Anderson has it rough, but keeps his title
UFC 117 delivered emotion up until the very last instant this Saturday, in Oakland, California. Anderson Silva fought with a fissured rib, and had never come closer to losing his middleweight belt before. An armbar pulled from his sleeve in the waning moments saved the “Spider” against Chael Sonnen. In the unofficially dubbed USA vs Brazil challenge, the Americans took it 3 to 2.
Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
Sonnen promised, and he delivered to Anderson Silva the hardest time the Brazilian has ever had in the UFC. In the first round the American even had the better time in the striking department. For the rest of the fight, despite a few positive moments for the Spider throwing strikes, Sonnen landed solid takedowns and served a salvo of ground and pound. When it seemed things couldn’t possibly get worse for the champion, Silva slipped in the fifth, which left an opening for a more-than-likely win for the challenger. However, on the ground, Anderson’s reputation as the greatest fighter in the world at present prevailed. He sunk a triangle, stretched out the trapped arm for the armbar, and coaxed a discreet tap from his opponent. Reminiscent of what he did against Paulo Filho in the WEC, Sonnen alleged not to have tapped. But it was all over.
Jon Fitch vs Thiago Pitbull
A Jiu-Jitsu black belt with top-notch wrestling, Jon Fitch dominated his fight with Thiago Pitbull from start to finish. Throughout three rounds he landed takedown after takedown and controlled the action on the ground. Thiago tried to react with a sweep and a few good moments while standing, but nothing of danger came from the Brazilian. In the final round the American even managed to get back mount. As methodical as always, Jon Fitch’s unanimous-decision victory was well earned. Now he will look to repeat the feat to win George St.-Pierre’s welterweight belt.
Rafael dos Anjos vs Clay Guida
The opening round was evenly matched, with a slight advantage to Rafael dos Anjos, who landed a solid strike and got the takedown. During the break the Brazilian could be heard on the TV broadcast complaining of an injury to his jaw. The injury proved to be decisive. Guida won the second round with takedowns and ground-and-pound. He did the same in the third, getting to half-guard and pressuring his opponent’s face against the grating with his shoulder. The pain that caused Rafael was unbearable, and he tapped out.
Matt Hughes vs Ricardo Cachorrão
Cachorrão looked to be doing well against Matt Hughes in the standup department, landing the better strikes. But Matt proved why he is one of the UFC’s greatest fighters of all times. With a potent punch, he changed the face of the battle completely. Cachorrão was knocked down to the ground, where Matt sunk an arm-triangle choke from over the back of the Brazilian, who passed out before the referee could bring the match to a close.
Junior Cigano vs Roy Nelson
And for those who thought the evening wouldn’t have the USA vs Brazil atmosphere, during the first bout of the broadcast “USA, USA” could be heard chanted from the crowd. Roy Nelson was relentless, after all a shot at the heavyweight belt was on the line. In the opening round Cigano attacked with his powerful uppercuts. He knocked Nelson to the ground on two occasions and it looked like he would end the dispute. Nelson held out, though, and was the first man to take the Brazilian through all three rounds in the UFC, but didn’t put his opponent in much danger. At 26 years of age, Cigano will now have a shot at the title, against the winner of the Brock Lesnar-Cain Velasquez fight.
Check out the complete results:
UFC 117
Oakland, California
Saturday, August 7 2010
Anderson Silva submitted Chael Sonnen via armbar from the triangle at 3:10 min of R5
Jon Fitch defeated Thiago Pitbull via unanimous decision
Clay Guida submitted Rafael dos Anjos (desistance) at 1:51 min of R3
Matt Hughes submitted Ricardo Cachorrão via arm-triangle at 3:15 min of R1
Junior Cigano defeated Roy Nelson via unanimous decision
Rick Story defeated Dustin Hazelett via TKO at 1:15 min of R2
Phil Davis defeated Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision
Johny Hendricks defeated Charlie Brenneman via TKO at 0.40 min of R2
Tim Boetsch defeated Todd Brown via unanimous decision
Stefan Struve defeated Christian Morecraft via TKO at 0.23 min of R2
Dennis Hallman defeated Ben Saunders via unanimous decision
