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Despite some card changes along the way, this past weekend’s UFC 146 event turned out to be a success for the promotion. A championship was retained on Saturday Night and a new top contender was crowned after an exciting performance. Also, “Big Country†returned to form and a former WEC Lightweight Champion returned to the Zuffa banner.
Round One: A Title Defended
Originally, UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos was set to defend the gold against Alistair Overeem until a failed drug test got in the way. Instead, the champion had to deal with a former two time champion in Frank Mir, and deal with him he did. Frank Mir had little to no answer for the striking of Junior Dos Santos and that cost him in the second round. Early in the round, Junior Dos Santos dropped Frank Mir with a few punches before hammer fisting him into obscurity.
Next Round For Junior Dos Santos: Cain Velasquez
Next Round For Frank Mir: Antonio Silva, Alistair Overeem or Stefan Struve
Round Two: Bigfoot Goes Down
For most fighters, making their UFC debut is an exciting thing, but not so much when they are standing across the octagon from Cain Velasquez. Unfortunately this was the task facing Antonio Silva, but it was Cain Velasquez who would make the task overwhelming. It took less than five minutes total for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion to bloody and destroy “Bigfoot†to gain a TKO victory. Cain Velasquez now has a potential title shot in the future and Antonio Silva has a lot of work to do.
Next Round For Cain Velasquez: Junior Dos Santos
Next Round For Antonio Silva: Frank Mir, Roy Nelson or Stefan Struve
Round Three: Big Country Is Back
Roy Nelson was possibly looking at a UFC release if he dropped the fight on Saturday Night, but one big right to the skull of Dave Herman and all was well in the world. Dave Herman on the other hand, was the fighter dropped with the big right and that caused his second straight loss in the UFC. With the list of potential challengers for the heavyweight title getting thinner every day, Roy Nelson could have just punched himself near the top of the list. The other side of that success is the fear of getting released from the UFC, which is something lingering in the mind of Dave Herman right now.
Next Round For Roy Nelson: Antonio Silva, Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem
Next Round For Dave Herman: Lavar Johnson, Shane Del Rosario or Pat Barry
Round Four: A Big Fall
Lavar Johnson made a quick splash in the UFC with two pulverizing victories over both Joey Beltran and Pat Barry. The momentum would come to an end on Saturday Night when “Big†stepped into the octagon as a late replacement against Stefan Struve. In just under a minute into the opening round, Stefan Struve locked Lavar Johnson into an arm bar to force a tap out. If Lavar Johnson can somehow fix his terrible ground game, then he could become a threat in the UFC Heavyweight Division.
Next Round For Stefan Struve: Frank Mir, Stipe Miocic or Antonio Silva
Next Round For Lavar Johnson: Stipe Miocic, Shawn Jordan or Phillip De Fries
Round Five: Who Set Off The C-4?
When former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner was released from Zuffa before the WEC/UFC merger, it barely made a ripple in the MMA ocean. Four fights later and a successful return to the UFC at UFC 146 and the wave are now crashing on the shore. Edson Barboza saw his undefeated streak come to an end by Jamie Varner, but he still has a bright future ahead of him. Jamie Varner, with the victory, now thrust’s himself into the talent filled pool in the UFC Lightweight Division.
Next Round For Jamie Varner: Terry Etim/Joe Lauzon winner or Donald Cerrone
Next Round For Edson Barboza: Jeremy Stephens, Matt Wiman or Paul Sass
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