UFC 112: Invincible event recap and discussion
Posted on April 10, 2010, 04:43 PM by Anton GurevichUFC 112: Invincible promised a historic event, and it truly delivered. MMA fans around the world witnessed another questionable performance from one of the best fighters in the world, and the defeat of arguably the best 155-pounder of all time, BJ Penn.
Everyone expected from the UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva to deliver an impressive performance like he did against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101. But arguably the best P4P fighter in the World had another plans for this evening. Anderson Silva decided to disappoint the action-loving part of the Mixed Martial Arts community with a strange performance. Silva spent most of his time taunting Demian Maia for lack of action instead of finishing the fight. Demian Maia did exactly what was expected from a grappling champion. He came with a cautious approach against one of the best strikers in the game, looking to counter punch and pulling guard against Silva. There is nothing bad in using your advantages to win the fight, Demian Maia is a better grappler in the same way as Anderson Silva is a better striker.
Make no mistake; Anderson Silva is a phenomenal fighter, who can finish the fight in every given position during the fight. But his awkward attitude towards his opponents raises more questions than answers. After all, Anderson Silva was more than once (or even twice) in a position to continue his onslaught on Demian Maia, but he still decided not to go with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace to the ground. Anderson Silva knows his limits, and behind the ridiculous clowning during the fight, he knew exactly what he was doing.
In my opinion, "The Spider" still deserves his belt more than any competitor in the UFC Middleweight division. But it is clear as Sun that he has to face a much stronger competition, whether it is Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight or even Welterweight divisions. A fight against Georges St. Pierre or even another top ranked Light Heavyweight fighter is imminent.
Earlier, Frankie Edgar delivered one of the best tactical performances ever seen inside the Octagon, dethroning the Lightweight Champion BJ Penn in a match that can be safely described as War of Attrition. Frankie Edgar turned his size disadvantage into mobility, controlling BJ Penn’s movement inside the Octagon by delivering low kicks and effective jabs that left “The Prodigy” frustrated. BJ Penn looked heavy in that fight, failing to cope with Frankie Edgar’s energy and speed. “The Prodigy” was exhausted in the fifth round of the fight, letting the New Jersey-native to capitalize and delivering one of the most amazing upsets in MMA history.
Frankie Edgar shocked the world, but in fact, it was a strictly executed gameplan that left BJ Penn’s corner unable to react. Frankie Edgar came to win the fight, and truly deserved his unanimous decision victory. “The Answer” is worthy Champion, who proved that “The Prodigy” has still plenty to fight for at the UFC Lightweight division.
Renzo Gracie failed in his task to avenge the loss of his cousin Royce Gracie to Matt Hughes. Thirty-three year old legend had a very good performance in the first two rounds of the fight, but paid the price of his age, and if you want fight-rust, in the third round. Experienced Matt Hughes was patient in the first rounds of the fight, but when Renzo Gracie showed signs of exhaustion, the former Welterweight Champion had no mercy for the legend. Hughes knocked down Gracie twice with low kicks, and then finished the fight with a decent striking combination, adding another Gracie to his ongoing list of victims. I am personally unsure if Renzo Gracie has anything to sell inside the Octagon. A fight against Matt Serra could make sense, considering the grappling credentials of the two fighters.
Matt Hughes scores another victory since his comeback, and it looks like the former champion is back on track to compete against the UFC Welterweight elite for the shot at the Georges St. Pierre’s title.
Mark Munoz and Rafael Dos Anjos continued their winning streaks in the UFC, with very impressive comebacks. Munoz was outclassed in the first round by the much bigger Kendall Grove, before taking advantage in the second round of the fight. Thanks to his superior wrestling skills, Munoz dominated Grove before finishing the fight with a vicious ground and pound. Mark Munoz is now 3-1 inside the Octagon, as the fight against Ryan Bader is something most of the fans would love to see.
Brazilian prodigy Rafael Dos Anjos submitted the British hope Terry Etim in a very entertaining fight between two talented grapplers. Etim was the better grappler on the paper, and had a very good chance to submit Dos Anjos in a first round Guillotine Choke. Rafael Dos Anjos opened the fight with a very aggressive approach, dominating Etim, before submitting him via a perfectly executed armbar. Twenty-five year old Rafael Dos Anjos is now 15-4 in Mixed Martial Arts, with a very bright future ahead of him.
Looking on the bright side of things, UFC 112: Invinicble was a very entertaining event, which leaves a lot of food for thought. Next UFC attraction will feature the UFC Light Heavyweight title fight between “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida, and the challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The event will take place on May 8 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Picture: Combatlifestyle.com
Comments
Watching a dirty movie and touching myself inappropriately.....Sorry, I thought this was Twitter for a second.
