UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar Prelim Recap

Rony Jason finishing Sam Sicilia

This event that was almost a weak catastrophe went on to become one of the best events in MMA history. From beginning to end this event held fantastic submissions, slugfests, and several “Fight of the Night” performances. The undercard and PPV main card were packed with them. We can only hope that every event is like this.

We also learned two things: Anderson Silva is not a human and Fernando Yamasaki is the worst referee in MMA not named Kim Winslow.

Cristiano Marcello vs. Reza Madadi: After re-watching this fight the second day, there is no doubt in my mind that Madadi won the first two rounds. He staggered Marcello a solid five or six times in the opening two rounds! If that doesn’t win you a round, I don’t know what does. This was a fun standup war, when it really should have been a grappling match. This fight was hometown judging at its worst.

Possible matchups for Marcello: Even though it was a win, a controversial decision such as this one doesn’t exactly help your stock. Another fighter with a low stock but is also coming off of a win is Anton Kuivanen. This could be a fun back and forth grappling match that could show us who is UFC caliber or not.

Possible matchups for Madadi: Reza Madadi is a fun fighter. There is no doubt about that. He always goes for the finish whether it’s on the feet or on the ground. I’m excited to see where he can bring his career in the UFC. Henry Martinez and Daron Cruickshank are fighting later this year of the 5^th Fox card. Madadi should fight the winner of that fight.

Luiz Cane vs. Chris Camozzi: What happened to Luiz Cane? He was once considered the next big thing at 205 but has just absolutely fallen to pieces lately. Throughout this entire fight, Camozzi easily kept him off with the jab en route to a unanimous decision win. The fight wasn’t very good, but it was certainly an impressive performance from the Denver native. This is now Cane’s fourth loss in his last five, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be cut from the promotion.

Possible matchups for Camozzi: With this upset win over a a formerly highly touted prospect, Camozzi also becomes an exciting prospect in the 185 pound division. With a technical standup game and an underrated ground game, Camozzi is ready for a step up in competition. Another one of the more exciting prospects at middleweight is Ronny Markes, who hasn't fought since his fight with Aaron Simpson back in February. The winner between Camozzi and Markes could show a possible new contender.

Sergio Moraes vs. Renee Forte: This wasn't a very good fight. A striker vs. grappler fight with one fighter hardly either one of those. Forte had barely any striking skill and his ground game was nowhere near the match of Sergio Moraes. Forte gave up his back midway through the third and was submitted soon thereafter. This was Forte's UFC debut following TUF, and typically when a fighter loses there debut following TUF, they are released.

Possible matchups for Moraes: Even though his standup abysmal to say the least, but his ground game is masterful. Moraes could go somewhere in te UFC if he plays smart and takes it to the ground as quickly as possible. If he wants to fight a stiff test at 170, Claude Patrick has yet to have his next fight set up.

Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino: Even though it wasn't necessarily against someone who had a name, this was a huge win for Brandao. Gambino is a highly touted prospect fighting out of Tristar and Brandao easily ran through him, but Gambino showed an amazing chin and heart from the opening moments of this fight. Brandao clipped him with a head kick just a few seconds into the first round. The rest of the fight was much of the same. On several occasions, Brandao dropped Gambino with both punches and kicks en route to a unanimous decision win. With two very decisive losses under the UFC banner in a row, Gambino will most likely be released.

Possible matchups for Brandao: Now that the TUF 14 winner has received his first post-TUF win, Brandao is going to be looking for a step up in competition. The mid-tier level of the UFC's featherweight division is very stacked. Lots of former contenders and future contenders looking to make their way up the ranks. One of those former contenders is Manny Gamburyan. A fight between the former and the latter would be a great fight for two guys looking to get a crack at the top-10.

Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo: Before I start to talk about this fight itself, I want to know how in the world that either of these guys can make it down to 155 pounds. They both look like middleweights, and have the strength of one. Anyway, this fight was the most surprising on the topic of entertainment. This was an awesome fight. The first round was close but Tibau definitely won. The second round was a completely different story. Trinaldo rocked Tibau and quickly took his back like a monkey. He had a rear naked choke in that I thought for sure would finish the fight, but nope, Tibau showed both heart and excellent submission defense. But once he got out of the submission, Trinaldo started to unload on him with ground and pound. I actually thought it was a clear 10-8 round for Francisco but the judges thought otherwise. Tibau came out strong in the third and ended up with a 29-28 unanimous decision win across the board.

