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UFC 117: 8/7 Oakland, California at Oracle Arena (Silva vs. Sonnen)
By Zach Arnold | August 6, 2010
Dark matches
- Light Heavyweights: Todd Brown vs. Tim Boetsch
- Welterweights: Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
- Welterweights: Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
- Heavyweights: Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
- Welterweights: Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
- Light Heavyweights: Rodney Wallace vs. Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis
Main card
- Heavyweights: Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos
- Welterweights: Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
- Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
- Welterweights: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
- UFC Middleweight Title match: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 45 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I think this show is going to be hurt very, very badly by the fact that a better card is being held 2 weeks later. Combined with people still really pissed at Anderson Silva for stinking up the joint, I think this is going to be a big disappointment. And if it does break its low expectations (I can’t see it doing any better than 425-450K) then Chael Sonnen needs his buyrate bonus check tripled because he’d have single handedly sold the show. I will say they’ve done one of the better commercials for UFC 117 than they have in a while. But still, Silva getting the wrong kind of heat + a bigger show 2 weeks later = weak buys.
I’ll pick:
Silva over Sonnen by decision
Fitch over Alves by decision
Guida over Dos Anjos by decision
Almeida over Hughes by submission
JDS over Nelson by KO
Silva over Boetsch by TKO
Hazelett over Story by submission
I don’t know that UFC 118 is better, but it is sure to do better.
Main event aside, I’d say that UFC 117 has the more compelling group of fighters and better matchups, though both are pretty stacked compared to what we’ve seen in the first half of the year.
It’s not a horrible card or anything. But JDS-Nelson is not competitive, Almeida-Hughes is not competitive given how old Hughes looked against Renzo, and the main event is either going to be a snoozer because it’s a Sonnen lay-n-pray clinic or a snoozer because Silva spends the whole fight running. Maybe they can work the marks into thinking “OMG THESE GUYS HATE EACH OTHER IT’S GOING TO BE A BLOODY WAR~!” like they did for Rampage-Evans, but I really doubt it when even Dana shits all over how dull Silva is.
Fitch-Alves is certainly very important to the WW division , although I can’t see the winner getting a shot anytime soon no matter who wins because UFC just doesn’t do rematches that fast when the contender was blown out. And Guida-Dos Anjos will surely win FOTN honors, but neither guy will ever amount to much beyond gatekeeper at best, so it still doesn’t make the card more relevant than 118.
In comparison with UFC 118 where you have a controversial fight being rematched and a #1 contender’s LW title fight, plus people really interested in either seeing Nate Diaz get KTFO if you hate him, or seeing the faux-Irishman get humiliated grappling if you hate Davis instead. And like any freak show fight, at least you’re guaranteed the amusement of Toney getting tooled grappling for his comeuppance or the hilarity it would bring if he was working everybody on how lightly he’s taking MMA training and actually beats Randy Liddell-style by blocking his takedowns and knocking him out. I know the latter isn’t likely, but it would be the most hilarious moment in MMA for the decade for sure. So, yes, I do think 118 is way better.
“But JDS-Nelson is not competitive,”
Crazyness Mark! Roy has a style that JDS hasn’t had to deal with yet because Gonzaga’s wrestling looks like it has taken a step back in recent years. Now I won’t out and out say that this is Roy’s fight because I would definately make JDS the favorite, but to me it’s a pick em fight.
I think that both cards are right on par with one another. The only one that stands out really is the couture/Toney fight which for sheer entertainment factor gives 118 a leg up, but for relevance I would have to go with 117.
By that argument then Randy-Toney is also competitive because Couture hasn’t faced a pure boxer since his days of Army boxing between tours in the Korean War.
Ummm no that’s not the same argument at all…
Very solid card outside of the main event. I just don’t trust a Silva fight ever again.
This PPV does have a chance of being really boring.
Personally, I don’t think this is the card to skip. UFC 119 in September which is headlined by the Nogueira brothers is the real PPV to skip over the next few months.
Why isn’t 45 Huddle doing his ongoing investigation of how many unsold tix there are like he does for every non-Zuffa show? Oakland & San Diego have tons still available.
Chael vs Anderson is a lame main event. Chael has no shot…unless Anderson dances again and they give him the De La Hoya/Trinidad treatment or some weird shit. And wasn’t Andersons excuse for his last main event performance that Maia was disrespectful in interviews so he wanted to embarrass him? How is Chael’s lame jawing going to coax a fight out of him?
I love that Dana’s promise of “making it up to the fans” is making people pay $50 to see Anderson fight someone else with no striking…and this time with poor submission defense.
Yes, that is hilarious. But it will be explained away by Zuffaites by pointing out one fight on the undercard that was really good (probably Guida-Dos Anjos this show) which makes up for the crappy 25 minutes of the main so really it was a stellar show. Because remember the measuring stick they use is “Is it as bad as Strikeforce: Nashville?” As long as it isn’t, even on complete duds like UFC 109, then it is a great success.
