Edson Barboza(10-0 MMA) recently solved Terry Etim’s(15-4 MMA) sleeping disorder at UFC 142, by introducing him to heal therapy. Barboza’s spinning heel kick landed squarely across Etim’s jaw, instantly forcing his limp body to fall dramatically. like a fallen tree.
As the crowd watched in shock, the referee dove to protect the unconscious fighter. In his native Brazil, initial shock briefly staved off Barboza’s celebration. However soon, the young fighter was in tears as he celebrated in his native tongue!
The knockout overshadowed a very good performance by Terry Etim. The three rounds leading up to the knockout were very entertaining, and the UFC acknowledged that by awarding the bout “Fight of the Night” honors. For their efforts each fighter was awarded a $65,000 bonus. Barboza, also earned another $65,000 with the flashy “Knockout of the Night” bonus. The payday was by far the young Brazilian’s largest to date. The attention has already put Barboza’s name in mouths of pundits as a possible contender for the 155 lb title.
Barboza has a very rough road ahead, before he can be ready for those expectations. The lightweight division, is by far the UFC’s deepest division, regarding talent. With fighters such as Renan Berao, Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz, Benson Henderson already underneath champion Frankie Edgar, Barboza’s success is still not assured.
In order to make it to the elite ranks in the lightweight division, Edson Barboza will most likely have to face a fighter such as: Joe Lauzon, Thiago Tavares, Sam Stout, or even Melvin Guillard or Jim Miller. If Barboza can show his striking prowess against fighters of this caliber, then it will be time to start putting expectations on time-lines. Until then, just make sure to tune in for his fights, because they are usually exciting.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has always been one of the toughest men in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Last night he improved on that legend. After being locked up in a kimura, by Frank Mir, Noguera rolled three times, instead of tapping, in order to find a way out of the hold. He was rewarded with a spiral fracture of the arm that will probably cause his retirement. Some times, tapping is the best options.”If your gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough”
A behind the scenes look at UFC 140, an event that featured one of the best fights in Mixed Martial Arts history. Very interesting to see the fighters immediately following the fights. Dana White offers the fans a glimpse behind the curtain, to show just what goes into these events.
Maurico ‘Shogun’ Rua hardly looks like himself, as he wears the dents from Henderson’s knuckles.
Jason Mayhem Miller, claims if this fight stays standing, that he will knock out Michael Bisping. A bold claim considering Bisping has the clear advantage in most experts eyes, as far as striking goes. However, Bisping would be wise to give respect to Miller’s improved Muay Thai striking.
Bisping’s punching power is well known, and is the primary reason for The Count’s current three fight win streak. However, he still has not been able to shake the specter of Dan Henderson’s right hand. The vicious knockout is still replayed often, and always mentioned in the same breathe when Bisping;s name is mentioned. The stigma is unfair, especially in a sport that that see’s very few go undefeated.
Jason Miller is going to have to utilize his muay thai, to close the distance. Then he will look to bring the fight to the mat, where his superior jujitsu will give him a decisive advantage. Bisping will have to keep his distance, utilizing his jab. His superior boxing skills, and knockout power will only be effective with space.
There are many fighters in the UFC, very few who have given as much effort as ‘The American Psycho’ Stephan Bonner. His fights are consistently entertaining, and his efforts against Forrest Griffin, Mark Coleman, Krzyztof Soszynski, Rashad Evans, and many others have placed him among the fan favorites in the light heavyweight division.
Two years ago, Bonner was riding a losing streak that saw his stock in the division at an all time low. However, his recent three fight win streak has placed Bonner back in the divisional mix. His latest victory was his most impressive. Although the fight ended in a decision, Bonner dominated up-and coming light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury. Utilizing his tenacious ground game, set up by strikes, Bonner smothered Kingsbury, almost submitting him on several occasions.
Since his victory at UFC 139 over Kingsbury, speculation had Quinton Jackson as his next opponent. However Jackson has recently been inked to fight in Japan at UFC 144 against Ryan Bader, leaving Bonner in limbo.
Solution:
The perfect fight scenario would be a bought with Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Both fighters posses incredible jujitsu, and are equally paired with there boxing skills. Both fighter have tremendous hearts, and their efforts would surely be a fight of the night candidate. Rua, coming off his decision loss to Dan Henderson would be the perfect fit for Stephan Bonner.
UFC 139 featured one of the greatest fights, in Mixed Martial Arts History. Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua displayed tremendous heart, and beat the hell out of each other for 25 minutes. A see-saw like fight, that saw each fighter grab hold of the momentum. For the first two and half rounds, Henderson periodically punished Rua, with vicious right hands, and almost had the fight finished.
Rua was battered and extremely bloodied, however he was far from finished. The fourth and fifth rounds saw the fight momentum swing. A obviously tired Henderson ate several strategic strikes from the clinch, and saw Rua dominate in both positions (on the ground, and standing).
Both fighters gave every ounce of effort, and the judges decision narrowly gave Henderson the victory.