Ever since I saw Edgar beat Tyson Griffin, I knew this dude was something special, but damn, I never expected him to beat Penn. His ability to implement game plans is really something else.
i knew he could win by decision when i saw the sherk fight!
i even comment about it in some article in this site!!
if he does the same thing that he did to sherk stick and move!
and footwork he could win , and i was shock he did but even more shock that the judges what it right this time!!
as far as anderson well its obvious this fighters are not the ones for him!
and GSP isnt either! gsp is smaller , and the cut to 170 will left anderson not as strong as he is , beside gsp gameplan is ground game,
silva needs to stay at 205 and fight Shogun , even jones!!
hes still very dangerous and skilled! he just need someone to push him to the edge! a real challenge and gsp as my hero as it is , hes not the one to do it .
Im really not gettin it man, i am trying to figure out what damn fight everyone watched... Bj tagged edgar on MULTIPLE occasions and by multiple i mean EVERYTIME edgar went to excahnge. It was bs Bj might have been gassed but i mean by the fight me my friends and all the people in Bdubs watched Bj got roobed he won atleast 3 rounds it was stupid and Bj won that fight idc what anyone says
This is was truly disappointing event, I'm sure that post fight conference going to have more fireworks than fights themselves.
I would pay 60 bucks for the post fight press conference. I think Dana is going to stomp on some of his employees! WAR DANA!
If Dana kick drops Silva, I would consider him truly the best P4P!
Well i actually blame Dana for this one, the heat in abu dhabi most likely troubled the fighters that aren't known for their cardio and thus dethroning the former lightweight champ and taking away Silva's killer instinct.
Sparring in the heat is hard enough let alone actually fighting, but still Silva did over taunt and just left me wondering what was running through his mind.
Blame Dana? Are you serious....Dana is responsible for penn losing? Dana is responsible for Silva being way better than his opponent, thus toying with them and trying to run out the clock to hold his precious belt.
All the fighters had to fight in the heat, if they have poor cardio, then they should train harder
If anything, he could be held to the fire for not making it clear enough to anderson that this shouldn't happen again after the last time.
I would actually pay to see the conversation he has with silva tonight!
Well it isn't completely Silva's fault he made his opponent look like garbage, Maia had nothing to lose so he should have just "gone for broke" like Joe Rogan was saying the whole fight.
Anyways im not really blaming Dana I was also Very mad and dissapointed of the outcome of the fights.
Third of all you obviously have no idae about trainin or working out to just say something like "if they have poor cardio, they should train harder"
Shoulda brought Brock Lesnar to abu dhabi
No, this was a ufc mma event not a wwe circu..oops, sorry you're right they could've put him in the ring.
Mark Munoz! Just as i predicted ground and pound for the victory, easily one of the most exciting fights in this card, but wow Frankie Edgar taking the belt from BJ Penn and Anderson Silva dancing, it was an ok event
What a joke Silva has become.. Hope he fades into nonexistence soon.
not happey with any of the results today. a bit pised off tbh.
Munoz was really good tonite...a bit gutted for kendall as he looked fit,tight and on game tonite...good fight and not a fight to be embarressed to lose.
Matt Hughes...WOW!
Frankie Edgar...WOW!...yeah,it would'a be a bit nicer if a few more fists and kicks were thrown,more so from BJ,just so's it would'a looked like he put up more of a fight but thats the thing with BJ,he has 1 good fight,1 bad...Amazing that he didnt have an answer for edgar considering BJ's experience and technique.
I think the sila / maia fight should'a went the same as edgar / penn's,i think maia should'a been awarded the belt,Yeah,silva had the best shots on maia in the 1st 2 rounds but 3-5 were maia's.ok,he might've not has as many hits as silva's 1st 2 rounds but maia changed his pace and chased silva for the entire 3 rounds and he had a good few tags on silva as well.
Silva,as a 'champion' is s'posed to 'Defend' his title,but as usual,played safe and did his usual run-around-the-ring-a-thon.we've all seen silv's game plan and i think his cardio is obviously in question...so,is he really the best pound for pounder...i dont think so and personally,i never thought he was.wow,hes won his last 10,now 11 fights straight,but ratio-wise there are a ton of fighters with a better fight card than him...im not disputing hes a good fighter,i just never thought he was as amazing as everyone else seems to think he is.
good ref'ing by dan in this fight to,good warning for running...earlier ref john goodard was good especially calling off munoz / kendall to.
very dissapointed in silva tonite...if your gonna showboat,which i like a bit of that and he was really good at that tonite...at least finish the fight
Ref should have warned him earlier in the fight , not with 30 seconds left
i think people should look at it from the perspective that a win is a win. For anderson to lose the belt, someone needs to come TAKE it from him. hes not gonna give it away. No one screams at quarterbacks for taking a knee at the end of the game. if you have the lead, hold the lead and take the win. If you're up on the scorecard, why risk getting submitted? if he had lost cause he wanted the finish people would be saying he's a dumb*ss for going for the finish. If you are that far ahead of your opponent, the only way you will lose is by your mistake.
I say keep the lead and take the win. I understand its not what people want to see, but his concerns are not what people want to see. his concern is keeping his belt
Wow, did I not just read this lame response elsewhere?
