UFC Fight Night 14: Thoughts & Commentary
Another UFC Fight Night is in the books and the consensus best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, stepped up a weight class and absolutely demolished James Irvin in devastating fashion. Overall I thought it was a good show, nothing special, but an entertaining show with some good matchups, a crazy submission, and a dominant champion showing the world that not only can he beat the best in his weight class but that he has no problem stepping up in weight to kick some ass there as well. Let’s break it down, shall we?
Anderson Silva took care of business.
And really, that’s what he was supposed to do, right? Maybe it would have benefited the UFC a little more if the fight had lasted longer but they gave America a free dose of the most dominant mixed martial artist in the game right now and he gave them the knockout that everyone was expecting. Other than that, the fight was more or less meaningless. It was used to try and build Silva as a draw as well as compete with Affliction’s card on the same night by putting the consensus #1 fighter in the world on basic cable. As for this win helping solidify Silva’s pound for pound status, I guess you can say that it only helped. But because he cuts so much weight to get down to 185 lbs. and because James Irvin is, well, James Irvin, I don’t put too much stock into it. Now, if Silva were to beat a top level 205 lbs. fighter? Then you might have my attention.
James Irvin underestimated Anderson Silva’s power.
James Irvin talked all week about how he’d faced harder hitters than Silva and how he’d take thirty of Silva’s punches to land ten of his own. I said earlier in the week that underestimating Silva’s power is an extremely bad move because even if the guy doesn’t look like he has devastating power, his technique, his speed, and his accuracy combined allow him to generate a ridiculous amount of power. All it took was one good shot and Irvin crumpled like a piece of tissue paper. Even Mario Yamasaki was stunned, as he let the fight go on maybe hoping that Irvin would be able to come back from that one punch but that’s all it took. One solid punch on the button from Silva will put even the best fighters in the world to sleep. To sleep on Silva’s power and leave your hands down against him is to ask to be napping on the mat soon after.
Brandon Vera will be fine at light heavyweight.
I personally thought Vera looked very good in round one of the fight and looked extremely comfortable at the new weight class. As the fight wore on, however, Vera looked to be tired and it was pretty clear that the weight cut really affected him. Once he perfects the weight cut and gets used to being the bigger guy at the smaller weight class he will be a dominant 205 lbs. fighter. I truly believe that. Tonight certainly wasn’t his best showing but you have to give the fighters some leeway when they drop a weight class and have to deal with cutting weight. Vera never had to cut weight before at heavyweight and cutting weight is a pretty big deal. Once he gets the weight cut down pat, he will shine at light heavyweight.
Frankie Edgar is back on track.
Edgar looked very good tonight against a very tough opponent in Hermes Franca. Edgar looked as if he’s put on some muscle mass and was bigger and stronger than he’s ever been before. The fight tonight reminded me a lot of Edgar’s fight with Mark Bocek except that Franca actually had some pop to his standup. Edgar was able to impose his will with takedowns, defend submissions, land some vicious ground and pound, and protect himself from taking too much damage when Franca would land a big knee or a big punch. This is a very quality win for Edgar and should be a great confident booster that he can hang with some of the best at 155 lbs.
Cain Velasquez emerged as a true heavyweight contender.
On paper, Jake O’Brien was supposed to be Cain Velasquez’s toughest fight to date but it ended up being just as lopsided as Cain’s previous fights. Even Andrei Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, had a tough time with Jake O’Brien. Heath Herring lost to him. Cain Velasquez steamrolled O’Brien and never looked back. This was a very good thing for the UFC tonight. Their heavyweight division is lacking and they should be looking for that sparkplug to light a fire under the division’s ass and make it entertaining again. I believe Velasquez is that sparkplug. If Cain can rack up a couple more victories in the division I don’t think it will be long until we see him competing for the heavyweight strap. If the UFC can build him up as well as Shane Carwin, a fight sometime down the road between those two could be a big time matchup.
Anthony Johnson got robbed, but he might have contributed to his own demise.
Anthony Johnson won that fight against Kevin Burns tonight, ladies and gentlemen. There are no two ways about it. Burns poked him in the eye multiple times, the last time being the most ridiculous as the replay showed Burns’ finger pretty much disappearing into Burns’ orbital socket. That being said, the way that Johnson reacted I think had a lot to do with the way the end of the fight was handled. Had Johnson not fallen down and Burns not jumped on top of him like he was going in for the finish, Mazagatti may not have called it. As it stands it looked as if Mazagatti thought an uppercut landed and that Johnson was crumpling to the mat from taking a big shot. As such, he stepped in to wave it off as a TKO stoppage when in reality it was the fourteenth poke in the eye that caused Johnson to fall down. Had Johnson simply reeled back from the poke and held his eye, he may have been able to either continue, have a point taken away from Burns, or even have had Burns disqualified for the continual eye pokes. Either way, it was an unfortunate turn of events for a fight that was very entertaining and clearly going Johnson’s way to turn out like it did.
