UFC 146 was one of the best cards I've seen while being a fan of MMA. 5 fights, all Heavyweights, 5 finishes. Here's the breakdown:
To start off the 100% Heavyweight main card,
Stefan Struve and
Lavar Johnson squared off. The game plan was clear for each fighter. For Johnson, it was to keep it standing, and for Struve, to get it to the ground. The fight began up against the fence, but fortunately for Struve, the fight was soon brought down into his territory and based on Lavar's past experience on the ground, many knew the end of the bout was soon to come. after 1:05 of the first round, Struve locked in an armbar, submitting Johnson and earning the victory.
The second fight of the night featured two undefeated HW up an comers
Stipe Miocic and
Shane Del Rosario. The majority of this bout was held on the feet, with each fighter showing a sufficient offense. As time progressed, Miocic was starting to show his superior striking. The fight was brought to the ground after Del Rosario was battered on the feet, and at 3:14 of the second round, Miocic finished Del Rosario on the ground with vicious elbows, winning via TKO.
The next bout featured TUF 10 Winner
Roy Nelson and
Dave Herman. This HW clash was short-lived, as Dave Herman was unable to keep his distance effectively. Ultimately, Herman couldn't avoid Nelson's huge overhand right, and found him self on the mat just 51 seconds into the opening frame, giving Roy Nelson the KO victory.
In the co-main event, former HW champ
Cain Velasquez squared off against former Strikeforce contender
Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. Some were worried for Cain, as they believed Bigfoot's overwhelming size would be a problem for him, as it was for
Fedor Emelianenko. Unfortunately for Silva, those people were mistaken. In the first minute of the very first round, Cain caught one of Bigfoot's kicks, and swiftly brought him to the ground. From there, the fight was basically over. Cain caught Bigfoot with a vicious elbow, with was followed by a huge amount of blood loss from Bigfoot. After a couple minutes of beating the living piss out of Bigfoot's bloodied face, the fight was finally stopped at 3:36, declaring Cain Velasquez the victor via TKO.
In the main event, champ
Junior Dos Santos defended his title against
Frank Mir. The opening frame of the fight took place on the feet, as Mir was frustrated by JDS's takedown defense, as all of his takedown attempts were stuffed by the champ. From there, many felt that since Mir couldn't get the fight to the ground, that it was just a matter of time before he would succumb to JDS's superior striking. Many were correct, as after testing the waters for about a round and a half, JDS rocked Mir on the feet, and eventually finished him at 3:04 of round 2.
Some prelim results:
- HW prospect
Glover Teixeira made quick work of
Kyle Kingsbury, submitting him at 1:53 of round 1
- Triangle choke specialist
Paul Sass defeated
Jacob Volkmann via submission with a triangle armbar at 1:54 of round one.
-
Dan Hardy FINALLY won after four straight loses, defeating
Duane Ludwig via KO at 3:51 of round 1 (wicked happy for the dude, seriously)
-
C.B. Dollaway defeated
Jason "Mayhem" Miller via unanimous decision after a lame fight. After a poor showing by Mayhem, he retired from MMA.
-
Jamie Varner pulls off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory as he defeated LW contender
Edson Barboza via TKO at 3:23 of round 1.
-
Darren Elkins defeated TUF 14 FW winner
Diego Brandao via unanimous decision.
All in all, UFC 146 was a fantastic card.
Standings:
Alex: 65 points
Shawn: 57 points
Jon: 56 points
Vinny: 52 points
Joe: 51 points
