***spoilers*** UFC News and Discussion Thread

[SRN]

Frankie Edgar looked like gold, and his evolution is certainly not ever. But yeah, it just proves that Penn is still pretty inconsistent. In the last two or three rounds, he was just slow and sluggish while Edgar was still jumping like a fucking firecracker.

[Captain Kirk]

There is a massive difference between GSP and Anderson, GSP had controlled aggression over Hardy for 5 rounds, Silva went 3 then decided to walk around the cage for the rest of the fight, if people think that is great then they need their heads checked.

Silva seems to only be able to fight a good fight if his opponent brings the fight to him.

[DavidMarrio]

Don't remember me saying Anderson Silva was horrible anywhere. Just said i've lost respect for him for his antics and his best performances come from when the opponent is being the aggressor like the Forrest Griffin fight, when opponents are waiting for him to attack he doesn't give his best performances

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

There is a massive difference between GSP and Anderson, GSP had controlled aggression over Hardy for 5 rounds, Silva went 3 then decided to walk around the cage for the rest of the fight, if people think that is great then they need their heads checked.

Silva seems to only be able to fight a good fight if his opponent brings the fight to him.

Not a single person is calling the fight great though. You seem to be missing the point though. Boring or not, Silva hasn't hardly been tested and yet some seem to act like it's his fault. I'm not saying he couldn't of done more to end it, but that can be said for so many other fighters too. I'm just shocked anybody can act like he isn't one of the best fighters around.

[DavidMarrio]

he is the best fighter in the world not doubt about it and yeh i'll be honest I didn't really expect Maia to do anything before the fight. But i do think Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort are good challenges for Anderson as i think Chael's got the wrestling capabilities to grind out a win and Vitor's got the hands and could put on a very exciting match up. Personally i think maybe have left the Anderson Silva fight off the card and waited for Vitor or Chael to get healthier.

[Captain Kirk]

It's not about him being tested he could have finished that fight at almost any time, yet decided not to. That in my opinion is pretty ludicrous especially from the supposed P4P best in the world.

At least GSP controls the fight for a whole fight, Silva was happy just to do absolutely nothing.

[Mancuerda]

We need Palhares to break Anderson's leg.

But yeah, don't let Silva's shitty antics detract from what was a pretty great show. Edgar/Penn, Munoz/Grove, and Dos Anjos/Etim were all great fights. Oh, and Phil Davis won, which is always good.

[Vendetta]

Fuck Silva. I was a big fan till today/tonight. Now I can't wait for GSP to beat him.

[Powerhart]

Anderson Silva was a joke. P4P best in the world my ass, showboating doesn't show anything.

Bollocks.

Silva once again showed why he's by far one of the best fighters on the planet. I cant see ANYBODY stopping him at middleweight, he's just taking it so easy and almost toying with his opponents. I genuinely cant see anybody ever stopping him at this weight, fantastic.

Did you even watch the fight? Silva was toying with Maia for the first two rounds yes, but in the third round he just shut down and did nothing. He showed he could easily beat Maia but he just didn't. He just ran. I loved when Dan Miragliotta warned him for inactivity because it was totally justified. Maia even had Silva up against the cage, tieing off on him at one point, although it wasn't an extended period of time. Silva is still a great fighter, he just didn't show it all tonight. He showed he can be fun and entertaining but he also showed he had no will to fight and no heart to finish the fight. And I am sick and tired of the bullshit excuses he does after his fights; he did the exact same thing with the Thales Leites fight. Admittedly, Leites was fucking boring and just falling back but Anderson could have also easily finished him but again, he just didn't.

If a fight comes with GSP, I hope GSP dominates him and humiliates him, at least to get Silva back to earth. I think this title run and popularity has gotten to his head.

Don't pay for the fight then. Silva once again dominated and the fact is his opponent wasn't anywhere near close to ever having him beaten and that's the problem. Hardly anybody has ever come close to even looking like they could beat Silva. I'm not saying the fight was great or anything, but he's again showed that the opponent cant barely even push him to the limit. And you talk about GSP, a guy who has done almost the same as Silva, just dominated fights and hasn't looked as entertaining as he once was. Silva now needs a fighter that is going to go into the octagon and try to push him, just like Griffin did. Griffin tried to go into the fight and entertain, but got completely destroyed, which is probably why certain fighters try to hold back against Silva. It's not the most entertaining fight, but you cant try to shit on Silva. He's easily one of the best fighters in MMA, so laughing him off like he cant be claimed as the best P4P fighter is pathetic.

