Thiago Silva afastado por um ano. Foto: Josh Hedges

Depois de admitir que tentou burlar o exame anti-doping após a luta contra Brandon Vera, no UFC 125, Thiago Silva foi finalmente sentenciado pela Comissão Atlética de Nevada.

O brasileiro pegou um gancho de 12 meses, tempo que não poderá se apresentar no UFC. Além disso, paga uma multa de US$ 33,750. A decisão da Comissão foi unânime quanto à sentença.

“Quero apenas pedir desculpas pelo o que eu fiz. Apenas fiz isso por que as minhas costas estavam muito ruins nos meses antes da luta. Estava completamente quebrado e tenho família, pessoas que dependem do meu dinheiro. Estava desesperado. Sei que o que eu fiz foi errado”, comentou Silva após a conclusão do caso.

Vera against Randy Couture / Photo: Josh Hedges

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva’s future hangs in the balance. The fighter was called on to face Quinton Jackson at UFC 130. However, murky results on a banned substances test have pulled Silva from fighting for the forseeable future. The athletic commission responsible has not yet made an official proclamation on the matter.

Vera should be back

One to benefit from Thiago Silva’s predicament is Brandon Vera. Released from the promotion after losing to the Brazilian at UFC 125, when he racked up his third-straight loss, the fighter may be back in the mix. Should Thiago be proven guilty of drug use, the result of the fight will be deemed a no contest and Vera will gain an afterlife in the organization.

Banha’s new opponent

Coming off back-to-back losses, Luiz “Banha” Cane was set to face Karlos Vemola at UFC 128, on March 19. Due to injury, though, his opponent will now be Eliot Marshall, according to members of the fighter’s team.

Vera contra Randy Couture. Fot: Josh Hedges

O futuro de Thiago Silva segue indefinido. O lutador fora escalado para encarar Quinton Jackson no UFC 130. No entanto, problemas no exame de doping impendem o desafio e comprometem o futuro de Silva no evento. A comissão atlética responsável ainda não definiu uma posição oficial sobre o assunto.

Vera deve voltar

Quem se deu bem com o caso de Thiago Silva é Brandon Vera. Demitido da organização depois de perder para o brasileiro no UFC 125, quando acumulou a terceira derrota seguida, o lutador pode estar de volta. Caso seja provado o doping de Thiago, o resultado da luta passa a ser no contest e Vera ganha uma sobrevida na organização.

Banha com novo oponente

Vindo de duas derrotas, Luiz Cane, o Banha, vem de dois resultados negativos no Ultimate. Programado para encarar Karlos Vemola no UFC 128, no dia 19 de março, Banha teve o adversário modificado devido a uma contusão. O oponente provavelmente será Eliot Marshall, o que confirmam membros da equipe do lutador.

Chael Sonnen em foto de Josh Hedges

Depois de se envolver num escândalo por lavagem de dinheiro (relembre aqui), Chael Sonnen acabou saindo do card do UFC 128, no dia 19 de março, em Nova Jersey.  O substituto na luta contra o japonês Yoshihiro Akiyama é Nate Marquardt, que vem de derrota contra outro lutador nipônico, Yushin Okami. Confira com está o card:

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua x Rashad Evans
Yoshihiro Akiyama x Nate Marquardt
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic x Brendan Schaub
Urijah Faber x Eddie Wineland
Jim Miller x Kamal Shalorus
Ricardo Almeida x Mike Pyle
Kurt Pellegrino x Gleison Tibau
Edson Barboza x Anthony Njokuani
Luiz Cane x Karlos Vemola

Brandon Vera e outros são demitidos, vítimas do UFC 125

Depois de amargar a terceira derrota seguida no octagon, contra Thiago Silva (UFC 125), Brandon Vera está fora dos planos do UFC. Vera chegou a ser apontado como um dos atletas mais promissores da organização, depois de estrear em 2005 e vencer quatro seguidas.

Outro demitido foi o peso leve Antoni McKee, que teve ótima passagem pela IFL e chegou a ficar 15 lutas sem perder no MMA. No UFC, McKee fez apenas um combate, tendo perdido em decisão dividida para Jacob Volkmann no UFC 125.

