Main Card on PPV:
Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (33-5) vs. Chris Weidman (10-0)
Result: Weidman wins via TKO (punches) at 1:18 of round 2 to win the Middleweight Championship.
Chris Weidman shocked the world and he made a lot of people very happy while doing it. Do I think he's a better fighter than Silva for winning this fight? NO!
Silva fought like he has fought on many occasions. He felt he was a lot better than his opponent and this time he finally got caught. Some people think Anderson was fighting stupid but he's been fighting like this for a long time. I guess it's only stupid when you get caught.
I thought Silva was winning the fight prior to getting caught with that punch. I want to see a rematch and think it has to happen. He's the best fighter I've ever seen and he hadn't lost in the UFC prior to this defeat. If he wants a rematch he should get one.
The fans booing after the fight just shows how people jump from one person to another. If he wins this fight they'd be going nuts for him, but because he lost this way he's hated. It was a disrespectful way to fight, but don't just jump on every bandwagon.
I don't really know where either fighter goes from here after this fight. The only thing that makes sense is a rematch. No one should be challenging for the championship at this point because no one's really earned a title shot. I don't understand Silva not wanting to fight for the title. This could mean he's going to drop down and fight St-Pierre or possibly go up after Jones.
Either way congrats to Chris Weidman on becoming the first fighter to defeat Anderson Silva in seven years.
Featherweight: Frankie Edgar (16-4-1) vs. Charles Oliveira (16-4, 1NC)
Result: Edgar wins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27).
How can people not like Frankie Edgar? Edgar looked impressive and was able to get his first win since late 2011. I had him winning all three rounds with him being the most impressive during the third. He was finally starting to connect late in the fight.
Oliveira is a guy that might end up becoming champion in a couple of years. He's only 23 years old and if he works on his cardio and takedown defense he could end up being a force at featherweight. His size is perfect for this weight class as he should have a height and reach advantage over most fighters in the division.
Edgar was able to win this fight with his boxing and takedowns. His takedowns started to worry me though as I thought he was taking the fight to where Oliveira was strongest. Oliveira wasn't able to do too much off of his back so Edgar's decision didn't come back to bite him.
I think Edgar should fight Swanson to determine the number one contender. Both guys looked good tonight and a fight between the two could show which one is more ready for a second chance at the champion. I know Aldo fights "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung next, but I just don't see him losing that fight.
Oliveira should remain in the UFC at this weight class. He needs to work on his takedown defense a good amount before he steps in the Octagon with a wrestler of Edgar's caliber again. I'd like to see him go up against someone in the division with good wrestling skills so that Oliveira could get some practice in defending takedowns.
Middleweight: Tim Kennedy (16-4) vs. Roger Gracie (6-2)
Result: Kennedy wins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Once again a Gracie steps into the Octagon and doesn't come out the victor. I had Kennedy winning this fight 29-28. Kennedy didn't really do too much in the first round so I gave that one to Gracie who controlled more of it.
Neither guy really impressed me, but Gracie really unimpressed me. He looked lost when he was striking, he was too slow, and his cardio was shot midway through the second round. If he wasn't so tall, Kennedy would've probably knocked him out in the third. His height advantage was the best thing he had going for him in this fight.
Kennedy looked alright. I was surprised he wanted to grapple so much. I thought he was a much better striker so why even attempt to grapple with someone with the last name Gracie. He should get a top 15 middleweight in his next bout. I don't think he's top 10 and I'm not sure if he'll ever be a fighter at the top of the division.
Gracie has to move up to light heavyweight in my opinion. He should gain 10 pounds and go up to 205 where he doesn't have to cut as much weight. He's probably cutting 20 pounds to get down to 185 which gassed him a lot. If he only had to cut 10-15 pounds to get to 205 that would suit him much better. If he does go up I'd love to see him fight against Robert Drysdale who has recently joined the UFC.
Middleweight: Mark Munoz (13-3) vs. Tim Boetsch (16-6)
Result: Munoz wins via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28).
Very good performance by Mark Munoz. Had him winning 29-27. Thought Boetsch did a little more than him in the first round but the rest of the fight was all Munoz. Second round I even gave Munoz a 10-8 because he dominated the entire five minutes.
Expected this fight to be much closer than it was, but Munoz just proved to be the much better wrestler. Boetsch just couldn't handle Munoz's wrestling skills at all.
I think Munoz should definitely be on his way up at middleweight now. I would love to see him get a rematch with Yushin Okami if Okami is able to defeat Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Munoz should be able to get by Okami the next time around as he has gotten that much better since the first fight.
I don't really know where Boetsch goes from here. He won his first four fights at middleweight and has now lost two straight. Another loss in a row and he could be on his way out. I'm guessing the UFC gives him a lower level opponent so that he's able to get back on the winning track.
Result: Swanson wins via TKO (punches) at 2:24 of round 3.
Wow that fight was good. I had the fight tied going into the last round with Siver getting the first and Swanson getting the second. Swanson made sure the fight didn't go to the judges scorecards with a very impressive knockout.
I was extremely impressed with Swanson's performance. He didn't let Siver use the spinning kick or get too much of an offense going. The only time Swanson struggled was when he ended up on his back during parts of the first round.
He should definitely be in the consideration for a rematch against Jose Aldo if he gets by the "Zombie" next month. As I mentioned earlier, if the UFC doesn't go that route I think a match-up with Edgar down the road would be a good fight to determine who gets the next title shot.
As for Siver, I think he needs to consider losing some muscle if he's going to stay at featherweight. If he's not going to lose any weight then he should go back up to lightweight because he seemed winded way too early into the fight. After the first round he just didn't seem to have it anymore.
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