C.B. Dollaway’s Peruvian Necktie submission is right up there with some of the best submissions this year.
That submission is right up there with Dustin Hazelett’s transition from a whizzer to an armbar against Josh Burkman as well as Aoki’s reverse gogoplata against Nagata. I doubt that the Peruvian Necktie would work against a higher caliber of fighter but Jesse Taylor fell right into the trap. It was an extremely slick submission by Dollaway and one that I had to rewind a couple times just to enjoy its beauty. Good shit, C.B.
Other notes..
- Rory Markham put himself right up there as a candidate for knockout of the year with his head kick KO of Brodie Farber. That was just sickening.
- The UFC seems to have spent some coin on some new graphics for their broadcasts. The Fight Night logo, the time clock, and the “Tale of the Tape” graphics were all brand new and looked really slick and professional. It’s nice to see the UFC making some changes to their production as it’s something that people like myself have clamored for for a long time.
- “Corner Cam” is great. Between rounds one and two of every fight we got to hear the corners of each fighter. Not only does this give you more insight into the fight but it also means less commercials. In previous broadcasts, during every break between rounds, they were going to commercial. Listening to the corner in between rounds is how MMA should be presented on live television. It adds to the drama. And less commercials is an absolute plus.
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Anderson’s destruction of Irvin lets him hold onto his consensus #1P4P status, because you know that Fedor with this uber-destruction of Silvia (former Champ that Nog and Couture has to break a serious sweat to beat and who beat AA twice), was a much more formidable opponent, no disrespect to Irvin.
The Top 5 P4P
1. AS
2. Fedor
3. GSP
4. BJ Penn
5. Machida
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(Sorry to post twice, I just saw this post and didn’t want it to get lost)
Here is my simple reaction to both of tonight’s cards: stunned. Why? Because the UFC was simply out shinned by someone doing what the UFC does only better at least for tonight. There was blood on the freaking camera !!!!!
More detailed response:
1. Before some of you start crowning Fedor the best P4P, here is question: So your just going to give him that title after ONE performance in a whole year, when really Anderson Silva has been doing it for God knows how long.
2. Let’s also talk about toughness, because yes Fedor is the man in the ring, but can’t we all honestly say that he ran away from the UFC and their competition. Here it is, he has a chance to fight Randy and the rest, and instead chooses to not even sign a contract and fight. This is questionable.
3. Like said previously, ropes sucked in Affliction the way that they sucked in Pride, and seeing the Ref hold onto the ropes doesn’t help the situation.
4. Damn, Affliction is seriously the new WCW of MMA. They literally stole Herb, and Big John, got the UFC announcer’s step brother, and basically got their second best heavyweight for chump change. And this with good directing and matchups, produced a GREAT card. I don’t mean just a good card, but I mean a great card. The announcers weren’t all that good, but they weren’t all that bad either. If Affliction continues then they will get better with practice.
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5. LASTLY, the MMA community has found a great way to fight UFC, by instead of being like UFC be more like WEC, and feature only certain weight classes, particularly heavyweight where the UFC is especially weak. Imagine there being only ONE place to go to watch the top heavyweights, and its not UFC, its Affliction with Fedor.
6. Should we be comparing a PPV with money from the Donald, Fedor’s first fight in a while against arguably the number 3 or 4 best heavyweight, with a free UFC bout on Spike. No we really shouldn’t. But we’ve seen UFC’s best, and frankly this can compete with the UFC’s best production.
7. Dare I say, Randy Couture welcome to Affliction.
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It is silly to lay the blame for Johnson’s loss on his reaction to having a finger shoved halfway into his eye socket. You expect a man to just step back and say, “Ow that hurt” when it had me crying out in pain on the replays.
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I thought this card was pretty entertaining considering they just threw it together.
Vera should be lucky all the fighters that supposedly turned down the fight didn’t step up because he would’ve lost. To his credit the fight was scheduled under short notice and he will be better at 205, much like Bisping has looked better at 185.
Although the Silva/Irvin fight was short lived. The one thing I gathered from it was that Silva seemed more agile at 205. The first straight left he threw that followed with a right hook was really breathtaking. Then the straight right that ended the fight was perfect and he didn’t even throw it with his whole body..
Unreal.. I would love to see him back at 205 against a mid level contender.. Someone like a Jardine..
The Johnson/Burns fight was on pace for Fight of the Night before the stoppage.
Cain Velasquez… Wow… He needs to be pushed towards the upper echelon of the UFC and fighting big name opponents soon. Cain, Shane Carwin, and Brock Lesnar are absolutely VITAL to the future of the UFC HW division. It’s safe to say that Affliction may have the best current crop of HW’s but the UFC might be planning for the future..