Urijiah Faber looked dominant claiming his next title fight, with a surprisingly one-sided submission victory over former WEC title holder Brian Bowles. From the opening bell Faber overwhelmed Bowles with his striking, and take-downs. The fight ended after a barrage of strikes put Bowles to the ground. Faber followed, grabbed a hold of a choke, then rolled over Bowles, forcing the tap at 1:27 of the second round. Faber is now the clear number one contender and will fight Dominick Cruz again for the Bantamweight Title.
Wanderlei Silva put retirement talks on hold at least for now, with a decisive win over Cung Le. The Brazilian veteran used effective spacing, to counter the versatile attacks of Le. However early in the first round Le landed a stunning spinning back fist to the jaw of Silva, that briefly staggered him. After that, it was all Silva. Towards the end of the fight, Silva closed in on a tired Le. Against the cage, Silva grabbed a plum clinch and began delivering reconstructive knees to a battered Cung Le’s face. Once dropped, Le tried to grab a hold of Silva’s leg, as he ate multiple hammer-fists to the face. The fight ended at 4:49 of the second round.
The fight card results as following:
Dan Henderson def. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) Wanderlei Silva def. Cung Le via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 4:49 Urijah Faber def. Brian Bowles via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:27 Martin Kampmann def. Rick Story via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) Stephan Bonnar def. Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-27) Ryan Bader def. Jason Brilz via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:17 Michael McDonald def. Alex Soto via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:56 Chris Weidman def. Tom Lawlor via technical submission (D’arce choke) – Round 1, 2:07 Gleison Tibau def. Rafael dos Anjos via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) Miguel Torres def. Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Seth Baczynski def. Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 0:42 Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:52
The Clinch Report Performers of the night: Dan Henderson, Mauricio Rua, Stephan Bonner, and Urijah Faber.
By Jonathan King Dan Henderson (28-8 MMA) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-5 MMA)
The most powerful right hand in the light heavyweight division, hangs off the end of Dan Henderson’s arm. However, it is the combination of skills, that makes him lethal at this division. Most prolific fighters at the age of 41, seem to be winding down their careers. Henderson apparently has been drinking from the same well as Randy Couture. He actually seems to get better with age. Henderson possesses world-class wrestling skills, combined with sleep inducing striking. His precision right hand knockout of Michael Bisping in 2009 is still being replayed today. After leaving the UFC for Strikeforce,Henderson continued his winning ways, capturing the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title following his knockout of Rafael Calvacante. Then he entered the realm of immortality in the sport of MMA with an upset knockout of heavyweight Fedor Emelianeko. In 36 career fights Henderson has never been knocked out.
Mauricio Rua, is the Brazilian version of Dan Henderson. He possesses some of the best jujitsu in the division, but also has dynamite in both of his hands. Shogun can snap bones with his vicious leg kicks, or he can utilize the clinch to punish his victims with crushing knees. After losing the title to Jon Jones, Rua has returned to form as evident with his first round knockout of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 in August, avenging an earlier loss. A fight that saw a much improved Rua, who seemed more agile, and quicker than Griffin. Rua will look to utilize good movement and leg kicks to avoid Henderson’s take-downs. Rua will try to keep this fight standing, utilizing in and out movement and capitalizing on distance.
Prediction:Henderson via KO RD.2
Cung Le (7-1 MMA) vs. Wanderlei Silva (33-11 MMA)
After an undefeated career as a kickboxer, Cung Le has since compiled a 7-1 record in MMA. His most notable win was his middleweight championship bout with Frank Shamrock. After a fantastic kicking display, Shamrock was unable to continue having sustained a broken arm, defending Le’s onslaught. That evening Cung Le won the Strikeforce title. His spinning back-kick is legendary, and his powerful strikes work faster than Ambien. After vacating his Strikeforce title to pursue acting, Le is now looking to make his Octagon debut.
Wanderlei Silva is an icon in the sport of mixed martial arts. Entering the fight having been knocked out in 4 of his last 8 fights, his retirement seemed eminent. However, Brazilian is is looking to slug out just one more bit of relevance. The free swinging Silva is still a threat to anyone at 205 lbs, let along anyone at 185lbs, so even at this stage he is quite dangerous. Silva will have to get close to Le, where he can utilize his savage muay thai clinch, that has created a highlight reel of knockouts caused by knees, and elbows. Silva, is also particularly ferocious exiting the clinch, with his fierce free swinging hooks.
Predictions: Le via KO RD.2
Brian Bowles (10-1 MMA) vs. Urijah Faber (25-5 MMA)
Brian Bowles is entering his third UFC fight looking to continue his winning streak. The former WEC Bantamweight champion is an accomplished wrestler, with incredible striking. His rabid fire punches have overwhelmed fighters such as Marcus Galvao and Miguel Torres. However, his wrestling has also led to slick submission victories as well. A win over Urijah Faber will land Bowles a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Title.
Once again Urijah Faber finds himself fighting another world class mixed martial artist. Having already fought Jose Aldo, Mike Brown(x2), Jens Pulver, Dominick Cruz(x2), Jeff Curran and many others; Faber is not only looking to remain a title contender, he just always seems to be in tough fights. Faber will look to utilize his high energy wrestling, and unorthodox striking to contain the smaller Bowles. If he is able to take Bowles down, he will attempt to pepper the face of his opponent with his thunderous ground and pound.
THE CLINCH REPORT 