Brandon Vera returns after being cut from the UFC for 54 days

It looks like our boy, "The Truth", is back in action.  UFC 125 saw Brandon Vera getting smashed by Thiago Silva and the bout left with an awkwardly broken nose and the humiliation of getting bitch-slapped and having his back beat on like a Filipino Dabakan drum.  After the bout, Vera went 7-6 with this having been his third loss in a row and UFC had to cut him.  Articles floated around saying how Vera has lost it and how his slow decline has been a waste of amazing potential ever since he destroyed Frank Mir back in 2006.

I felt really sorry for this guy ever since he got robbed by Randy Couture, got his face fractured by Jon Jones, and then got humiliated by Thiago Silva.  When is he going to get a break already?  Well, the UFC gave him one and decided to let him go.

It turns out however, Thiago Silva's drug test is in question after the fight and is being re-tested.  Chances are that Silva has taken some PEDs and Vera spoke out during interviews:


"I remember when I was underneath him and I was pushing him back and forth. I was thinking, ‘What the hell? Why is this guy so damn strong?’ And I remember thinking during the fight, ‘Yo, I gotta start lifting weights again.’ He was one of, if not the strongest dudes I ever rolled with in my life. Strong b******."

Now according to MMAjunkie, it looks like our boy is back with the UFC, and they are changing his last lost to a no-contest.  That would put Vera's UFC record at 11-6-1 NC.  He's finally got a big break! Good for him! Now feed him some cans so he can look good and marketable again and keep him away from top 10's for a few fights!

Strikeforce 31: Results from the Quarter-final of Strikeforce's Heavyweight Grand Prix

(awesome photo from Esther Lin, taken from Neal Taflinger's post on FIGHT! magazine news)

Fedor falls from grace.  Wow...just a year ago, this guy was considered not only the no.1 best fighter in the world over Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre in the pound-for-pound rankings, he was actually considered to be INVINCIBLE.  Now he's got decisive back-to-back losses via submission and TKO.  Who'd have thought Bigfoot Silva would have won? I sure as hell didn't.  I still think Bigfoot Silva is an average fighter, even after his destruction of the Last Emperor.

Check out Fedor's smashed pizza-looking face by the end of the referee stoppage:

Man, I am now so disappointed that the chances of a Fedor vs Overeem match-up is highly unlikely.  A part of me still hurts that we can never see anyone from the UFC fight Fedor either, I still thought he would have hung high when facing off against the likes of Cain, Brock, or JDS.  But now those chances are completely dead as Fedor, the once-immortal warrior has now lost back to back with his stock dropping fast.

I hope Bigfoot gets smashed quickly by Overeem in the semi-final.

On another note, one Russian was able to pull through, and in flying colors at that:

(awesome photo from Esther Lin, taken from Neal Taflinger's post on FIGHT! magazine news)

Kharitonov, the man I originally had pegged to win in my last blog entry on the Strikeforce grand prix, did so in devastating fashion as he put Arlovski's lights out in a round one vicious KO.  I did not give Arlovski too much credit to win given his history and suspect chin, but last night saddened me to see the Belarusian knocked out so cold.  You can see the stars in the Pitbull's eyes as the referee lunged in to save his dear life!

Sadly now, the tournament bracket should look like this:

It is a sad day for MMA.  Well, unless you are a Bigfoot Silva fan.  But thena gain, if you're a Bigfoot Silva fan, you're living a sad existence anyway.

UFC 126 Results...

The front kick heard round the world.....

[gif from "bruno" on the mmatko forums]

Yeahhhh...so much for everything I had laid out in the previous post.  Vitor got knocked out flat in few a minutes and the fight was officially stopped after Silva followed up with 2 punches.  Good call on the ref.  I don't know what else to say; I guess I'm still shocked that I just didn't see it ending so quickly and in the fashion that it did.  Great, I already owe people lunches, dinners, money, and push-ups.  FML

 

Damn you Steven Seagal!!!!!!! You made me lose all my bets!!! (I hope you all know that I am being sarcastic....)

but in case my sarcasm didn't translate over.....

ummmm.....yeah.  Good night everyone.

UFC 126: Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort

The day is drawing nearer; we are are just a little over 72 hours from this crazy card that I figure I lay out some stats for those of you who are as giddy for this fight as I am.  I am still betting on Vitor Belfort as the winner, despite the odds being far, far away from his favor.  Call me insane, but you can bet me your house if you want!

Hopefully the stats for the Silva vs Belfort match-up that I list below are enough to persuade you to purchase this event on PPVHD, but don't forget that Rich Franklin vs Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader are also on this epic card.  If that doesn't blow your mind, dont forget that WEC vets Miguel Torress and Cowboy Cerrone are on the card too! If this is still not enough to convinec you to get the event, then you must be mentally disabled.

- Vitor Belfort will have been out of action for a total of 504 days by the time he faces off with Anderson Silva (that's almost a fuckin year and a half!)
- This is Vitor's first middleweight fight in the UFC (his fight with Rich Franklin was a catchweight of 195)
- Anderson Silva has defended his belt seven consecutive times, a record for all weight divisions across the UFC banner
- Anderson Silva has not been defeated (legitimately anyway) since 2004 via submission of heel hook
- Anderson Silva demolishes strikers
- Anderson Silva does not bleed
- Anderson Silva has never been KO'd or TKO'd

I'm sure you've realized by now that these stats all favor Anderson Silva and that Vitor Belfort should be shitting his pants, but here are the stats that can prove Vitor has a chance

- Vitor Belfort has some quick, heavy hands. The quickest and heaviest Anderson Silva has ever faced
- Vitor Beflort has a BJJ black belt like the Spider, and more than likely better grappling and wrestling
- Vitor has won his last 5 fights in a row, 4 via vicious knockouts
- Anderson Silva was hurt and losing 4 rounds in a row in his last championship fight against Chael Sonnen
- Vitor's striking is on a whole different level than Chael's.  As in a whole different planet in terms of skill, and if Vitor hits Anderson with even 1/10th of the shots Chael delivered, the Spider may very well find his ass knocked out
- Anderson Silva can be defeated, unlikely, but he has been beaten before
- Vitor has trained with Black House with Anderson, Lyoto, and the Nogueira brothers.  You know he has got to have some kind of strategy going in besides relying on his powerful punching

Those of you who are in Bay Area and would like to bet against me in favor of Anderson Silva, the most dominant champion in UFC history and the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, you are more than welcome to! I still believe Vitor will pull the major upset on February 5th

Don't miss the weigh-in's on Friday!