UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar Main Card Recap

Silva finishing Bonnar (photo by MMA Fighting)

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.

Demian Maia vs. Rick Story: Ladies and gentleman, a new title contender at 170 pounds has arrived. Before his drop down to welterweight, Maia was trying way too hard to try and prove his striking improvement. It started to lose him a lot of fights. But since his drop down to 170, Maia has gone back to what earned him a middleweight title shot: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He ran out at Story and took him down instantly. Story tried his best to not be taken down but it was futile, Maia took him back down about three different times. After another attempt at getting to his feet, Maia took his back and sunk in a rear naked choke. Story started to defend well so Maia changed it to a neck crank. Possibly the most painful neck crank that I have ever seen, and that’s saying a lot considering that the neck crank is one of the most painful submissions. He even seemed to make Story’s brains shoot out his nose. Seriously, blood squirted out his nose right before he tapped.

Possible matchups for Maia: As I just said, Maia has become a new title contender at 170. He just easily submitted the guy who beat both Johny Hendricks and Thiago Alves. That surely adds a lot to his stock. Another fighter that also became a new contender in this card after some adversity beforehand is Jon Fitch. The guy looked fantastic at UFC 153 against the extremely hyped Erick Silva. It would show how Fitch could do against one of the best pure grapplers in MMA. It would also show if Maia can take down one of the best wrestlers in the UFC.

Possible matchups for Rick Story: This was a devastating loss for Story. He once had an enormous hype train going but was derailed by both Martin Kampann and Charlie Brenneman. If he wants to stay in the UFC, he desperately needs a win but he still has the skills as a mid-tier welterweight. A man in a somewhat similar position as Story is Erick Silva. Silva’s hype train was thrown off the tracks by Jon Fitch in one of the best fights this year. This fight could definitely produce some fireworks.

Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado: This fight wasn't surprising in the least. Prado comes out to strike but Phil shuts him down with some amazing wrestling. His takedowns were brutal. They knocked the wind out of me just from watching. Eventually about midway through the second round, Phil locked up an ultra tight anaconda choke that made Prado almost instantly tap. Although it doesn't add to his stock, it was an extremely impressive performance and it made me happy to see Phil go back to his wrestling.

Possible matchups for Davis: Shortly after his win over Prado, Vinny Magalhaes tweeted that he would like to fight Phil next. And honestly, I love this fight. It would be an amazing grappling match between two of the best pure grapplers in the UFC. The winner of that fight would deserve a really good, top light heavyweight.

Possible matchups for Prado: With a bizarre UFC record of 0-1 1 NC, Prado is in desperate need of a win. I see potential so I want another difficult challenge for him. Fabio Maldonado is also a fighter who is in desperate need of a win following his loss on Saturday to Glover Teixeira. Also, Dana announced himself that Maldonado was NOT going to be released following this third straight loss.

Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva: Jon Fitch was in a FOTY candidate. And no, there are no typos there. This fight was pure awesome. Silva comes out strong like he does most fights and Fitch seemed ready. He almost took his back but Silva escaped. The first round was mostly Fitch grinding Silva out. The second round was awesome though. They were scrambling a lot in the beginning and Silva landed one of the sneakiest sweeps that I have ever seen. He took Fitch's back and locked in an extremely tight rear naked choke that was seemingly going to end the fight. Fitch is known as one of the guys with the best choke defense, and he showed why. He then turned into Silva's guard and almost locked in a really tight armbar in the closing seconds of the round. The third round was completely different from the two earlier rounds. Fitch took him down and just demolished Silva for five minutes. He completely broke Silva and ended up winning a very impressive unanimous decision win. This as an absolutely devastating loss for Silva but he still showed great promise. He is definitely going to be a future title contender.

Glover Teixeira vs. Fabio Maldonado: The first round of this fight is quite possibly the most one sided beating that I have ever seen in a fight that wasn’t stopped. Teixeira rocked Maldonado almost instantly and mounted him. What followed soon after almost seemed like a live murder. Teixeira landed so much ground and pound that there was probably about five different times that I was yelling at the ref to stop the fight. But with about 30 seconds to go, Maldonado actually rocked Teixeira himself. He landed a solid left hook that stiffened up Teixeira's legs and wobbled him. The second was much of the same as the first but not as brutal. The doctor wisely stopped the fight in between rounds. Maldonado didn't even want the fight stopped. The guy should be nicknamed "The Brazilian Zombie". I think it's pretty fitting.