Possible matchups for Tibau: This has been the second prospect in a row for Gleison. The guy is an elite lightweight in many people's opinion. I think it's time for him step back up and fight stiffer competition, despite the fact that he lost one and the other was very close. Jamie Varner is coming off of the FOTY candidate with Joe Lauzon and is looking to get back in there. These two could definitely put on a show.

Possible matchups for Trinaldo: The fact that he almost defeated a guy like Tibau in only his second showing in the UFC leads me to believe that he can definitely accomplish a lot in the sport of MMA. I think he should continue fighting guys who are right in between high to mid-tier at 155. Terry Etim has yet to come back from his injury and it would be an exciting fight between two lightweight prospects.

Rony Jason vs. Sam Sicilia: The first ever TUF Brazil winner came in with a lot of hype at UFC 147 and he didn’t live up to any of it despite winning a unanimous decision. But this fight showed the reason he had the hype in the first place. His standup looked a lot better in this fight. It wasn’t as wild as his UFC debut. Not only did he look better but he also put on an awesome fight. This was a back and forth slugfest and Jason eventually dropped Sicilia in the second round. It was huge win for him and I can't wait to see who the UFC gives him next.

Possible matchups for Jason: Speaking of who the UFC should give Jason next, I want to see him fight a really hard opponent. A similar fighter who is a also a young Brazilian and future contender is Charles Oliveira. How awesome would this fight be?

Possible matchups for Sicilia: With this TKO loss and his last win being very unimpressive, if he loses again, I see a pink slip forthcoming. Cody McKenzie is also a fighter on the brink of receiving a pink slip and these two should fight in a loser goes home fight.

UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar Predictions

Sam’s Picks

Main Card

Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar: Well, this could very well be the strangest matchup in the history of the modern day UFC. The best of all time against a massive underachiever. My prediction is quite obvious but I want to talk about Bonnar's chances in winning this fight. Silva shouldn't underestimate Bonnar in any way, shape, or form. Bonnar has a lot of power that can knock anyone out at 205 pounds. He also has very underrated grappling skills that if he can back Anderson up, he could possibly take him down. Do I see any of this happening? No, I don't. But I don’t see Anderson knocking him out either = Silva via unanimous decision. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman: People are saying that Nogueira's career is over and done with. I think he's almost there, but not quite yet. Sure, he got submitted for the first time in his last fight with Mir, but Nogueira almost knocked him out. He dropped him and started to rain down some ground and pound. Herb Dean yelled at him to not hit the back of the head so be went for the guillotine that lost him the fight. His boxing looked fantastic in that fight and Herman has a very questionable chin. Nogueira will rock him, take his back and submit him = Nogueira via 1st round submission (RNC). My pick for SOTN!

Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado: BARNBURNER ALERT - Believe it or not, but this is the fight that I am looking forward to the most. Teixeira is one of the most promising fighters in the UFC today and Maldonado has been in three straight Fight of the Night performances. Maldonado has also been screwed out of two decisions in a row against Igor Pokrajac and Kyle Kingsbury. This fight is going to be an absolute slugfest. Teixeira has the clear ground advantage but the standup is a toss up. Teixeira has the power and Maldonado has the technique. Now I understand why Teixeira is such a favorite heading into this but Maldonado is really being counted out in this fight when he shouldn’t be. He could make a career in the UFC for being so entertaining and showing lots of boxing mastery. But with that being said, Teixeira is going to win this fight in a standup war. This is going to steal the show = Teixeira via unanimous decision. My 1st pick for FOTN!

Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva: I am extremely excited for this fight and it's for one reason and one reason only: to see what Erick Silva can do against a true elite welterweight. His three performances thus far have been complete domination from beginning to end. But the competition in those fights weren't anywhere near the level of competition that Fitch brings. Fitch is a wrestling powerhouse. Dominating almost all of his fights with his smothering grappling style. And he gets a bad rep from that. I don't think a guy who finds what works best for him and becomes a top guy should change his fighting style just because people say, “BOO”. But he recently said that he has realized that entertainment earns title shots more, and sadly, he's right. But the fact that he said that kind of scares me. I have a bad feeling that he is going to try and make it a scrap and not do what he does best. Silva will destroy him in the standup if he decides to keep it there. But the safe pick is to go with Fitch and not the welterweight phenom = Fitch via unanimous decision.

