciting, effective strategy. Successfully executed takedowns, top control, and minimally damaging ground-and-pound scored the first in his favour. 

 

Following the first round of action the cameras focused on Silva and his cornermen. A translator repeated words in English as said by a man in Silva's corner which went as follows:

 

"Breath now you're warmed up. Let's start the fight now. Now we're starting the fight. Pay attention he hasn't done anything. Pay attention now. He has no chance of winning."

 

As if these words had instilled a new confidence into Silva, like he hadn't just been dominated for an entire round, a much different Silva showed up in round two.

 

After stuffing multiple takedown attempts, it was a poorly executed spinning backfist which landed Sonnen on the floor, that enabled Silva to land a devastating knee to Sonnen's chest eventually leading to a TKO victory. 

 

Sonnen acted as if he had been watching too many Jon Jones highlight reels, and it cost him the fight. 

 

The belt was once again tied around Silva's waste, Sonnen was invited to a barbeque, and Silva left the octagon with mentor Steven Seagal by his side. Everything was back to normal.

 

What I Liked

 

Let me start by talking about what I did like about the fight, just so I don't seem like a complete pessimist:

 

I like that it ended fast. Had we been dragged through multiple rounds of Sonnen lying on top of Silva, doing no serious damage, only to lose in the fifth round or earn a decision I would have fewer good things to say about this bout.

 

I like that Sonnen lost in a way which is a threat to his character. Following his initial loss to Silva, Sonnen maintained his character despite submitting to a triangle armbar. He did this primarily by speaking negatively of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu associating the sport with homo-sexuality and weakness. This time Sonnen will have no opportunity to do so. I am eager to see how Sonnen attempts to maintain his character following his second loss. 

 

Why I Feel It Did Not Live Up to the Hype

 

As a Silva fan I can't say I did not enjoy the fight. The range of emotion had me on the edge of my sofa seat, especially with Sonnen's domination in the first round. Emotion however, to me is not a good indicator of whether or not an event delivered. 

 

Rather than focusing on my emotional subjective experience of this fight, I'd like to adopt a more objective perspective. I think objectivity is crucial in reviewing this bout, as many casual UFC fans who may not be emotionally connected to either fighter, were watching solely for the fight itself. 

 

The UFC prides itself on having a roster full of the best MMA fighters in the world. I think showcasing this point is crucial for the UFC to be successful in further expanding the sport. After a rather uneventful first round and a poorly executed spinning backfist which eventually lead to a win, I don't feel Silva vs. Sonnen II showcased this point or lived up to the hype.

 

(P.S If you read this all you deserve a prize).

 

 

 

UFC 148 Sketch - Team Anderson Silva