Mais um que está fora da organização é Marcus Davis. Depois de 15 lutas na organização, seis vitórias seguidas, quatro bônus pela luta da noite e de ter chegado perto do cinturão, Davis dá adeus ao evento depois de ser derrotado por Jeremy Stephens no UFC 125, mas promete continuar lutando.

Com achegada de uma leva de lutadores do WEC, a tendência é que ainda ocorram muitas demissões na organização, principalmente na categoria de leves. A receita é vencer, vencer e vencer. 

Chael Sonnen in photo by Josh Hedges

After pleading guilty to money laundering, Chael Sonnen ended up getting dropped from the card for UFC 128, to take place March 19 in New Jersey. His substitute against Yoshihiro Akiyama will be Nate Marquardt, who is coming off a loss to another Japanese fighter, Yushin Okami. Check out who else is on the card:

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Rashad Evans

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Nate Marquardt

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub

Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland

Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus

Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau

Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani

Luiz Cane vs. Karlos Vemola

After suffering his third loss in the octagon in a row, against Thiago Silva (UFC 125), Brandon Vera is out of the UFC’s plans. Vera was once seen as one of the most promising athletes in the promotion, after rattling off four-straight wins following his 2005 debut.

Another to drop from the roster is lightweight Antonio McKee, who had a great run in the IFL and notched as many as fifteen fights without losing in MMA. But McKee only had one fight in the UFC, losing a split decision to Jacob Volkmann at UFC 125.

And another who’s out is Marcus Davis. After winning fifteen fights in the organization, six straight, four “fight of the night” bonuses and making it within a hair of a title fight, Davis bid farewell to the event after losing to Jeremy Stephens at UFC 125, but he vows to continue fighting.

With the arrival of the new bevvy of WEC fighters, it is likely firings will become all the more common, especially in the lower weight divisions. The way to stay is just win, win, win.

Check out the photos by from the event by Josh Hedges:

[flickr set=72157625728947040]

Photo: Josh Hedges.

Not having set foot in the Octagon in a year, since losing to former champion Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva barged in guns blazing against Brandon Vera this Saturday at UFC 125 in Las Vegas.

The Brazilian liberally dished out provocations throughout the fight on the way to winning a unanimous decision. At the post-event press conference, Thiago explained:

“Brandon was saying in interviews that he was going to beat me, that he’d do this or that. All I said was tell him to try and beat me,” he says.

At a given moment in the third round, Thiago had Vera’s back, from where he launched a salvo of slaps.

“I threw some slaps just to get him to lose focus so I could get the submission,” he explains.

On the fight, Silva feels he had a good showing, although he still needs to evolve.

“I trained a lot for this fight. For someone who’s been out for a year, I feel I had a good appearance, but I’m here to improve too. I can improve.”

Regarding his future in the organization, he’s ready for whatever comes.

“I’m not here to pick my opponents. It’s not my decision, it’s the UFC’s, but I’m here to fight the best,” he says in closing.

Photo: Josh Hedges.

Considered the best fight at this Saturday’s UFC 125 event in Las Vegas, Frankie Edgar’s title defense against Gray Maynard ended in a draw, and the belt stayed with Edgar.

Now the previously defined order, whereby WEC champion Anthony Pettis would be the next challenger, has changed. Pettis will have to wait a while longer, as UFC president Dana White has changed his mind.

Although no date has yet been set, Edgar will again defend his title against Maynard, bringing the number of times the two have faced off to three. Undefeated Gray is responsible for the only loss on Frankie’s ledger.

Frankie in photo by Josh Hedges

This Saturday’s UFC 125 in Las Vegas marked the first event from the promotion in 2011. There was plenty of action on tap and the traditional “best of the night” bonuses were handed out, this time worth sixty thousand dollars each.

The headliner, with Frankie Edgar defending his belt against Gray Maynard, ended in a draw. Even so it was deemed the best fight of the night. According to the rules, the belt stays with Edgar, but the bonus went to both participants.