Possible matchups for Teixeira: Before this fight, Glover was going to fight Rampage. But Rampage got injured a few weeks before hand. Both guys still want the fight and so do the fans.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: I can't even tell you how happy I was that Nogueira submitted Dave Herman. The guy always talks about how BJJ doesn't work, but fortunately, it does. Nog even almost knocked out Herman in the second round. Nog did try multiple submission attempts that didn't work but I believe that he was just simply trying to submit him too quickly. But the weirdest part of this whole fight was how Herman seemingly didn’t even know how to fight. He just stood there for a solid five seconds with his arm out on multiple occasions. It was almost annoying to watch. He just simply isn't UFC caliber. Off to Bellator for him.

Possible matchups for Nogueira: Now, The larger of the Nogueira brothers is clearly on his way to retirement. But he just simply won't lose twice in a row. Now one fight that I really want to see, but it's kind of a stretch, is the third installment of his series of fights with Josh Barnett. Two legends fighting is always fun.

Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar: Bizarre is the perfect word to sum up the four minutes and forty seconds that took place in the main event. Bonnar fought smart and instantly engaged with the middleweight champ. Once they broke, Silva just stood in the same spot with his arms down. Bonnar landed a few punches but Anderson almost dodged them all. Anderson was clearly not trying at all. Bonnar was winning the fight because of this. But the second that Anderson started to "try", he instantly landed a knee to Bonnar's solar plexus and the fight was over. Truly incredible.

Possible matchups for Silva: Near the end of the year at UFC 155, Tim Boestch vs. Chris Weidman will take place. If Michael Bisping doesn't get a title shot after his Brian Stann win, then he should fight the winner of Boestch and Weidman. And the winner of that fight should challenge Anderson.

Possible matchups for Bonnar: Please, PLEASE make Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 3 as a TUF season Dana and Joe. It's all I want.

Main Card Recap here

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.

UFC on FX 3 Predictions

Photo by MMAWeekly.com

Sam's Picks

Main Card

Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson: I am seriously excited for this fight. Their first outing is one of the best fights that I have ever seen and if it weren’t shrouded by controversy, then a majority of the fans would agree. The first round of their first fight was a very close one. McCall scored an early inside trip but eventually Johnson reversed with McCall standing up shortly thereafter. Johnson was landing more shots but McCall once again scored another trip takedown. After they stood up again, Johnson landed a solid hook and hurt McCall but didn’t do anything to really capitalize on it. It could have gone either way but I scored it 10-9 McCall based on his takedowns. The second round was close again. Johnson was the busier striker, like the first, but he was landing more sold shots, though none of them hurting McCall. McCall was not able to score any takedowns this round and due to this, I gave the second round to Johnson, 10-9. The third round was another story. Remember, heading into this flyweight tournament, there was a 4^th sudden victory round incase of a draw. So in this round, McCall came out as the busier fighter. He was landing more combinations and getting better of the exchanges. McCall eventually tied up and did a mini supplex to get the back of Johnson. He was pounding on him for about 15 seconds and eventually Johnson escaped back to his feet. McCall continued to win the standup and repeated the supplex and got his back again. He almost finished the fight but Johnson was saved by the bell. The third round was an easy 10-8 for McCall. Therefore, my score for the fight was 29-27 for McCall, but the commission really dropped the ball on this one. It was supposed to be a majority draw, but instead they announced it as a split decision for Johnson. I said before that it was close but I thought to myself that there is no way that Johnson won that fight. Well, I was right. Johnson didn’t win the fight. Dana White’s worst nightmare came true as the fight was a draw despite the fact that they had the 4^th sudden victory round. So this is why I am excited for this fight. The first was amazing and I would not mind seeing another scrap between these two flyweights. I believe that this fight will be similar but with McCall actually winning this one = McCall by unanimous decision. My 1^st pick for FOTN!

PS: I am now a huge Uncle Creepy fan. One of my favorites!

Charlie Brenneman vs. Erick Silva: Erick Silva is finally taking a step up in competition. And it isn’t an easy one. Brenneman is a very good wrestler with a shocking upset against one of the (at that time) fastest rising prospects in MMA, Rick Story. He took the fight in less than 24-hour notice and dominated the fight. Luckily, he was fighting someone else at the time so he was already prepared. But the one thing that has really been something that has haunted Brenneman is his chin. Both Anthony Johnson and Johny Hendricks have finished him. Silva is a finisher and he is the new thing at WW = Silva by 2^nd round TKO. My pick for KOOTN!

Mike Pyle vs. Josh Neer: BARNBURNER ALERT: It seems that almost every single one of Neer’s fights are always extremely entertaining. This one will most likely be no different with Pyle involved. It will also most likely a close fight, too. Pyle is one of the more underrated and underappreciated fighters at welterweight and this is most likely because of his losses to both Ellenberger and MacDonald. Out of these two, Pyle has fought the better competition and I believe that it will show = Pyle by 3^rd round RNC.