Johnny boy, I think you are confusing me for davidmarrio. I never claimed Silva was horrible, or that he didn't deserve to be the top P4P fighter. I was just saying that I am disappointed in his performance because he has had so much better performances, and from a top level fighter who says and claims the things he does I expect fights to be the same way. I agree with you that Silva looked dominant for when he actually did something but that was only ten minutes out of 25. Silva just wasn't an convincing as his win against Forrest Griffin, he just looked like a plain fighter out there instead of great Anderson Silva that we are used to. What makes me boil is that he has all this talk, that he is going to make a statement and he just walks around and takes an easy decision victory, doing a minimal of effort to win but still just enough to keep afloat and not commit to his opponent, something that Maia did. But yeah, GSP isn't just laying on his opponents for five rounds, he tries to finish. Look at the Hardy fight. Or the Alves fight, he was ground and pounding like hell. Hell, look at the Penn fight!

I can understand Dana White's frustration because Silva just seems like he can do whatever he wants. But I do hope he returns in style for his next fight, though, as he is a great fighter.

Personally I just disagree. GSP has almost laid on his opponents for his last few title fights and hasn't looked half as entertaining as he did before he won the title or around that time. I just think it's harsh to put it all on Silva. For me they need a strong challenger to come in to take on Silva, somebody who wont sit back at all and will try to take the fight to him. He's not even my favourite fighter, but I just don't see anybody beating him right now. Boring at times or not, he's just too good for the majority of opposition.

For the show, not great, but I was shocked Penn lost. Cant say I expected that, but it's shook up the division for sure.

Did you see how he tried to finish the fight with Hardy? Hardy just wouldn't fucking tap out, an armbar - nothing, a kimura - nothing. It's not GSP's fault that Hardy is so fucking tough (or stupid) GSP at least tries to finish the fights he's given whiile Silva didn't do anything to finish it. He could've ended the fight easily in the third/fourth round, but he chose to stay away continue the insult to Maia and keep himself clean, Maia should be the one getting the props as he (for the last 8/7 minutes) tried to give some battle and even connected Silva a couple of times.

I lost alot of respect for Silva tonight, I love his attitude, don't get me wrong, I enjoy his showmanship and he is clearly superior msot of the times, but if you're supposed to be the best P4P fighter in the world end fights or at least try to. You made fun of Maia for the first two rounds and it was good because Silva tried to land some big shots on Maia but when that doesn't work, give the people that paid to see you the best you can and end the fucking fight.

As for the BJ Penn/Edgar bout. I thought it was a great fight, specially on Edgar's part, he had some dominant moments and BJ Penn seemed abit out of shape/tired and couldn't find a way counter Edgar's quick pace. Although, Edgar had a great fight I didn't think it was clear enough (In my opinion) that he had beaten Penn like the judges' cards said. I thought it was split decision (at best) for Penn retainining the title and was shocked that Edgar won. It reminds me of the Machida-Shogun fight, Shogun clearly (IMO) won the bout but the judges gave it to Machida and got criticized by it and I think that decision influenced the decision of this bout.

[DavidMarrio]

i think there were a few rounds that were too close to call. It was in no way 50-45 to Edgar that was horrible judging i thought giving it that score. I thought it'd be 48/47 all across and it could have gone either way but BJ didn't look like the BJ Penn that dominated Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian but atleast it'll make the lightweight division even more interesting. I wonder if BJ will still consider going up to Welterweight now

Maynard/Edgar II?

[Scott McFly]

No there's no rules against smack talking or taunting.

Anderson got warned for: Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury. but no rule on smack talking or taunting

Well I can understand the timidity warning. But unless they actually punish him for it, he'll keep acting like an ass in the fights and probably keep winning them too. That's the thing - Dana's pissed at Silva's antics, but he's obviously still an excellent fighter since he keeps winning. And if he keeps bending the rules then they need to punish him if they want him to stop.

