Official UFC 110 Fight Thread Nogueira vs. Velasquez Feb 20th

[Blackjack]

Changes pay dividends for ‘new’ Silva
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

SYDNEY – It was a joyful week for Wanderlei Silva, who was given a hero’s welcome everywhere he went in Australia. The Ultimate Fighting Championship star was given a nearly unprecedented standing ovation at the weigh-in for UFC 110, as fans roared their approval and many of them bowed to show him respect.

On Saturday (Sunday in Australia), Silva shed a few tears after defeating Michael Bisping in a tough, highly technical match in the co-main event of UFC 110 before a raucous crowd of 17,431 at Acer Arena.

A last-second knockdown led to the unanimous decision victory for Silva. Bisping won the first round, and Silva took the second. The third was hanging in the balance when Silva knocked down Bisping with one of his patented overhand rights with about 7 seconds left in the fight.

That led to a 29-28 score by all three judges. It also led to an outpouring of emotion for Silva, who had lost five of his last six and then hadn’t fought in eight months after recovering from plastic surgery. He had scar tissue removed from his forehead and had his nose rebuilt so he could breathe better. Because of how many battles he had engaged in, Silva found it difficult to breathe through his nose prior to the surgery.

He dropped to middleweight for the first time and was a much better match size-wise. When it ended, all the pent-up emotion came pouring out.

“In life, we all have bad moments,” Silva said. “Everybody has bad moments, but if you believe in God and work hard, the good moments are going to come.”

Silva went on his losing streak because he kept insisting on throwing caution to the wind and trying to put on the greatest fight in history each time out. He approached a fight like he would a long drive contest, swinging as hard as he could and not worrying about the consequences.

He and Bisping traded nasty words and it seemed almost certain that they would engage in another toe-to-toe slugfest.

“That was a very technical fight and who expected that after all the [expletive] each of them had been talking,” UFC president Dana White said.

Bisping, who was cast as the villain and entered the cage to a chorus of boos, worked behind his jab and used his lateral movement. He didn’t have a mark on him after the fight and didn’t sustain the kind of punishment a Silva opponent nearly takes, win or lose.

Silva nearly choked out Bisping with a guillotine at the end of the second round and then almost knocked him out in the closing seconds of the fight.

“It’s tough to lose it in the final seconds like that,” Bisping said softly.

Silva likely will get a vacation in his native Brazil and then a bout against Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama in his next outing. Silva jokingly begged White to bring the bout to his homeland so he could fight in front of friends and family. White said he may be able to make Silva’s dream come true at some point in the near future. The 2016 Summer Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro, and White said that has increased the UFC’s interest in putting a show in Brazil.

Silva would own the country for the week the fight was in town, but it’s not much different than the reaction he gets everywhere.

He puts so much of himself into every fight that people love him, win or lose.

“There’s losing fights and then there’s losing fights like Wanderlei was losing them,” White said. “He goes out and fights balls to the wall every time. He’s one of the guys who will tell you he’s more interested in putting on a great show than anything else.

“The people love him for it. It’s what happened in boxing with Arturo Gatti. He wasn’t the greatest boxer, but you knew that every time out, he was going to give you everything he had. Wanderlei is the same way.”

It wasn’t close to a Fight of the Night effort on Saturday, but Silva had nothing to apologize for this time around.

“This fight, I wanted it very badly,” he said, beaming. “For a lot of reasons, this meant a lot to me, and I just can’t tell you how pleased and happy I am now because of it.”

[Rip-Hamilton32]

5 for 5 on this card for me

[dbreiden83080]

5 for 5 on this card for me

nice, i didn't do so good..

[dbreiden83080]

Changes pay dividends for ‘new’ Silva
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

SYDNEY – It was a joyful week for Wanderlei Silva, who was given a hero’s welcome everywhere he went in Australia. The Ultimate Fighting Championship star was given a nearly unprecedented standing ovation at the weigh-in for UFC 110, as fans roared their approval and many of them bowed to show him respect.

On Saturday (Sunday in Australia), Silva shed a few tears after defeating Michael Bisping in a tough, highly technical match in the co-main event of UFC 110 before a raucous crowd of 17,431 at Acer Arena.