Also the rumors of the UFC purchasing the IFL seem to be very true. Lots of IFL talk during the Andy/Vera and Markham/Faber fight along with the footage..
Can’t wait to see Wagney Fabiano and Chris Horodecki fight in the UFC.
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Not a bad show. The Vera fight was slow, but you have to give some credit to Reese Andy because he took absorbed some hard knees and used his strength to help wear Vera down. Problem is, neither fighter did enough damage and it’s safe to assume Andy is not long for the UFC.
Also, the Silva-Irvin fight was unecessary from the beginning and only served to delay his title defense. I know he sells a card like this, but this isn’t the kind of fight anyone wants to see. Just some more flak for the next Ultimate Knockout DVD…
On the positive side:
The Burns-Johnson fight was a great battle right up to the poke. No one wants to win or lose a fight that way, but both fighters deserve a lot of respect for throwing it all on the line and handling an unfortunate situation as well as possible. Though he didn’t deserve the win, Burns has come out of no where to show he’s someone to watch.
I think Markham totally played Farber. He took some hard shots there, but I think he feigned how much danger her was in. Either that or Farber simply underestimated his heart and ability to take a punch. I hope not because it’s certainly not the first time Markham’s pulled a sick KO out of his ass…
CB surprised me with a very impressive transition into a sweet submission. I thought JT had his number, but CB’s athleticism served him well.
The Edgar-Franca fight was solid, but it would have been great to see Frankie finish. Doesn’t take away from a decisive win, though.
Finally, Cain Velasquez looked like an animal. Very impressive technique all around.
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I do agree that Affliction event absolutely dominated this one. That didn’t exactly surprise me considering the strength of the cards, but it definitely left an impression that Affliction has the potential to give the UFC serious competition.
Just think if they came out of no where and stole the IFL out from under Zuffa’s nose… But after tonight I don’t think the UFC can let that happen.
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Anderson Silva is good, but nobody has ever done in the ring what Fedor has done. Fedor is on a different level from every other mma fighter. He is truly a pleasure to watch. I enjoy watching AS, GSP, & BJ, but I’m sorry, guys, nobody does what Fedor does. Whether he is currently p4p is one thing, but I think when it is all said and done, he will be considered the greatest mma fighter of all time, past, present, and future.
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ya, i think the Johnson TKO ruling was pretty lame.. i mean, i didn’t want to see a no contest or anything.. but i think that would’ve been fair.. i mean, it was like.. the 4th eye poke of the fight.. cut the guy some slack..
and the first thing i thought when i saw him just jump back, and yelp in pain.. i thought he had a broken/fractured orbital or something.. i was wincing..
i mean, did anyone see those knees?? i think it’s NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE that Burns’ wasn’t KO’d right then.. each of those knees in sequence were just brutal..
as for Vera, i think he might have pulled a mike swick.. i think this is just a “first-time-at-a-new-weight gassing”.. he’ll be much more prepared the next time around..
here’s what concerned me most [for some reason
]
what’s up with Hermes??
it seems like all you have to do is give him an aggressive wrestler and he’s done for.. HE REALLYYYYYY NEEDS TO CHANGE SOMETHING.. maybe drop to 145 and head over to WEC.. because his gas tank is ridiculous.. he had a few good last attempts like that armbar in the 3rd, and that amazing knee.. but other than that.. he was screwed from the beginning..
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left something out:
[pertaining to Hermes]
for some of the best JJ in the sport, he sure doesn’t utilize it properly.. his ground game is like his stand-up game.. he waits for one BIG shot.. his guard is completely inactive..
i saw many moments where Edgar’s arm was there for the taking, and it’s like hermes didn’t even think about it..
Hermes, i still think you’re one of the best.. you need to work on tuning up your BJJ, and go ahead and work boxing, so you can make those heavy hands work…
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“Another UFC Fight Night is in the books and the consensus best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva”
Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re going to need to have another Census.
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I have always stuck with Fedor being #1 P4P and this just re-affirms it for me. 33 pound weight disadvantage and deals with a 5 time UFC champ as though it’s his first fight. Massively more impresive than Silvas’ outing (which is still very impressive).
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I’ll reserve my judgment concerning comparisons between Affliction and the UFC. How I see it, yes, they do seem to have an impressive heavyweight crop, but unless they have some good talent and depth in other divisions, it won’t last long.
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C.B. Dollaway finally shows why everyone thought he would win TUF. I have to agree I was amazed by that submission, as you don’t really see it very much AT ALL. And it’s not like Coco monkey didn’t show up to fight, as he performed very well. He was simply overpowered by Dollaway’s tactics.
Silva was certainly expected to win, but few expected him to win in such a short time, and via the same outcome that Irvin is known for. One devastating punch in the first round? Amazing….the guy keeps getting better and better.