This is the fine line - it's a sport, not entertainment. Dana obviously wants entertaining fights, but if a fighter keeps doing what Silva is doing and winning then there's nothing he can do about it, and throwing down the title and leaving in the 4th round is just unprofessional for someone running a company like UFC. You never see the head of the FA storm out of the FA Cup Final because the match has been boring and both teams are playing defensively. Or if one team goes 6-0 up and then just passes the ball between the back 4. Dana can't go out there and demand entertaining fights between the fighters. Some fights will be stinkers, that's what happens when you're running a sport.

[Baddar]

Ah fuck, there goes my bet.

Same. 5 fight accumulator lost only on the BJ fight. Pardon the pun, but that blows.

[Gazz]

Was Penn/Edgar a bad decision? I haven't seen the fight yet but on the live coverage at MMATorch, the reviewer gave the first 4 to Penn and the last to Edgar. Then it gets scored 50-45 to Edgar twice and he called it a worse decision than Shogun/Machida.

[SRN]

Well, he's wrong then. In the later rounds Penn was just slow and sluggish, and Edgar was stinging him constantly with step-in jabs and punches. Edgar perhaps didn't win the fight decisively but I can definetely understand the decision, unlike the Machida/Rua fight.

[Guest Mr. Murray Head]

Was Penn/Edgar a bad decision? I haven't seen the fight yet but on the live coverage at MMATorch, the reviewer gave the first 4 to Penn and the last to Edgar. Then it gets scored 50-45 to Edgar twice and he called it a worse decision than Shogun/Machida.

I and most of those I was talking to on MSN literally had no idea where the decision would go. I had it 48-47 Edgar, but either fighter could have been given any round and it wouldn't have been a horrible call.

[Guest Mr. Murray Head]

Also, for those curious, the main event was scored 50-45, 50-45, 49-46.

[Liam]

People thought more of it due to the shit that surrounded it match-wise, but Edgar vs Penn wasn't be any stretch of the imagination a good fight. But Edgar deserved the victory, for sure.

As for Silva, they need to put better people in the cage with him. His crappier performances have come against people that can't really compare to him, and when he has gone up against a better calibre of fighter, he has blown them away. It was boring, but if Silva can win fights that way, why shouldn't he? He has said it that way before, why should he put himself in a position to lose whlst trying to finish somoene off if he can just pick them off round by round? I don't necessarily agree with it, but some of the 'OMG, SILVA HAS TAKEN A SHIT ON MMA' that I've seen on some sites is a little OTT.

I'd rather be watching Silva than Jon Fitch, that's for sure >_>

[Captain Kirk]

People thought more of it due to the shit that surrounded it match-wise, but Edgar vs Penn wasn't be any stretch of the imagination a good fight. But Edgar deserved the victory, for sure.

As for Silva, they need to put better people in the cage with him. His crappier performances have come against people that can't really compare to him, and when he has gone up against a better calibre of fighter, he has blown them away. It was boring, but if Silva can win fights that way, why shouldn't he? He has said it that way before, why should he put himself in a position to lose whlst trying to finish somoene off if he can just pick them off round by round? I don't necessarily agree with it, but some of the 'OMG, SILVA HAS TAKEN A SHIT ON MMA' that I've seen on some sites is a little OTT.

I'd rather be watching Silva than Jon Fitch, that's for sure >_>

Silva has blown away fighters who have engaged him, when he fights someone who won't be the aggressor he does this crap.

[Powerhart]

Was Penn/Edgar a bad decision? I haven't seen the fight yet but on the live coverage at MMATorch, the reviewer gave the first 4 to Penn and the last to Edgar. Then it gets scored 50-45 to Edgar twice and he called it a worse decision than Shogun/Machida.

It wasn't as clear as the Shogun-Machida bout, like it's been said, Penn didn't look like the usual dominating champion we've seen lately and Edgar's quick pace and constant moving proved to be Penn's nemesis. But I still question a bit the decision to give Edgar the victory as the bout was very close and could've gone either way (unlike the Machida-Shogun fight) and thought that the judges would keep the title on the champion in these close bouts, perhaps influenced by the Machida-Shogun fight.

As for the Silva fiasco. Here's Dana White's interview with MMA Fighting.com.

[Cactus Drags]

Silva's a fucking idiot and I hope whoever he fights next completely dismantles him. All credit to Maia for trying to make it a fight.