UFC 117 Breakdown: The Main card (Part 2)
Check out Part 1: The Prelim breakdown here
Now to Saturdays main card and here’s where the fun really begins. Since the day this card was announced, many people deemed it USA vs. Brazil. In the past there have been fight cards with “teams” such as PRIDE Bushido 4 with Brazilian Top Team vs. Team Japan.
In one of the least hyped fights of the night, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida will look to move past Jiu- Jitsu ace Rafael dos Anjos and put himself back into the Lightweight title picture. Both fighters are coming off of brilliant submission victories. In what may be Rafael’s biggest test of his career, he’s going to have to pull out all the stops if he is going to put Guida away. Clay Guida, best known for his crazy hair and his ability to take big shots and keep moving forward, he’ll look to keep his fast-paced style of fighting to keep dos Anjos off guard and impose his will.
The next fight is a Heavyweight match up that will determine who is next in line for a title shot against the winner of Lesnar/Velasquez. Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson will meet in what many people think will be a fight that ends in a first round knockout. While both fighters are known for their heavy hands and knockout power, they both also have a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. JDS has finished all his fights within the first round, except for the bout with Mirko Cro Cop, in which the Croatian was forced to verbally submit after his face was literally broken. Roy Nelson is a well-rounded fighter (some pun intended) that can knock you out on his feet, or take you down and work some submissions. Both fighters have their work cut for them in this fight and you definitely don’t want to blink when it starts.
Ricardo Almeida will next face off against Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in a revenge match of sorts as Hughes hold victories over Almeida’s coach and mentor, Renzo Gracie, and a victory over Almeida himself at an ADCC event many years ago. Almeida will look to use his excellent BJJ skills to nullify Hughes’ world class wrestling and strength. When asked about Hughes, Ricardo simply said “the last man who claimed to be better than me on the ground didn’t make it past the first round.” In this classic American wrestling vs. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match, a lot of grappling is to be expected.
This co-main event is a rematch between AKA’s Jon Fitch and ATT’s Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves from 2006 that was originally supposed to take place at UFC 111. Unfortunately, it never happened because New Jersey doctors noticed an abnormality in Alves’ brain and did not clear him to fight. After going through surgery to repair the issue, the fight will finally come to fruition.
Although half of his fights have gone to a decision, Jon Fitch stated that all his training for this fight was dedicated to finishing Alves. The Pitbull says he is more focused than ever and wants to face the best Jon Fitch ever, declaring to “knock the [expletive] out of the best Jon Fitch ever.” The winner of this fight, according to Dana White will be next in line for the winner of GSP/Koscheck.
It’s time! The main event of the evening, the moment we have all been waiting for, the time has come, and all those other phrases that lead up to “the big one”. This fight is for the UFC Middleweight Championship of the World.
If you’re on Team Sonnen, you are among those that want to see your fearless leader march into battle and defeat the reining Middleweight Champion; a task that has not been done since December of 2004 (or if you want to get technical, January of 2006). On the other hand, if you are on Team Silva, you are ready for yet another opponent to step in the cage and be escorted out as your team captain has his hand raised and the UFC Middleweight Championship belt wrapped around his waist yet again.
In the past months leading up to this night, Chael has done his best to insult Silva in just about every way possible; from attacking his personality, to degrading the quality of his previous opponents. Only one of two things can happen here: either Chael backs up his words and puts an end to his run, or Silva makes Chael just another notch on his belt and extends his record-breaking win streak inside the Octagon.
Chael Sonnen is so confident in himself that he has already proclaimed August 8th to be the day that Anderson Silva retired from the UFC. After Silva’s unordinary, to put it mildly, performance against Damien Maia at UFC 112, Dana White vowed to fire him if a repeat performance were to occur. Will Dana White keep his word if it does happen? Will Sonnen do what many have tried and failed and finally defeat Silva in The Octagon? Will Silva continue his dominance of the UFC’s Middleweight Division? We will all soon find out come Saturday night inside the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
This card features knockout artists, Jiu-Jitsu specialist, world-class wrestlers, rising stars, unorthodox athletes and newcomers looking to make a name for themselves inside the top company in the MMA world. Nobody can look into the future and see which fighter will win, or how they will do it, but one thing is for sure, fans are guaranteed to be entertained.
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About the Author (Author Profile)
Aspiring chef turned MMA writer after financial issues prevented me from pursuing my first dream. Ever since I started watching MMA, I've read up about it and talk about it all the time and with the encouragement of family and friends I finally decided to actively pursue a career in writing about it.Subscribe
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