I know it's a huge deal....so I use an expert fan who tells me...here's my pal Josh again with Saturday night Feb 20th's UFC in Oz! now to Josh.........
The UFC is taking over. This past Saturday on February, 20, 2010, the UFC further expanded it's horizons by holding their first live event in Australia at the Acer arena in Sydney. I'll be quick, and go over the main and co-main events.
Antonio Rodrigo " Minotauro " Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
Nogueira ( aka : Big Nog ) is a legend in the sport and a testament to the power of the will. He's fought a who's who of the sport, beaten the majority of them ( with the exception of Fedor Emalianenko ) and survived a horrific accident as a child that was supposed to kill him without doubt. Nogueira's been out of his prime since 2006 in my opinion ( due to climatic wars with other elite competitors in the PrideFC organization years ago, I suspect some punch drunkeness, aka Dementia ), but even out of his prime, Nogueira's an exceptional top ten if not a top five heavyweight in the world. Velasquez is the young gun, climbing the ranks so that he can one day claim the same kind of greatness that Nogueira himself has claimed over the years. If you walked in to the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, you will hear the same words echoed among the gyms associates: " Cain Velasquez is for real. " His Jiu-Jitsu trainer, Dave Camarillo ( famed grappling competitor himself ) has gone on record several times as saying that Velasquez is AKA's top prospect. Without further delay, my analysis : round 1 ) Both fighters meet in the center, and look for openings. Cain throws a flurry, and Nogueira answers back. Both fighters throw lightly, looking for range. Nogueira snaps a few nice jabs, and Cain swivels a few nice leg kicks. After a while of exchanging, Nogueira starts stepping forward, looking for openings. Both fighters swing. Nogueira grazes with a right hook, and Velasquez lands flush with a right counter. Cain follows up with a left hook to the temple of Nogueira, that drops the Brazilian legend to the canvas. Cain pounces on, and rains fire on Nogueira. The referee charges in, and ends the fight. For the second time in his career ( the last time happening last year ) Nogueira has been stopped. The crowd goes silent. The man of legend, who has eaten the head kicks of Mirko Cro Cop and the casting punches of Fedor Emalianenko, has been stopped. Father time has seemingly dropped the veil on the former invincibility of Nogueira. Velasquez, with the pride of warrior, stands, and celebrates the greatest moment of his young career. To be a legend, you have to beat a legend. Velasquez did just that, and I'm sure there will be more to come. The referee called an end to the fight at 2 minutes and 20 second into round 1, declaring the winner by TKO, Cain Velasquez. Velasquez thanked Nogueira for the challenge, and thanked his coaches and training partners. Nogueira thanked his team, his sponsers, and the countless Aussies in attendance. Nogueira praised the performance of Velasquez, saying " He was very good. He had the faster hands tonight. He was the better fighter tonight. "
Wanderlei " The Axe Murderer " Silva vs. Micheal " The Count " Bisping
Another legend of the sport returns to do battle once more. Wanderlei Silva has had the longest reign of any champion in MMA. He held onto the PrideFC middleweight belt ( 203 lbs. was considered middleweight in Pride ) for 6, long years. He has been in a funk recently though. His case is the same as Nogueira's : out of prime, but still relevent. However, Wand has had less luck than Nogueira though. Wand has gone 1-3 since returning to the UFC. However, this time the conditions had changed. Wand had decided to drop from light heavyweight ( 205 lbs. ) to middleweight ( 185 lbs. ) to battle the British superstar, Bisping. Bisping had suffered a jaw dropping knockout loss to Dan Henderson last year, but bounced back with a TKO victory over the dangerous Denis Kang. To put suspense to rest, here is the breakdown. Round 1) both meet in the center. Bisping snaps jabs left and right. Some miss, some land. Wanderlei looks for range. This round was spent mostly looking for rythym, range, and timing. However, that didn't stop Bisping from shooting for a double leg takedown, and succeeding. Wanderlei stands up, only to be slammed back down. Wanderlei stands again, throws a flurry of strikes, and breaks from the pocket. Bisping shoots the double again, only to have Wanderlei rise again. Off of the break, Bisping throws a head kick that gets blocked by Wanderlei. Wanderlei hears the signal for the final ten seconds, and chases Bisping while throwing bombs. Several of them hit and rock Bisping, but the bell ends the round. Round 2) both fighters look for openings. Shortly into the round, Bisping throws a body kick. Wanderlei catches it, and kick sweeps the other leg, taking the fight to the ground. Wanderlei fires an assault from within Bisping's gaurd. Bisping gets a butterfly gaurd,and shoves Wanderlei off. On the way up, Wanderlei throw a hard body kick that connects. Wanderlei throws several looping punches that rock Bisping when they land. Bisping still snaps the jab as well. Bisping shoots for the takedown, charges Wanderlei against the cage, and takes him down. Wanderlei instantly slaps on a tight , arm-in guillotine. Bispins moves his hand and considers tapping, but holds on longer. The bell sounds, and saves Bisping from defeat. Round 3) the rest of the round is Bisping landing a few jabs, and Wanderlei bludgeoning Bisping with wild, looping hooks. Wanderlai catches another kick, and sweeps again. Bisping manages to stand up. Wanderlei looks up at the clock, sees that only 15 seconds remain, and charges Bisping with bad intentions. Wanderlei puts Bisping against the cage, ends several hard punches, and lands a haymaker right hook that sinks Bisping to the ground. Wanderlei drops bombs, trying to end Bisping's night with a bang, but the bell once again saves Bisping by denying Wanderlei the finish. All judges score the fight 29-28, declaring Wanderlei Silva the winner by unanimous decision. Both fighters thanked their camps, the fans, and gave each congrats.
Once again, folks, the UFC produces another fantastic card with some truly amazing bouts. I hope everyone found my breakdown of the fights to be enjoyable. For the rest of the results, visitUFC.com.
'Till next time,
Josh Yelverton
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