A last-second knockdown led to the unanimous decision victory for Silva. Bisping won the first round, and Silva took the second. The third was hanging in the balance when Silva knocked down Bisping with one of his patented overhand rights with about 7 seconds left in the fight.

That led to a 29-28 score by all three judges. It also led to an outpouring of emotion for Silva, who had lost five of his last six and then hadn’t fought in eight months after recovering from plastic surgery. He had scar tissue removed from his forehead and had his nose rebuilt so he could breathe better. Because of how many battles he had engaged in, Silva found it difficult to breathe through his nose prior to the surgery.

He dropped to middleweight for the first time and was a much better match size-wise. When it ended, all the pent-up emotion came pouring out.

“In life, we all have bad moments,” Silva said. “Everybody has bad moments, but if you believe in God and work hard, the good moments are going to come.”

Silva went on his losing streak because he kept insisting on throwing caution to the wind and trying to put on the greatest fight in history each time out. He approached a fight like he would a long drive contest, swinging as hard as he could and not worrying about the consequences.

He and Bisping traded nasty words and it seemed almost certain that they would engage in another toe-to-toe slugfest.

“That was a very technical fight and who expected that after all the [expletive] each of them had been talking,” UFC president Dana White said.

Bisping, who was cast as the villain and entered the cage to a chorus of boos, worked behind his jab and used his lateral movement. He didn’t have a mark on him after the fight and didn’t sustain the kind of punishment a Silva opponent nearly takes, win or lose.

Silva nearly choked out Bisping with a guillotine at the end of the second round and then almost knocked him out in the closing seconds of the fight.

“It’s tough to lose it in the final seconds like that,” Bisping said softly.

Silva likely will get a vacation in his native Brazil and then a bout against Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama in his next outing. Silva jokingly begged White to bring the bout to his homeland so he could fight in front of friends and family. White said he may be able to make Silva’s dream come true at some point in the near future. The 2016 Summer Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro, and White said that has increased the UFC’s interest in putting a show in Brazil.

Silva would own the country for the week the fight was in town, but it’s not much different than the reaction he gets everywhere.

He puts so much of himself into every fight that people love him, win or lose.

“There’s losing fights and then there’s losing fights like Wanderlei was losing them,” White said. “He goes out and fights balls to the wall every time. He’s one of the guys who will tell you he’s more interested in putting on a great show than anything else.

“The people love him for it. It’s what happened in boxing with Arturo Gatti. He wasn’t the greatest boxer, but you knew that every time out, he was going to give you everything he had. Wanderlei is the same way.”

It wasn’t close to a Fight of the Night effort on Saturday, but Silva had nothing to apologize for this time around.

“This fight, I wanted it very badly,” he said, beaming. “For a lot of reasons, this meant a lot to me, and I just can’t tell you how pleased and happy I am now because of it.”

Cain do: Velasquez vaults to the top
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

SYDNEY – Dana White couldn’t have scripted UFC 110 any better had he tried.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first show in Australia was a smashing success, and its top prospect gave the UFC president yet another elite heavyweight to throw into the mix.

Cain Velasquez more than lived up to his billing as a potential champion, stopping the nearly unstoppable Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Saturday (Sunday in Australia) in the first round to firmly thrust himself into the heavyweight championship picture before 17,431 stunned fans at Acer Arena.

“I was totally blown away by him,” White said of Velasquez, who knocked Nogueira down with a perfect right-left-right combination and then finished him with five powerful hammer fists on the ground.

It capped a near-perfect night in which the fights were good, the crowd was amazing and the contenders moved into focus.

The only thing that was missing was one of the fighters walking to the cage to Men at Work’s “Down Under.”

The stands were nearly full for the first fight, which started just after noon local time. When Igor Pokrajac walked to the cage to open the show, fans stood in unison and roared at the top of their lungs.

They managed to get even louder when Sydney resident James Te Huna was introduced. He sent them into near-delirium by stopping Pokrajac in the third round.