The best submission of the night was Clay Guida’s, for his guillotine choke on Takanori Gomi. The knockout-of-the-night award went to Jeremy Stephens for his knockout of Marcus Davis.

UFC 125 kicked off the promotion’s 2011 season, this Saturday in Las Vegas. In the main event, Frankie Edgar was put through the wringer, but hung on to his lightweight belt. Check out the breakdown of the fights on the main card and the results:

It ended in a draw, but there was no lack of excitement in the fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, a rematch between the two worth the lightweight belt. Following a first cross that dropped Edgar, Maynard pounded mercilessly on the champion throughout the rest of the opening round. The champion seemed done but held out and lived to see a second round, where he began a comeback landing good strikes and a picture-perfect takedown. From there on it was an even match, with a slight advantage to Edgar at certain moments. The fighters traded blows till the final moments. With the cards in and judges’ decision announced after five rounds, one of the authorities picked Maynard, the other Edgar, while the third gave a draw. The overall result was a draw and a second successful title defense for Frankie Edgar.

Brian Stann put an end to Chris Leben’s three-fight win streak. With a combination of well-placed knees and puches, the technical knockout came just 3:37 minutes into the first round.

After a year away from the ring, Thiago Silva did well against Brandon Vera. Brandon had some good moments standing, but Thiago got the takedown in all three rounds. On the ground, the American Top Team representative did well in the ground-and-pound department and in achieving positions of superiority. In the third, Silva worked his way to the back of Vera, whom only defended, and suffered a disfigured nose. Thiago Silva took the unanimous decision for the win.

Dong Hyun Kim and Nate Diaz had an evenly-matched fight. Kim, from Korea, managed to land solid takedowns and did a good job on the ground. Diaz showed better stamina than his opponent in the final round, pressing him up against the fencing. When the scorecards came in, the unanimous-decision win went to Kim, who remains undefeated in fifteen fights. Boos were clearly heard from the crowd.

In the opening fight of the main card, Clay Guida faced off against Japan’s Takanori Gomi. After dominating the first round, Guida sunk a slick guillotine in the second for the finish.

UFC first-timer Diego Nunes faced off against former WEC champion Mike Brown. Diego took a hard-fought split judges’ decision.

Check out the results:

UFC 125
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
January 1, 2010

Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw

Brian Stann defeated Chris Leben via TKO at 3:37 min of R1

Thiago Silva defeated Brandon Vera via unanimous decision

Dong Hyun Kim defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision

Clay Guida submitted Takanori Gomi via guillotine at 4:27 min of R2

Jeremy Stephens defeated Marcus Davis por KO at 2:33 min of R3

Dustin Poirier defeated Josh Grispi via unanimous decision

Brad Tavares defeated Phil Baroni via KO at 4:20 min of R1

Diego Nunes defeated Mike Brown via split decision

Confira tudo nas fotos de Josh Hedges:

[flickr set=72157625728947040]

Foto: Josh Hedges.

Afastado do octagon há um ano, depois de ter sido derrotado pela pedreira Rashad Evans, Thigo Silva foi com tudo para cima de Brandon Vera neste sábado, no UFC 125, em Las Vegas.

Na vitória por decisão unânime, não faltaram provocações por parte do lutador brasileiro. Na coletiva após o evento, Thiago explicou:

“O Brandon Vera estava dizendo nas entrevistas que ia me bater, que ia fazer isso e aquilo. Apenas disse para ele tentar me bater”, diz.

Em dado momento, no terceiro round, Thiago ficou nas costas de Vera, de onde aplicou alguns tapas.

“Dei uns tapas nele só para tirá-lo do foco e buscar a finalização”, explica.

Sobre a luta, Silva acredita ter feito uma boa apresentação, embora ainda possa evoluir.

“Treinei bastante para essa luta. Para quem estava um ano afastado, acho que foi uma apresentação boa, mas estou aqui para poder melhorar também. Posso melhorar.”

A respeito do futuro na organização, está pronto para o que der e vier.

“Não estou aqui para escolher adversário. Isto não é uma decisão minha, é do UFC, mas estou aqui para lutar contra os melhores”, encerra.