Cain Velasquez sent a clear message with his demolition of Bigfoot. It must've helped that Daniel Cormier, who trains with Cain's camp, American Kickboxing Academy, fought Silva in Strikeforce in order to move on to win the Grand Prix Final and could have provided helpful insights into how to defeat the larger, stronger opponent. He immediately took down Silva, catching a kick while simultaneously pushing him back, knocking him to the ground. It may be that Cain didn't want to risk getting knocked out by Silva or perhaps Cain felt opportunistic, whatever the case may be, he spent the next 3 minutes turning Silva's face into mush, roughing him up with short elbows from the guard which opened up a gash that released a geyser of crimson. Could he employ a similar strategy on JDS, someone that hasn't spent more than a minute on his back while fighting in the UFC? He would be wise to, though getting Junior to the ground would be incredibly difficult, as Frank Mir learned.
Frank Mir wasted no time in trying to take down Junior Dos Santos (JDS). Within the first ten seconds of the bout Mir attempted to grapple JDS, desperately trying to hold on to a hip, a leg, a heel. Demoralized, Mir was beaten to the punch again and again, JDS' boxing was quicker than Mir's Muay Thai offense or defense, the jab and 1-2 slipping through consistently. JDS was quicker and his movement kept him out of the range of Mir's roundhouses and knee strikes. With his game plan imposed, Mir was eventually knocked down, a final hammer strike ending the fight and his aspirations in becoming a three-time UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Mir was too slow, JDS was too crisp and the fact remains that all fights start standing. Although Mir's ground game is the most lethal of the heavyweight division (two broken arms, to say the least), he lacks offensive wrestling or judo takedowns, which could place his opponent where he wants, in his web of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). Will he ever be able to challenge for the belt again? It's not unheard of, Couture fought well into his forties, Hendo (Dan Henderson) is challenging Jon "Bones" Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight strap and Mark Coleman had a late run as well (is there a Frank Mir 4.0?). If Cain can avoid JDS' pinpoint strikes and take him to the ground, the fight may be his, though we've yet to see the champ's chops on the mat.
The all-heavyweight main card was certainly entertaining. Roy Nelson did not disappoint, knocking out Dave "Pee Wee" Herman with an overhand right that put him into a sitting position. Nelson says his fists might contain "dynamite or small rocks", a plausible reason given the explosiveness of his strike and given Herman's iron chin. Herman tried to employ a long-range approach a la Jon Jones, however, Nelson still managed to catapult a boulder to the temple of Pee Wee. It's been reported that Nelson has been training with Mayweather's uncle, perhaps this has given him a new confidence in his hands and insight in seeing openings. Shane Del Rosario and Stipe Miocic had an incredible first round, with Del Rosario getting the better of the stand-up. Del Rosario's Muay Thai was clinical though his stamina seemed to ebb in the second, leaving an opening for Miocic who took down Del Rosario, finishing him off with ground & pound. Miocic battled through a barrage to TKO Del Rosario in the second, though both fighters looked impressive in the fight. Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve found a home for his arm bar submission in his bout with Lavar Johnson, cinching it up a minute into the fight. He's been on the losing end of power punchers so this fight has him in contention once again.
The undercard was no undercard, with Jamie Varner halting the Edson Barboza locomotive. It was his boxing that made the difference, Varner ate leg kick after leg kick but kept on pushing through to deliver critical strikes to Barboza's head to end the fight. This is Varner's first fight back in the UFC and most were counting him out against such a dynamic striker like Barboza, who has enough knockout highlight reels to make thousands of Youtube montage videos. Varner makes an emphatic statement that he belongs in the UFC among the Lightweight division's elite, a stacked division by most critic's accounts.
I didn't manage to watch Mayhem's fight, though his loss, dismissal and subsequent retiring from the sport were all well-documented occurrences. I like Mayhem, he may be a polarizing figure, he may be a big personality, but at least he's an intelligent fighter that knows how to play the game (as far as publicity). I think Dana White had it in for him, though personal feelings didn't stop him from bringing Mayhem to the UFC, that's good business. The only reason he brought him over from Strikeforce was, aside from his fight credentials, because of his broad fan base, built from MTV's "Bully Beatdown". Mayhem ginormous persona couldn't keep up with his UFC ambitions and, after that awful ass whooping he took at the hands of Michael Bisping, his days were numbered as an elite cage fighter with the UFC.
All in all, UFC 146 delivered, thanks in large part to the big men.