Another Australian, George Sotiropoulos, also received a hero’s welcome.

“I was blown away at the reception,” Sotiropoulos said.

Sotiropoulos edged Stevenson in a fast-paced match that was spent mostly on the ground and was given Fight of the Night honors. But Velasquez managed to trump even that great fight with his performance against Nogueira.

Nogueira is among the three greatest heavyweight fighters in mixed martial arts history and is renowned for his ability to absorb punishment. He was no match for Velasquez, however, who outboxed him, showed great patience and was ferocious in going for the finish when the opportunity presented.

Velasquez’s coaches preached patience to him and didn’t want him to get ahead of himself or abandon the game plan. But even though Nogueira landed the first punch of the fight and opened a cut on the bridge of his nose that required a few s ches to close, Velasquez didn’t panic.

“He got hit right away and he kept his composure,” said Dave Camarillo, Velasquez’s jiu-jitsu coach. “We were very impressed that he’s now displaying the experience he didn’t have. He’s really showing it, where he didn’t show it in the [UFC 99] fight with [Cheick] Kongo.

“You’re speaking to a true martial artist, and his best weapon is his mind.”

Perhaps, but it doesn’t hurt that he is by far the best-conditioned big man in the game, that he’s highly athletic, strong and unbelievably compe ive.

This is a guy who oozed with potential from the moment he turned professional after a high-profile wrestling career at Arizona State. He faced significant pressure when he was compared to some of the all-time greats upon debuting in the UFC at UFC 83 in 2007 after only two fights.

Velasquez showed something new in every fight, adding depth and breadth to his game each time out. On Saturday, he put it all together in a performance that puts him alongside Shane Carwin and Frank Mir as the primary challengers to champion Brock Lesnar.

Velasquez said he “was kind of surprised” that he was able to put away a legendary figure like Nogueira so quickly and so thoroughly.

“I put a lot of time in, and it felt great to come through after all the time I put into it,” Velasquez said. “Everything is coming together the way I planned. It didn’t come easy. It’s been a lot of hard work, but I felt good about the way it all came together.”

The UFC’s heavyweight division is by far the best it ever has been, which says something about the quality of the newcomers.

In addition to Velasquez, Mir and Carwin, Junior dos Santos always is a quality contender, and dos Santos will be in the championship mix if he defeats Gabriel Gonzaga next month in Broomfield, Colo.

Veteran Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, who put together perhaps his best performance in what thus far has been a lackluster UFC career by stopping late replacement Anthony Perosh, conceded he was impressed by the talent matchmaker Joe Silva has stockpiled in the division.

“The young lions are definitely coming,” Filipovic said. “The heavyweight division is better than it’s ever been.”

White clearly agreed with that. Five years ago, there wasn’t a quality champion and there was no depth.

Now, there are a string of main-event quality fights that can be made and more than a half-dozen legitimate contenders.

“Five years ago, there is no comparison to the way it is now,” White said. “We had nobody like Cain. Nobody. All we had then was Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski and that was it. The division was terrible. It sucked and [Sylvia] and Andrei kept knocking each other out.

“Now, you go down the list and you see guy after guy and you go, ‘He’s the real deal. He’s the real deal. He’s the real deal.’ We’re full of them right now. I can’t wait to see some of these fights. It’s going to be sick.”

The winner of the Mir-Carwin fight at UFC 111 next month is slated to get the next shot at Lesnar. Lesnar is expected to return in either July or August from his bout of diverticulitis, which has sidelined him since last July at UFC 100.

However, if the Mir-Carwin winner isn’t ready, White said the shot instead would go to Velasquez.

Velasquez is a low-key sort who said, “I’m getting better,” when asked what message he sent to Lesnar with his knockout.

But Velasquez clearly is confident. He’ll give up 25 or 30 pounds to Lesnar, as well as a few inches, but he isn’t going to turn down the le shot.

“I’d have to fight a smart fight, and my coaches and I would have to come up with a game plan,” Velasquez said. “Really, with that kind of guy, super big, strong, with a lot of power, it’s going to be a way and you have to keep fighting till the end. You have to tire those big guys out, which is easier said than done.

