UFC 117 results

UFC 117 went live from Oakland, California on Saturday and it did not disappoint. The UFC and Dana White put together a fantastic card and I will break down the five main bouts of the evening.


Roy Nelson vs. Junior Dos Santos
Decision: Dos Santos-Unanimous decision

Roy Nelson is one tough S.O.B. Nelson has never had the physique that the other UFC fighters do, but who needs that when you got a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, right? Not only is he technically sound but he proved on Saturday that he can take a punch like no one else in this buisness.

Unfortunately for Nelson, Dos Santos also proved something on Saturday night. He proved that he is the number one contender for the heavyweight championship and he proved that by soundly picking apart Nelsons striking defense with an onslaught of never ending fists to the face!

This fight showed me two things: That Roy 'Big Country' Nelson should never be taken lightly and that Junior Dos Santos just might be the real deal. At 6' 4 and 240 lbs, Dos Santos looks primed and ready at the age of 25 to take a shot at either Cain Velasquez or Brock Lesnar. I don't think Dos Santos' age is a detriment at all to his "game", in fact, I believe he can use it to his advantage, as his conditioning and stamina look flawless. For a guy his size he threw punch after punch for three rounds and he looked like he could go another two, no problem. The winner between Lesnar and Velasquez beware, Dos Santos looks scary.

Matt Hughes vs Ricardo Almeida
Decision: Hughes-Submission

Matt Hughes looked extremely impressive when he choked out Brazilian black belt Ricardo Almeida and from a standing position no less. It wasn't just amazing to see a man of Almeida's stature get choked out but it was especially amazing because it came at the hands of a man who some had given up on. Matt Hughes showed that he is back and he is ready to challenge and I really hope he gets one last shot.

With the win Hughes improves to 46-7. Talk about a legend.

Clay Guida vs Rafael Dos Anjos
Decision: Guida-Submission

Clay Guida is flat-out one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC. Watching him let out a giant belch in the corner in-between rounds was priceless. His handling of another Brazilian ( they really could have called the event UFC 117- USA vs Brazil), in Rafael Dos Anjos, was just as impressive as it was fun to watch. Guida caught Dos Anjos with a vicious strike that reportedly broke the Brazilians jaw. But give Dos Anjos credit, he continued to fight. Unfortunately for Dos Anjos, Guida got him on the ground and in a position that saw Guida's shoulder digging into Dos Anjos' broken jaw. Dos Anjos had no choice but to tap. Still, what a tough guy, and what a great fight!

Thiago Alves vs Jon Fitch
Decision: Fitch- Unanimous Decision

Thiago Alves disappointed me. He couldn't cut down his weight in time and it showed. Alves was handled easily by Jon Fitch, who looked great in pulling out a grinding victory. But that's how Fitch fights. It's not flashy but he gets the job done, granted his opponent did not look like he was even in it to begin with. Fitch controlled Alves both along the cage and on the ground and he did it by grabbing onto Alves and not letting go. It's not an exciting win for Fitch but it's not important. He dominated.

Alves' conditioning was terrible. He looked jacked and cut but he was just too slow. He needs to either move up a weight class or cut down on the bench press. Fitch won the first fight between the two and you would think this fight would have more animosity or something but this fight turned out to be the dud of the night.

Main Event: Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva
Decision: Silva-Submission

Chael Sonnen talked a big game before this fight and most fans and MMA experts gave this guy no chance. But wow did he shut us up! Or should I say got us out of our seats! I was in shock when Sonnen first caught Silva with a straight arm shot that sent Silva down, but when he controlled the fight for the following four rounds, I found myself cheering for the guy. I wanted to see the biggest upset in recent MMA history. But Silva is better than that.

Silva, at times, looked uninterested in even trying to avoid Sonnen's onslaught. At times Sonnen would get eight to ten uncontested hits to Silva's face and Silva wouldn't even try to put his hands up and block. But by the end of the fifth round it was Sonnen who was cut and bleeding. While Silva was on his back defending, he caught Sonnen with a tight elbow strike to the eye. And then in the fifth, seemingly out of nowhere, Silva woke up. He managed to get Sonnen in a triangle choke but that failed. He then grabbed a hold of Sonnen's arm and before you know it, it's over! At first I didn't think Sonnen tapped, it happened so quickly. Even Sonnen looked confused by the referee's decision but he did not argue one iota in the post game interview.