Maybe because the UFC brand is a proven seller in the market that basically always has gates of at least $1.5 Million and PPV Buyrates of 300,000. So there is no point in looking at that information since one bad gate just means they won’t do business there again, and does not mean the company still isn’t successful.
With SF, they are doing things that show they are razor thin on their money. Which means when they do $500,000 for a big show, that could mean peril in the future for them as they don’t really have any established markets except San Jose.
Spike TV portion?
I’m not aware of them announcing a Spike prelim show for this event. Even if they did they would not have the fights you have listed. Those four guys have never been on TUF and every prelim show has had at least two former TUF fighters.
Man I sure would like to go.
Decent card too.
But I’m having a hard time reconciling paying 70-100 bucks for the chaff seats just to be surrounded by hollering Frat boys in affliction shirts.
I might have to murder someone.
🙂
I can only picture getting the PPV at home being the best option for UFC enjoyment.
Im really excited about this card. I am pumped to see Anderson-Sonnen, I think JDS-Roy will be fun, Fitch-Alves is compelling, Hughes getting choked by Almeida will be great, and hopefully Guida will lose. Seeing Phil Davis fight again is another bonus, as he is going to be a top 3 fighter at 205 within 3 years.
Sonnen doping people into thinking he has a shot is great. I think the only people that believe he’s a worthy opponent are the ones that picked against him thinking Marqhardt and/or Okami would smash him. But I don’t care if I really see that fight. You know that Anderson Silva has gone over 2 years without fighting the guy ranked #2 in his division? Amazing, isn’t it?
Rest of the card is good though. Fitch/Alves II seems a bit weird since neither guy is gonna get a title shot again barring everyone else getting AIDS and Abu Dhabi not being available for another event, but whatever – its two highly ranked guys fighting one another.
I believe strongly that Roy Nelson will shock the world and beat JDS. He belongs nowhere near a world heavyweight title shot ever and any money bet on Velasquez or Lesnar against him would be so safe, it might as well be insured by the FDIC. And yet, Nelson resembles the only man to ever beat JDS physically and skillwise. He will try to take down JDS, which none of his recent opposition has seriously tried to do, and in doing so, I expect him to grind out the Brazilian. His chin is actually good enough for him to get tagged and not immediately fall down either.
Hughes/Almeida is about 8 years late but like the last Hughes fight – I’m still dumb enough to care. He’s a HOF type fighter, and one of the best to ever enter a ring or octagon. Almeida is a guy who was immensely talented but in the wrong era. I think its his chance to shine against Hughes and his blown out knees.
Rodney Wallace is fucking awful, and I assume that Joe Silva didn’t actually see the 8 man tourney he won before signing him. Davis in less than 3 minutes.
Clay Guida/Dos Anjos will be crazy and I don’t care who wins. I do hope to see it.
Nothing else about this show matters to me.
Who is # 2? Vitor?
Yea I would have to think Sonnen is easily #2 right now. Shields is the only other guy with an argument to be made.
Shields and Vitor both have more impressive wins; unquestionably so.
In what planet?, Sonnen has wins over Filho, Miller, Okami and Mardquart that’s more impressive than anything Vitor or Shields have done in their entire runs at MW.
Total career-wise maybe. But in MMA, where people speak of 2008 as if it was as distant in the past as 1948, there’s no way anybody is going to give weight to Vitor’s wins in the 1990s and early 00s. People don’t even want to count stuff from 5 years ago as relevant.
GSP is in the same boat. By the time he fights again after Koscheck, it’ll be almost 2 years since he beat a then #2 Alves (3 years if you still ranked Fitch #2 circa UFC 100).
In defense of Silva and GSP, the reason they haven’t fought the #2 guy in 1-2 years is because they already beat him about 1-2 years earlier.
You’re absolutely right. Now, I’d argue if they weren’t so afraid to match their hoped for title challengers with those guys, they might have bumped them off. But I guess since the fanbase doesn’t give a shit, it doesn’t really matter if they force the issue or not.
Unquestionably? No not hardly.
Sonnen: Marquardt(#2 or #3 at the time), Okami(Top 5), Miller(Top 25-30 ish?)
Shields: Hendo(#2 or #3 at the time, sometimes top 10 at LHW), Miller(Top 25-30 ish?), Lawler(Top 10)
Belfort: Franklin(Not ranked but perenally top 3 at MW, sometimes top 10 at LHW), Lindland(Top 4-8 at the time), Martin(Top 40 ish?)
I’m really not seeing where you’re coming from…
Who was ranking Marqhardt over Henderson? I don’t know of anyone that was. I also see Franklin as the better win than Marqhardt, who’s elevation above Franklin was due to Franklin moving up to 205 after being shut out of the 185 title picture and not having eclipsed his wins or record.
In any case, I looked around and apparently BE’s combined rankings have Sonnen at #2. So I guess we’ll just go with this being his first fight in 2 years against the #2 guy (even if I think its kinda a joke that he is).