Seriously!!!
mate.
anderson is 'the champ',and reguardless of being ahead on points,you dont run around for 3 rounds 'away' from an aponant you've just been 'dominating' for the 1st 2 rounds.
he has just shown what a s**t champ he is and is now a chump.
hes been disrespectful to the fans,the ufc,mma in general...and he still doesnt even give a crap.
he thinks he is above everyone,fighter or not...you can tell in how and what he is saying.
i understand what you say about 'taking' the belt,but if your gonna run away from your aponant for 3 rounds and not even give maia the opportunity to try and take it...what a coward AND i would'a loved to have been at the after press conference and told him myself.
i saw a vid on here where a reporter asked if he was happy with his performance and silva replied 'were you'...i wish the reporter had the balls to step back and be a fan and tell him no in front of everyone.
cant believe how long the crowd boo'd silva after the fight as well...awesome...go home coward.
and btw daviesman....i really didnt see "running"....i saw "running" from forrest griffin after he fought silva. circling your opponent cause he hasn't thrown more than 3 strikes the first few rounds is not my definition of running.
maia is a one demensional fighter, and standing there in later rounds waiting to get taken down is not exactly a smart strategy. anderson is a striker first, and that gameplan is to KEEP A DISTANCE AND STRIKE. especially when the ONLY threat your opponent poses is to shoot and bring you down. you can't counterstrike someone who is standing in the middle of the octagon not doing anything.
when you are undefeated in the UFC you dont need to prove anything to anyone. someone needs to walk in there and dominate the fight to prove he is better. until that happens, let him do what he wants. I didnt see Maia step in there and dominate him to the point that he was "running." If people dont like what he does.....go in there and STOP HIM. no one has been able to yet.
Yep, it was right here:
http://www.lowkick.com/UFC/UFC-112-Invincible-post-fight-interviews-Anderson-Silva-Demian-Maia-Frankie-Edgar-and-Matt-Hughes-7138
WTF?
Are you going to Ctrl - C, Ctrl - V for the night?
yea man i guess we all dont have the whole night to sit online and write about what other people do. I posted in both spots because its how I felt and I didnt want to have to retype the whole thing.
if you really have the time to find both comments, let alone write that much, then I feel bad for you. some of us have other shit to do in our lives. imagine that.....
Now i'm glad i did not watch this event after reading all these comments.
But holy shit!! Frankie Edgars the new champ. I knew he could do it.
It's gonna get much more exciting for Anderson. Three choices for his next fight: GSP, Chael, Vitor. No more feeding him chumps.
GSP and Chael are some serious wrestlers that I believe could take Anderson down and dominate him. Maia could probably submit him but lacks the tool to take him down. And I'd like to see Anderson clowning around in front of Vitor... he'll get his ass knocked out.
As much as I hated this fight too, you guys are in denial to think he would lose to sonnen or vitor. Shoot...his mind games alone would beat Vitor's fragilePsyche. When he is Motivated...he dominates! Period!
I'm not saying Chael or Vitor would win for sure but they sure would have a better chance against Silva than Frankie Edgar against BJ.
After 2 fights BJ is going to get another title shot and take the belt back. I don't feel edgar can keep that belt for long.
naw i really think bj should get an instant rematch...
Maia need strong wrestling camp for takedown offence...
I dont understand truely why every one considers Silva to be p4p gretest fighter in the world, yes he a clincal striker but one huge atribute doesnt make you a p4p greatest of all time. BJ Pen gave the best description of a p4p great fighter after the Sanchez fight. He said a champion wud win 5 rounds and win by decession, however a p4p great would finish the fight den and der. Silva rocked Mia on more dan one ocassion and did nothing about it he just baccked off. A true p4p cham would have finished den and der, and wen mia went on his back anderson wudnt go near him and ran away, he knew that he would lose on the ground with a great bbj fighter.
I have to say from a fans point of view i feel ashamed of silvas actions, he hooped around the octagon and wouldnt enguage in the fight as for his excuses, they are just dat excuses, a true p4p fighter would never lose his killer instinct and would have finnished da fight no matter how long of a lay off he had. Silva needs to learn some respect he said mia disrespected him but mai wasnt the Idiot dancen around the cage and taunting his opponent, Martial Arts is about respect and Silva showed none of it tonite.
Become a Fedor fan, you never have to think! With Fedor fighting at only one weight in strikeforce, you'll never have to flip-flop over whether or not to like him like you do everyone else!
Bj wanted to move up weights? if he was smart he'd coast so that we don't turn on him!! GSP wanted to switch weights? Same thing, plus he doesn't finish so he's worthless...right?
Silva wants to move to multiple weights, fight roy jones, and keep his belt? Pfft...since when did weight have anything to do with pound for pound? Fedor is P4p best because he's heavyest and finishes fights!
P4P best is the heaviest?? P4P best is the fighter with the greatest level of skill. You are a complete idiot!!
blah, blah, blah, fedor, blah, blah, fagor, blah, blah
still no one is talking about Maia throwing 3 punches in 2 rounds.