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From MMATorch.com UK Scene - Park By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist
Junior Dos Santos was taken to the scorecards for the first time in his career as he saw off the game Roy Nelson to solidify himself as the number one contender in the heavyweight division. John Fitch put on a wrestling clinic to dominate Thiago Alves en route to a unanimous decision while Matt Hughes rolled back the years to submit Ricardo Almeida and take his current run to three straight victories since his 2008 loss to Thiago Alves. There were also big wins for Clay Guida, Stefan Struve, Phil Davis, Johny Hendricks, Tim Boetsch, Rick Story and Dennis Hallman, as the evening climaxed towards the eagerly anticipated Middleweight Title showdown between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. If Anderson Silva is viewed as the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet then Chael Sonnen is without doubt the pound-for-pound best trash talker on earth. Sonnen had his chance to put his money where his mouth is and he took the opportunity with both hands. Chasing down the Brazilian from the first bell, Sonnen was determined to take the fight to Silva, not letting the champion rest for a second. Sonnen caught Silva early and once the challenger got his man to the ground – the showcase began. Chael Sonnen put on a twenty minute exhibition of ground-and-pound, as he dominated the previously untested Silva for the majority of this five-round war. If Dan Henderson gave Anderson Silva problems then Sonnen gave the champion worries he didn’t even know existed. The Californian crowd looked on in disbelief as the big talking politician backed up his words round after round making Anderson Silva look very much like a human being. There were so many occasions in the fourth and fifth rounds that Sonnen left himself wide open for a submission, and with less than two minutes from surrendering his title, Silva threw up the legs and caught Sonnen perfectly in a triangle choke. Sonnen struggled to survive before tapping under the pressure as referee Josh Rosenthal stepped in to stop the fight. The challenger appeared to want to continue the fight but as both fighters were separated the replays clearly showed that Sonnen tapped after dominating the champion for over twenty three minutes. He was so close and yet so far as Anderson Silva executed arguably the best ever come-from-behind victory as he came back from the brink of defeat to retain his title in one of the most dramatic fights in MMA history. ==== UFC UK President Marshall Zelaznik recently hinted to ESPN UK’s Ben Blackmore that a Dan Hardy vs. Thiago Alves matchup could happen in the near future. “Thiago Alves is a bit tied up with Jon Fitch right now, but as I fan I can definitely see it happening and Alves could be in line for Hardy in his next couple of fights,” Zelaznik told ESPN.co.uk during the build up to UFC 117. “Right now Hardy fights Carlos Condit, and I think if you look at Carlos' wins, he ends things by stoppage. These are guys vying for a shot at the title, as are Alves and Fitch, so I can definitely see it playing out in the future.” After Alves lost what was said to be a number one contender fight to Fitch on Saturday, a showdown with Hardy now becomes more than a possibility. However, at the UFC 117 post-fight press conference Dana White was asked about Alves, and his inability to reach the welterweight limit for the second time in his last four UFC bouts. White expressed his desire to see the Brazilian continue his career at middleweight, stating, “[Alves] looked lethargic tonight, he looked slow. He doesn’t belong at 170 - he belongs at 185lbs. It’s bull***t to have guys make weight and have guys not make weight, especially at this level. When you’re in the UFC, your job is to make weight. Everyone else made weight that day, so it wasn’t the scales. He didn’t come in on weight, period. "Believe me, I didn’t think Thiago didn’t want to make weight – He [just simply] can’t. Could he have cut that half a pound? Maybe he couldn’t have. Maybe he cut so much weight that mentally, it would have broke him to go cut that last half a pound and that’s bull***t. I guarantee he can make 185lbs. and he’ll never have a problem at it.” It sounds as if this has been an issue that has been bothering White for some time and the fact Alves gave up 20% of his purse for just half a pound, coupled with his lack-luster performance, may have been as much as White could take before speaking out. With back to back losses to Fitch and the one sided domination suffered at the hands of Georges St. Pierre, there are limited options available to Alves in a division he clearly struggles to cut down to. Before Paul Daley threw his sucker punch at Josh Koscheck, one fight all UK fans wanted to see was Daley vs. Alves. While it looks like we will never see that particular fight, a Hardy vs. Alves showdown is just as appealing and could provide one last hurrah for Alves in the welterweight division. With many UK fans unhappy with the card that has so far been put together for UFC 120, Hardy vs. Alves would likely please the masses as a main event for the UFC’s next trip to this side of the pond in 2011. ==== OTHER NEWS IN BRIEF: -UFC President Dana White has spoken out to reassure UK fans that UFC 120 will be "a great night of fights." White was referring to a large portion fans who have expressed their concern over the card and in particular the choice of Yoshihiro Akiyama to fight Michael Bisping in the main event of the evening. At the UFC 117 post-fight press conference White said, “you can’t say a card sucks... until it’s over. At the end when it’s over, if it sucked, I’ll be the first one to say so.” === -Team Kaobon lightweight, Terry Etim has been forced of the UFC 118 card on August 28. Etim was looking to bounce back from his UFC 112 loss to Rafael Dos Anjos by defeating Joe Lauzon in Boston. After breaking ribs in training last week the Brit had no choice but to withdraw and has now been replaced by TUF 5 contestant Gabe Ruediger who makes his long awaited return to the UFC. === -As Paul “Semtex” Daley continues to be linked with every MMA organisation that isn’t the UFC, one thing appears to have been forgotten is the small affair of his punishment for his post-fight punch on Josh Koscheck. The Quebec Athletic Commission have made Tuesday August 10 the date that Daley will have his hearing. === After a successful start to the promotional tour of UFC 2010: Undisputed; this week is the turn of Sunderland, Sheffield and Birmingham as various UK fighters come out in force. Tickets for UFC 120 are being given out at every city with the remaining tour dates below. 11 August – Sunderland Gamestation, 27 Blandford Street, Sunderland, SR1 3JH From: 5pm -7pm with Ross Pearson 12 August – Sheffield Gamestation, Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield, S9 1ER From: 5pm -7pm with Dan Hardy & Michael Bisping 13 August - Birmingham Gamestation, 138 New Street, Birmingham, B2 4NS From: 5pm -7pm with Dan Hardy & Paul Taylor 19 August - Nottingham GAME, Listergate, Nottingham, NG1 7DE From: 5pm -7pm with Dan Hardy & Michael Bisping 20 August - Liverpool Gamestation, 72 Lord Street, Liverpool, L2 1TL From: 5pm -7pm with Michael Bisping, Paul Kelly & Terry Etim ==== Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans! © Copyright by MMATorch.com |