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado: The last fight was bizarre to say the least. Prado was continuously backing Davis up until Phil accidentally threw out a finger and took out a chunk of Prado's eye (not literally) and let me tell you, Prado turned into the incredible hulk when the ref decided to call off the fight. Going into that fight, I didn't give Prado even the slightest chance. I thought Phil would take him down and submit him or smother him for three rounds. Prado started to look really solid before the inadvertent eye poke. I could see him upsetting Davis, but right now, Davis is just way more well rounded when it comes to the ground. I don’t see a submission, but I do see him going for a takedown whenever Prado starts to find his range = Davis via unanimous decision.

Demian Maia vs. Rick Story: Even though Maia’s welterweight debut ended rather abruptly, he still impressed me with the fact that he instantly engaged, trying to go for the takedown. Story has looked awful lately. Hopefully he has changed since his last three performances but if he hasn’t, expect a poor performance. I see a similar fight to Maia’s welterweight debut: instant engagement on the fence, trip takedown, mount, but then a submission = Maia via 1^st round submission.

Rony Jason vs. Sam Sicilia = Jason via unanimous decision. My 2^nd pick for FOTN!

Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo = Tibau via split decision.

Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino = Brandao via 1^st round KO. My pick for KOOTN!

Renee Forte vs. Sergio Moraes = Moraes via 3^rd round split decision.

Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane = Cane via split decision.

Reza Madadi vs. Cristiano Marcello = Marcello via 2^nd round submission.

Dave’s Picks

Main Card

Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar: This easily the most lopsided fight ever put together in the Zuffa era. Don’t get me wrong I love and have much respect for Bonnar but Silva is the best fighter to ever live. The only hope Bonnar has is that Silva takes him lightly and Bonnar sneaks in with a big overhand. Silva has taken opponents he deemed unworthy lightly and put on bad performances; like against Demian Maia and Thales Leites. But in all seriousness this will be a beat-down and no one will be surprised. = Silva by TKO in round 2. My Pick for Fight of the Night! My Pick for KO of the Night!

Dave Herman vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: This is such a strange fight to me. But it should be a fun one. Big Nog is one of my favorites and has looked great in his last few fights. He is coming off a long layoff after breaking his arm but I think he is ready to go. If Nog is healthy, he should win this fight with more technical striking and a much better ground game. Herman leaves his hands low and Nog does have the power to knock Herman out. Nog has struggled with lanky guys in the past but I think Herman just is not talented enough to win this. = Nog by TKO in round 2.

Fabio Maldonado vs. Glover Teixeira: Fabio has some good boxing but lacks real KO power. Glover, on the other hand, has some massive power. Fabio might have the better technique but he hasn’t looked great lately. Yea, he had a case to say he won against Igor but even still, he looked mediocre. Glover looked fantastic in his debut and the big stage did not seem to faze him at all. I think Glover will land more of the big punches and might be able to finish Fabio. = Glover by unanimous decision.

Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva: Silva is a beast and has looked like a killer. Fitch is coming off of a devastating 12 second KO at the hands of Johny Hendricks. Silva is fast and has much better striking than Hendricks. If Fitch comes out slow, which is possible due to his long layoff, then he will get blitzed into a coma. But if Fitch comes out and fights like he normally does, he will win because Silva will not be able to handle Fitch’s smothering wrestling style. However, the kicker is that Fitch has stated that he can no longer fight like that because only exciting guys get big fights and more money. If Fitch comes out swinging then he will be eating fists all night. This is a hard one because it is based solely on what style Fitch decides to fight with. But I’m going to go with what I believe is safest which is the AKA wrestling machine. = Fitch by unanimous decision.

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado: This is a rematch to their very disappointing match back in August. Prado came out strong and was landing early but then Davis practically ripped Prado’s eye out and the bout was called a No Contest. Many people will probably pick Prado based on how the first fight went. But that was only 1 minute and 28 seconds. Davis is an amazing fighter but his standup needs a ton of work. But I think he learned in the first fight that he can’t stand with Prado and should be able to outwrestle him. However, if Davis stays standing he will most likely be KO’d. But I think Davis is smart enough and will execute the best game plan possible. = Davis by unanimous decision.

