UFC 153 - A Fan's Reaction

     If you were fortunate enough to watch tonight’s UFC 153 event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil I am almost certain you would agree the card delivered. Once in a while the MMA Gods bless us with a UFC pay-per-view that reminds us exactly why we love this sport, and UFC 153 qualifies as one those events.

     Although I do believe the television preliminaries alone delivered, my rant below focuses solely on the six fights which beautifully composed the main card.

 

MAIA vs. STORY

     Although Demian Maia is commonly credited as one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the UFC, he has not won via submission since 2009. After a successful welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim, Maia looked to further solidify a spot in the welterweight rankings, which is exactly what he did tonight. Story, a skilled wrestler with credible stand-up, was unable to stop Maia from putting him on his back, allowing Maia to gift us with a first-round rear-naked choke submission. The Brazilian’s first submission win after years in front of his home crowd served as a beautiful start to the main card.

DAVIS vs. PRADO

     Although their first meeting ended in a no-contest after an unintentional eye poke suffered by Prado, Davis made certain their second meeting was entirely different. Davis, a NCAA Division I national champion, finished the bout with a beautifully executed anaconda choke in the second round. As someone who favours the anaconda choke in the realm of submissions, have to say I loved this finish.

 

SILVA vs. FITCH  

     As always, boring Fitch jokes were going strong on Twitter prior to this bout. Since 2007 Jon Fitch has been in nine bouts which have ended via decision. This changed at UFC 141, when Fitch succumbed to a knockout punch thrown by Johny Hendricks, giving him his most recent loss.  Tonight Fitch looked to prove he is still among the top contenders in the welterweight division in a bout against Brazilian prodigy Erick Silva. Silva, who had a lot of hype surrounding him coming into this bout, is widely regarded as a future top contender in the welterweight division. This bout was either going to add fuel to the fast rising Brazilian’s hype-train, or allow Fitch to make a statement, tonight the latter happened. Although this fight ended in a unanimous decision, it was undoubtedly an exciting bout. Fitch once again displayed his credible submission defense, landed good strikes, and also utilized his always notable octagon control. Congratulations to Fitch, and I look forward to seeing Erick Silva back in the octagon. 

 

 TEIXEIRA vs. MALDONADO

     When speaking of recent hype trains it is hard not to think of Glover Teixeira, and by the looks of it, this hype train is not slowing down anytime soon. In one of the most one-sided bouts I have ever seen, Teixeira consistently landed vicious strikes, most notably a few minutes of damaging ground and pound in the first round prior to a failed arm triangle attempt. Battered Maldonado was able to land a few notable strikes and even rock Glover late in the first round. The bout eventually ended with a doctor stoppage in round two. Although I agree with the stoppage, I must give credit to Maldonado for surviving the extensive punishment as long as he did and even landing notable strikes in the midst of it. What did I learn from this bout? 1) Glover is well-deserving of his hype-train and is a credible threat at light heavyweight & 2) Maldonado is one tough warrior if I’ve ever seen one.

HERMAN vs. NOGUEIRA

     A meeting between Dave Herman and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (I love saying that) served as the co-main event. Herman, leading up to this bout, was very expressive about his doubts in Jiu-Jitsu stating that “Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t work”. Nogueira, among the most skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the UFC, proved Herman wrong. Reminding us of the danger posed by a credible BJJ skill-set, Nogueira won via armbar in the second round. With wins over Brendan Schaub and Dave Herman, Nogueira has proven to still be a threat in the heavyweight division.

 

SILVA vs. BONNAR

     Alright, let’s admit it, when this fight was announced a lot of UFC fans were either confused or disappointed. Silva, undefeated in the UFC, agreed to move up to 205 to salvage an otherwise injury ridden event, with a bout against “The American Psycho”, Stephan Bonnar. While this fight wasn’t the most appealing on paper, Silva reminded fight fans exactly why he is regarded as the greatest of all time. In the early minutes of the first round Silva toyed with Bonnar by purposely staying close to the fence, often with his hands down inviting Bonnar to hit him while remaining undamaged, dodging hits and impressively maintaining control when he had to. Late in the first Silva landed a damaging knee sending Bonnar to the ground, followed by punches calling for a referee stoppage ending the fight with 20 seconds left in the first round. Silva again displayed his always exciting to watch dominance with preciseness, power, and all-around control consequently becoming 16-0 in the UFC.

     If this fight did anything it’s strengthen our wishes that a fight between Jon Jones and Anderson Silva was in the foreseeable future. 

      After Silva’s hand was raised the camera’s focused on an emotional hug between Anderson and the also victorious Nogueira, which was a great closing image to this amazing Brazil event.

     What did you think of the event? What are some matches you’d like to see given these results? Feel free to comment below! (P.s: If you read this far, or read at all, I appreciate it.)