Sonnen may not have got the win but he proved he's not just all talk. I look forward to seeing him fight again and soon. Silva narrowly escaped this fight with a win but the great ones always find a way to win, don't they? It might not have been pretty, and he did admit in a post fight interview that he broke a rib four weeks before the fight during training, but Silva still got the victory. Last time I checked, that's all that matters. Bring on Belfort!



Next Blog I'll look more into the Hamilton Tiger Cats situation and if you're not watching the Rogers Cup right now, you missed out! Go Canada!


Picture credit: Google

Going, going, gone?

I don't think I have ever watched a superstar struggle so mightily to reach a milestone then A-Rod has this past week. Scratch that, we're now running onto the second week now. July 22nd was the last time Rodriguez hit a home run and after tonight's 0-3 at bat performance, he has since gone 9 for 46.

Talk about a slump, eh?

Yankees manager Joe Girardi doesn't seem to be bothered by A-Rod's lack of performance.

"It's hard to tell if a guy is pressing," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Right now, he's in a little funk. Like I've said, sometimes these milestones are hard."

Girardi is being nice here and it shows his class as manager, but the truth is that his team just got taken over as the top team in the AL East and believe me, he needs Rodriguez to get going and he needs that much more than he's letting on. This milestone isn't just about Rodriguez making it to 600, it's about kick-starting the Yankees back in the win column and back into the division lead. The Yankees have gone 5-5 in their last ten and are riding a three game losing streak. You would think that the team's troubles don't squarely rest on Rodriguez's shoulders but at the same time you would have to think that once A -Rod hits that 600th home run, and he will, the momentum and overall good feeling in the locker room could give this team that serious momentum boost that they're lacking and we could just as easily be talking about this team riding a five game winning streak in a week.

Once again it all comes back to Rodriguez.

The Tampa Bay Rays got a home run from their own Rodriguez, Sean Rodriguez, in the first inning of their game versus an injured Minnesota Twins team, who I'm sure were very happy to see a returning Mauer get an RBI single in the ninth. This win puts more and more heat on the Yankees' Rodriguez to hit that elusive 600th home run and move this team past this terrible mess.

But could this be viewed as a plus? We all know how athletes love competition, especially competition that carries the same name. Two Rodriguez's, only one can hit the long ball. But, tomorrow's a different day and you got to wonder how long the Blue Jays can hold off this powerful Yankee offense. I suspect Rodriguez and the Yankees won't have to wait too much longer.


Switching sports!

In the hockey world the Chicago Blackhawks are the champions! At least they were. Some say this is the result of the salary cap system ruining a teams chance to sign and keep key marquee players and form the dynasty teams people remember from the past. All of which is complete bullshit. The Blackhawks signed all their key marquee players: Toews, Kane, Seabrook, Keith, and unfortunately Cristobal Huet. This is where the big flaw of the Hawks was exposed, but instead of playing Niemi and hoping the progression of Byfuglien, Ladd, Vertseeg and Bolland goes along as planned, they went and signed Marian Hossa.

Now why the hell would you do that?

It's hard to criticize a team that won the cup, but with Hossa's terrible playoff performance combined with the Hawks' present situation, I'd say it's fair game.

Seriously though, this move was completely unnecessary. Some say that Hossa gave the Hawks the four lines needed to win and I say that Radek Dvorak could have suited that role just as well. You didn't need a 68 million dollar player to win the cup! You had all the right pieces in place you just simply needed to bury Huet just like they're going to do this season. Hossa was straight-up not an impact player. The Hawks spent, what is now precious, cap space on a guy who scored three total playoff goals!

Former GM Dale Tallon has to take the blame rather than the man appointed to fix the mess, Stan Bowman. Not only did Tallon sign Hossa but he also made Brian Campbell the seven-million dollar man he is today. I like Campbell, he's a great defenseman, but he's overpaid.

Couple with these two bad signings with Tallon's inability to meet the RFA deadline, costing the team millions, and you've got the reason why this team is currently dismantling it's roster and this: bad management. It has nothing to do with the cap system. This is an example of poor management and a teams attempt to fix mistakes while still remaining competitive. Here's hoping Turco, Hossa and Campbell find their games together because I still think this team will make the playoffs and ultimately compete. I know it looks bad now, but they've still got four of the best young players in the game.



Tomorrow I chat a little Favre. I refuse to comment today because I still want to hear him say it himself. But this is getting ridiculous, ridiculously hilarious that is! Cheers.




Quote from: Sportsnet
Picture from: Google