Demian Maia vs. Rick Story: This is an interesting fight. Maia’s career has been so up and down recently but his last fight he looked like the Maia of old. He came out strong and took Kim down so hard it cracked a rib. It was short but was a glimpse of what is to come…hopefully. But Story has not looked all that great recently. He had a great run for a while but got crushed two times in a row and then outwrestled a guy that is nowhere near Maia’s level of grappling. Maia will have the advantage on the ground for sure but as long as Story keeps it standing or is in top control he may be OK. Maia’s BJJ is much better when he is on top; which will be hard to do because Story will be the one doing the takedowns. But I think Maia can come out hungry and get the win by out grappling Story. = Maia by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Rony "Jason" Mariano Bezerra vs. Sam Sicilia: Jason by submission in round 2. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo: Tibau by unanimous decision.

Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino: Brandao by TKO in round 1.

Renee Forte vs. Sergio Moraes: Moraes by unanimous decision.

Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane: Cane by split decision

Reza Madadi vs. Cristiano Marcello: Marcello by split decision.

CR Exclusive Interview with Isaac Vallie-Flagg

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

On May 19^th of this year, Isaac Vallie-Flagg burst onto the MMA scene with a split decision victory over Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, which proved as one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far. The Jackson’s MMA product came into the bout while many viewed him as a stepping-stone for the former DREAM lightweight star. 

He changed that after 15 minutes of an amazing fight.

Although JZ clearly won the first round, Vallie-Flagg came back to win the second two rounds on two of the judges scorecards, many journalists, and us at CR.

Isaac is looking to continue his hot 10-0-1 streak as he will be fighting Adriano Martins on September 29^th. And we got an interview with him on this upcoming fight.

Championship Rounds: So your next fight is with Adriano Martins at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy. Talk about this fight, how has training camp been going?

Isaac Vallie-Flagg: I’m excited for my fight with Adriano. He is another tough dude and a real test! Even though people haven’t heard of him, he is legit.

Training camp is going well, I spent my first bit of it with Cub Swanson and his boxing coaches, Joel Diaz and Antonio Diaz working on some stuff. Now I’m in Albuquerque training at Jackson’s with my great team and then going to Gracie Barra in New Mexico with some real beast jiu-jitsu guys.

CR: How do you envision the fight going?

IVF: I envision the fight like this: we are both going to punch each other in the face several times (laughs). This fight honestly could go anywhere but I want to dictate where it goes.

CR: You pulled off a huge upset against Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante in your last fight. How does the underdog status affect you?

IVF: I love being the underdog. I fight better when I’m the underdog. I have been the underdog my entire career and it feels good to prove people wrong.

CR: Your fight with JZ was a barnburner, what was your mentality going into that fight?

IVF: I am a fan of JZ. I knew how tough he is and what he is capable of. I knew I was just as capable and had better conditioning so my mentality was to push this dude hard for 3 rounds no matter where the fight goes, just attack. And it ended up being an entertaining fight from what I saw.

CR: After beating a big name like JZ, where do you believe you stand in the lightweight title picture in Strikeforce?

IVF: You know, I hope my name is getting thrown around to compete for a Strikeforce belt sometime, but the task at hand is beating Adriano, so that is what I’m focused on.

CR: Most people scored the fight for you, 29-28. What was going through your head when they announced the 29-28 score for JZ?

IVF: I really felt like I should have gotten the unanimous decision over JZ. He won round 1 for sure but 2 and 3 were mine, but that is judging for you. You never want to leave it in judge’s hands if you can avoid it

CR: What is it like training at Jackson’s MMA with so many champions? Who are your training partners most of the time?

IVF: Training at Jackson’s is great. Our talent pool speaks for itself. My main training partners are usually everybody; I like to get looks from every person in the gym. It’s a huge benefit to have so many guys and girls that are top caliber fighters. I would like to name drop more but I would have to put a huge list of big names as well as some super talented up and comers.

CR: Are there any names that we should keep an eye on fighting out of Jackson’s MMA that we might not know?

IVF: Guys you should keep an eye out for at Jackson’s are Rustam Habilov, Hunter Tucker, Landon Vannata, Clint Roberts, and Nick Urso: the Jackson 5. Oh, also there is this guy Cub Swanson that you should for sure keep an eye on (laughs).

CR: Who’s Cub Swanson?

IVF: Eh, just some dude that looks like Diego Brandao.

Thanks again to Isaac Vallie-Flagg for the great interview. He’s a great guy with a charismatic personality, he also just happens to also be one of the best up and comers in MMA.

Go follow him on Twitter @ikevallieflagg and watch his fight on September 29^th!