“But that’s how I’d see me going up against them, trying to get them tired and then edge out the win at the end. But it’s tough.”

It will be tough for Velasquez facing the many massive, athletic men in the division. Have no doubt, though, that he’s a tough match for any of them.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time, but maybe now people will start looking at this kid and realize how good he is,” White said. “I call him ‘The Terminator’ because he never quits. He’s got a lot going for him. He’s going to be tough to beat, man. He really is.”

Nice Articles Black-Jack...

[djohn14]

l think he can challenge Brock right now as well. I would much rather see that fight than Brock pound on Mir again. Mir/Carwin for UFC 111 i am going to that fight, and i really don't want to see the winner get the shot at Brock. If it's Carwin maybe but if Mir wins that fight.. Give the shot to Cain..

I say if Carwin wins, give him the shot, but if Mir wins then give it to Cain. The reason I said Cain needs to learn Jiu Jitsu to challenge Brock is because I think that about every HW. I see nobody beating him unless they make him tap. He's too big and powerful. I think Cain is better than Carwin/Mir, but I think both of them are better matchups against brock due to their ability to make him tap. Especially Carwin who can hold his own striking and wrestling.

[oligarchy]

Thats because they're not the same thing and the two things have completely different histories. The man has pride in where he came from. I don't think that should bother anyone.

That's ing stupid and idiotic, it's the same thing. Brown Pride tattoos have been linked to gang tattoos for a long ass time. There's a whole gang modeled after it and the racisim card is the same. GTFO.

[djohn14]

That's ing stupid and idiotic, it's the same thing. Brown Pride tattoos have been linked to gang tattoos for a long ass time. There's a whole gang modeled after it and the racisim card is the same. GTFO.

Brown Pride/White Power/Black Power....They are all the same. They can be taken both ways...some are gang related and have meanings such as their race is superior, yet other times its just showing pride for your race. It really just depends on the person. It never looks very good, but I dont think Cain is degrading any other race with his tatoo.

[The TroutBum]

Brown Pride/White Power/Black Power....They are all the same. They can be taken both ways...some are gang related and have meanings such as their race is superior, yet other times its just showing pride for your race. It really just depends on the person. It never looks very good, but I dont think Cain is degrading any other race with his tatoo.

Honestly, it's all about the White Mormon Pride. I'm thinking about getting that tattooed on my chest -- what do you guys think?

[dbreiden83080]

Honestly, it's all about the White Mormon Pride. I'm thinking about getting that tattooed on my chest -- what do you guys think?

That's ing stupid and idiotic, it's the same thing. Brown Pride tattoos have been linked to gang tattoos for a long ass time. There's a whole gang modeled after it and the racisim card is the same. GTFO.

These agressive come-backs were on my mind last night but now that i'm a mod i figured i'd scale back the agression..

[djohn14]

White Mormon Pride...lol smartass

[MannyIsGod]

If they're the same why is there no White Entertainment Television? Why is there no White Herritage or History Month? I could list hundreds of other examples.

You may WANT them to be the same and you may feel its reverse racism of some sort but the fact of the matter is that they're not the same and there are brutally obvious reasons why they're not the same.

Anyone offended by a tatoo on a guy is looking for a reason to be offended. You can say its in poor taste but in the end who cares what a grown man decides to tatoo on his chest? In any event, it has nothing to do with any of you and everything to do with what HE is taking pride in. He's talked about it before and its not gang related but related more to where his family came from and a struggle that is strictly limited to brown people.

[MannyIsGod]

Also - if you're going to compre it to ______ Power then maybe you need to look up the definition of the word pride.

[MannyIsGod]

[desflood]

Any and all debate in here shall be restricted to mma-related topics. Politics, religion, race, etc. are excluded.

[djohn14]

If they're the same why is there no White Entertainment Television?

There is no White Entertainment Television because Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would throw a fit.


Oh and PS...I never said it was racist....I dont have a problem with it. It dosent exactly look innocent, but Im sure it is. I could really care less what tatoos a fighter has as long as he fights his heart out and isnt a jackass COUGH*Brock Lesnar*COUGH...and as you can see by my avatar, Im as big a Cain Velasquez fan as your going to find.