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Silva has fought and destroyed anyone who has come his way. He has fought 3 times this year alone…
I doubt you could even call fedor vs hong man choi a fight, more like a. Farce
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Silva’s combo of catching the kick/knocking him out was one for the highlight reels. Very cool! While Irvin is not a top tier LHW, he is a good fighter.
Vera showed some excellent skills and should stay at LHW. Having said that, it is time for him to focus more on training and conditioning. Staying at HW was nice in that he did not have to watch what he ate. Last night saw the cut take it’s toll. A little more time on conditioning would have made that cut easier.
Edgar looked amazing. Despite his size, he is a contender at 155. I can’t help but wonder what he will be as his skills evolve beyond the basic GnP of a wrestler.
Cain is a scary man. I thought he would win, but I expected at least two rounds. He destroyed Jake without working up a sweat.
Cain, Carwin and Lesnar make the future of the UFC’s HW division look pretty bright. I would have liked to see them re-sign AA, but such is life. Now if they can pick up a few more solid propects, they should be fine.
It was a solid night, but nothing special. If the bouts they wanted for Vera and Silva had occured, this would have been a much bigger night.
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Jesse was tired and took a huge ILLEGAL knee to the head, should have taken some time, not the smartest guy as we all know. Silva or Fedor? Who cares, just want to see them both fight again soon.
Affliction put on a great card, not the best show. They get a pass for being 1st show, do like the announcers and think they will get better with more time to work together.
Both shows had great fights, I have nevr seen so many good fights in one night, I hope they do this again real soon.
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Brandon vera sucks and if he wasn’t so overconfident he probrably wouldn’t even be in the UFC- does the guy ever throw a punch? Before anyone answers that make sure u look at his past fights. He wants to own the heavyweight and light heavyweight belts? Are you kidding me! Maybe in another organitation.
Where are all those anderson silva haters now who thought irvin had a chance to beat the best fighter in the world? Man did he destroy irvin, that was quite awesome.
Yeah Fedor looked good, but we are talking about his competition still, thats the only thing that keeps him from being better than silva, but they are almost side by side. Silva has the slight advantage.
Anthony Johnson was robbed and should protest.
Rory Markham- WoW
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I think all of the major websites should be making a bigger deal about how bad the Johnson/Burns decision was.
It was embarrassing and there needs to be an outcry.
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#17,
i think YOU should look at his past fights..
everyone immediately starts throwing out disses just because he got a Unanimous Decision on his first fight at a new weight..
just like Mike Swick..
everyone says, ohhhh mike swick sucks, i can’t believe this.. but when you look at his previous fights they’re all KO’s..
it’s the same case for Vera..
the guy gets like 3-4 brutal KO’s in a row..
loses 1 decision to Tim “Cage-humping-scared-of-Vera’s-strikes” Sylvia
and wins a decision over Andy
and now all of a sudden he sucks..
that’s ridiculous..
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He didn’t throw one punch in this fight!
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Ohh, and frank mir is the only guy he beat in the ufc from strikes
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@#20 Huh? He beat Scherner and Eilers with strikes, from his legs to be exact. Give the guy a break, it was his first fight at 205. And he did throw strikes vs Andy.
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Looked like Irvin’s plan was to take all 30 shots from Silva before he fired off his 10. To bad Silva only needed to get to 10.
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#21,
i hate when people don’t do their research..
not only did he end more than one from strikes.. he ended ALL BUT ONE with strikes.. Assuerio Silva was a submission.. other than that.. every victory he had was KO..
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#24, i didn’t say anything about strikes. I said punches strikes with your legs r not punches.
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I actually found the Affliction card quite underwhelming to say the least.
First, the production value of this show was awful. They started the free coverage part way through the second round of the Goodridge/Buentello! You couldn’t hear the discussion in the corners between rounds and there were large gaps in the commentary that just killed the excitement. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the Megadeth crap. The guys I was watching with literally moaned when they came on. This isn’t a concert…let’s see the fights.
Second, except for the AA and Fedor fights, this event was, well, boring. Barnett’s KO was impressive but the fight up to that point was dull and Barnett looked very slow. The Lindland fight was dull as usual and I was disappointed with the Babalu/Whitehead fight.
Third, what was with Michael Buffer? People were commenting that he should be working at a funeral home with his demeanour. He finally put a bit of life into things for the Fedor fight but man, he was awful.
When we flipped to the replay of the Spike broadcast after the PPV, you instantly noticed the change in the excitement level and the improved production value.
Does Affiliction have the best collection of HW talent overall? Probably. But, outside of a few fighters, HWs tend to be a lot slower and less exciting than fighters at other weight classes.
A lot of the guys I was watching with are “casual fans” and I doubt as if any of them will be interested in watching another Affliction card despite the strong showings by AA and Fedor.
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