Scott Jorgensen vs. Eddie Wineland: BARNBURNER ALERT: These guys are 135 pounds of excitement. But the sad part about this fight is the fact that it’s the type of fight in which they are both trying to keep themselves relevant at bantamweight. Wineland was the first bantamweight champ in the WEC and Jorgensen has always been right around that area in the title talks. Hopefully neither of them will be cut if hey lose because they never fail to put on a good fight, plus they both have had some tough competition in their UFC careers. I see this fight being close in the standup but with Jorgensen edging him out with being a busier striker = Jorgensen by unanimous decision. My 2^nd pick for FOTN!

Prelims

Leonard Garcia vs. Matt Grice = Grice by 2^nd round submission.

Mike Pierce vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha = Pierce by split decision.

Seth Baczynski vs. Lance Benoist = Baczynski by 3^rd round submission (choke).

Dustin Pague vs. Jared Papazian = Papazian by 1^st round TKO. My 3^rd pick for FOTN!

Tim Means vs. Justin Salas = Means by 3^rd round TKO. (Our exclusive interview with Means here)

Caio Magalhaes vs. Buddy Roberts = Magalhaes by split decision.

Bernardo Magalhaes vs. Henry Martinez = Martinez by unanimous decision.

Jake Hecht vs. Sean Pierson = Hecht by 2^nd round TKO.

Dave's Picks

Main Card

Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall: Well, we got a repeat of a fight of the year candidate. Now, most people complained about the outcome because people thought McCall won (I thought he did too) but if it results in these two fighting again, then how can you be upset?! I am so pumped for this fight. When it comes to predicting the fight you obviously have to use their first fight to help determine who might win. Johnson did catch McCall a few times with solid punches but for the most part McCall dictated where the fight went and dominated on the ground. McCall now knows exactly what he needs to do and I think Johnson will not be able to fix that much in order to win. McCall literally did whatever he wanted on the ground and if he can repeat that he can win. If McCall fights smart and outwrestles Johnson then he takes this. = McCall by unanimous decision. My Pick for Fight of the Night!

Charlie Brenneman vs. Erick Silva: This fight is the hardest one to pick for me. Charlie Brenneman is a legit fighter with good wrestling and control. Brenneman has way more experience on the big stage and has been successful going 4-2 and even defeating Rick Story on short notice. Silva on the other hand, has been too good. He has won 2 times (yeah, I am counting the Prater fight as a win) in 1 minute and 9 seconds. Now both of those guys are not as good as Brenneman but Silva has beaten some serious competition in Brazil. This fight is hard to pick because I haven’t seen enough of Silva but man is he a killer! That should be his nickname: “The Killer”. The dude goes out to finish people. I think this will be Silva’s chance to show the world that he is ready to go to an elite level. If Silva is able to destroy Brenneman, then the sky is the limit and we could see him fighting for the title one day. = Silva by TKO in round 2. My Pick for KO of the Night!

Josh Neer vs. Mike Pyle: Now both these guys are pretty similar. They are long time vets with good ground games. However, Pyle has just been facing, and for the most part defeating, a higher level of competition. Pyle has recently beat Funch, Almeida and destroyed John Hathaway. Neer has recently defeated Duane Ludwig, Keith Wisnieski and Blas Avena. Not even close. But don’t get me wrong. Neer is a very dangerous fighter who can beat almost anyone if he is on. But I see this fight going Pyle’s way. It won’t be one-sided but Pyle should take this one. = Pyle by unanimous decision.

Scott Jorgensen vs. Eddie Wineland: What a great way to start off the main card! I am a huge Scotty Jorgensen fan. I love watching him fight and I have met him three times and he is a super cool and chill dude. This fight might be close they; are both wrestlers with good standup. However, I see Jorgensen being able to dictate the pace and where the fight goes. They are both in their prime and anything is possible in this one but I am going with the guy who has the more refined skills. = Jorgensen by unanimous decision.

Prelims

Leonard Garcia vs. Matt Grice: Garcia by unanimous decision.

Mike Pierce vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: Pierce by split decision.

Seth Baczynski vs. Lance Benoist: Baczynski by submission in round 1. My Pick for Submission of the Night!

Dustin Pague vs. Jared Papazian: Papazian by unanimous decision.

Tim Means vs. Justin Salas: Means by TKO in round 2. (Our exclusive interview with Means here)

Caio Magalhaes vs. Buddy Roberts: Roberts by unanimous decision.

Bernardo Magalhaes vs. Henry Martinez: Bernardo by split decision.

Jake Hecht vs. Sean Pierson: Hecht by split decision.