[dallaskd]

anyone have a link to where I can watch these? Me and Google don't get along for some reason.

mma-core.com


^^all you need. most fights are posted within 30 min to an hour after the televised card and never get taken down..

[MannyIsGod]

Oh and PS...I never said it was racist....I dont have a problem with it. It dosent exactly look innocent, but Im sure it is. I could really care less what tatoos a fighter has as long as he fights his heart out and isnt a jackass COUGH*Brock Lesnar*COUGH...and as you can see by my avatar, Im as big a Cain Velasquez fan as your going to find.

[dbreiden83080]

Bisping Disagrees With Judges Decision At UFC 110


Michael Bisping suffered his third-career loss on February 20 at UFC 110. He fought a three-round battle with Wanderlei Silva, losing by unanimous decision.

During the UFC 110 post-fight press conference, Bisping told the media he disagreed with the judges decision.

“It was a close fight. Personally I think I won rounds one and two,” Bisping said. “Wanderlei did a great job, full credit to him. Congratulations to him for winning the fight. Personally, apart from the guillotine, and I got dropped in the third round.

Wanderlei is a legend, and I was very proud to be in there with him, but I’m a little disappointed right now. I’m a little annoyed. I don’t come here to put on a good performance, I come here to win. Winning is what’s important.”

Bisping has now lost two of his last three fights.

[oligarchy]

lulz. You really expect him to come out and say something other than "pride" in his "brown-ness?"

At least he can admit he's from a line of dumbass mexicans who came to the country illegally. Pride baby! Pride!

[djohn14]

lulz. You really expect him to come out and say something other than "pride" in his "brown-ness?"

At least he can admit he's from a line of dumbass mexicans who came to the country illegally. Pride baby! Pride!

WHAT THE ! Not Cool Man!

[Stringer_Bell]

Cain has inspired me to get a Rainbow Pride tattoo on my chest, it'll be awesome. I love and respect all the colors of the light spectrum.

4 serious tho, I like the idea that Cain says he didn't have many heroes that looked like him. Yea, race and ethnicity is a real shallow thing to take into account for role models, but growing up in rough times, it's nice to have an example of someone that recognizes that struggle and lived it. That's all I think he's trying to say. Is it the best way to go about it? Probably not, but he's not hurting anyone and last night be beat another brown person so I think he dishes out his violence equally.

Plus, you know the people that interview him are mostly white and they don't take issue with it and he's never a cranky to them. He seems to have a lot of respect for people, which speaks more than some ink he has on him. I understand the double standard though, but that's the curse of being white.

[MannyIsGod]

lulz. You really expect him to come out and say something other than "pride" in his "brown-ness?"

At least he can admit he's from a line of dumbass mexicans who came to the country illegally. Pride baby! Pride!

See its obvious why you don't like the tattoo now. Projection. Cain's not the racist here.

[CubanSucks]

He's talked about it before and its not gang related but related more to where his family came from and a struggle that is strictly limited to brown people.

You're right because at least brown people actually have the chance to make it to America; unlike the starving people in Africa and much of Asia. Look, obviously the guy isn't a racist. He composes himself well and any guy who trains with Jon Fitch and Mike Swick is cool by me. But stop trying to justify this double standard bull . If it were 'white pride' instead of 'white power' I guarentee it would still be the same double standard.

[oligarchy]

See its obvious why you don't like the tattoo now. Projection. Cain's not the racist here.

So, it's racist that I say that he's from a line of dumbass mexicans? Really? Is that what you are trying to say? Maybe you're a dumbass mexican too. Well, not maybe.

[oligarchy]

WHAT THE ! Not Cool Man!

Oh, I'm sorry. Is that not PC? Is his family somehow smart? Oh, I get it. He admitted that his family came here illegally and you consider that smart, since they don't have to pay taxes or contribute to anything, but they sure get to take! I apologize, they are ing genius! There are plenty of people who properly use the system to become a citizen. Give me a ing break. Go cry into your big Cain pillow.