“In any case, I looked around and apparently BE’s combined rankings have Sonnen at #2. So I guess we’ll just go with this being his first fight in 2 years against the #2 guy (even if I think its kinda a joke that he is).”
Good enough for me.
Terrible main event that I could care less about. But the rest of the card is very good.
I’m really looking forward to JDS vs Nelson.
Potentially a boring event just because there’s just too many wrestlers in the card.
If everyone plays safe and doesn’t finish their fight, then main event will be pressured by both Zuffa and audience to end quickly. That’s how Nate’s fight with Anderson Silva got screwed by big John Macarthy.
I’m rooting for Big dog, Big country, and Big kid aka beautiful mind (R).
My predictions:
Silva
Alves
Guida
Hughes
JDS
3 teaser: Alves, Silva, JDS. Alves has improved tremendously in the last 4 years, but Fitch is the exact same fighter. I see him wearing Fitch down with leg kicks to the point where he can barely walk, and muscling out of the clinch, which will get easier and easier due to the legkicks.
Silva and JDS are gimme’s, although I give Nelson even less of a chance than Sonnen, and the Guida and Hughes fights are too volatile for a parley. I don’t like the Hughes pick much, but he’s got perennially underrated grappling skills, and I think he rides a decision on top. 4-5 years ago I pick him easily, now, not so much.
There’s no such thing as a gimme win in MMA, dude. We’ve seen fighters on the level of JDS and Silva lose to fighters much less favored than Sonnen and Nelson are. Both of them could definitely win under the right circumstances (Nelson outpowering JDS grappling before he eats punches, Sonnen being able to get the Octagon Control point win out-wrestling Silva for 5 rounds.)
I only have 1 prediction for UFC 117, Sonnen by TKO in the third.
I’ve been cocky about my great streak of predicting big fights, but this entire card is so hard to predict. There isn’t an easy pick in my eyes. Here I go. Laugh at me if my predictions go 0-5….
Chael Sonnen, Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Junior Dos Santos, & Clay Guida.
I don’t see Clay Guida survives the submission attempts by Rafael dos Anjos or Matt Hughes survives Ricardo Almeida’s ground games as well.
Your right I hate guessing this card.
Alves needs to fight at 185. He misses weight more than any fighter i can think of. I mean he is just to big for 170. Silva by Ko early and brutally.
If Fitch wins he obviously earned his title shot. If Alves wins, the winner of Shields/Kampmann should get the title shot.
The most pathetic part of Alves is that he doesn’t even seem to care.
Or another possibility of Fitch winning but Koscheck upsetting GSP and them going on record saying Fitch would move to 185 if Koscheck won the title. Dana would be pissed and I’d bet he’d make GSP-Shields for the next title shot instead of just giving it to Shields outright.
“If Fitch wins he obviously earned his title shot. If Alves wins,…”
So many gosh darn good fights tonight!
Thiago/boetsch also too would have been too much fun to be true!
That would have been Joyous MMA overload.
Silva, Fitch, Dos Anjos, Almeida, Dos Santos
Sonnen, Fitch, Almeida, Dos Santos, Guid
I’ve got Silva by T/KO 1, Fitch & Guida by decision, Almeida by sub 2, and Dos Santos by T/KO 2.
Main is mismatch, but otherwise it’s a pretty good show here. Co-main? I actually enjoy Fitch’s methodical style, but Alves’ continued weight struggles… that bores me.
I (shockingly) agree with Alan, that we’ll likely see if Dos Santos can handle a wrestler in his bout with Nelson. Of course, I disagree with his pick. Ah, that feels better.
Hughes looked awful and probably lost two rounds to Renzo. I look for Almeida (who I, like a lot of older fans — esp BJJ guys — have often overrated) to wipe him out.
On that subject, I love Dos Anjos’ jiu-jitsu, but I can easily see Guida grinding him out. Wouldn’t be surprised, and would love to see, a Dos Anjos win though.
Silva (Sonnen’s corner throws in towel)
Hughes (unanimous decision)
Nelson (submission, round 1)
Fitch (unanimous decision)
Dos Anjos (submission, round 3)
teaser play: Silva, Hughes and Dos Anjos. Silva because he’s the best, Hughes because I believe he’s being protected in the twilight of his career via UFC management and Dos Anjos because I always pick against Guida.
“MAKE YOUR PREDICTIONS”,
if you dare!
😉
I learned my lesson (a long time ago despite the fact I that I continue to tempt fate).
If I openly pick the guy that I want to win, he’ll lose.
Even if he’s the obvious and scientifically just favorite.
I’ve got my suspicions, and I’ve got my faves, but no comment.
🙂
(Is that fair enough lord?)
Silva by quick ko or tko, ala Griffin, unlike many I do think Silva can rise to an occasion when he is fired up and to show Dana etc. how little they nreally know about him
Alves by wallowfest
Almeida in a slaughter
Nelson by sub
Dos Anjos sooner or later
Dang Mr. Greene….almost missed every fight!
Sonnen you idiot. He should of worked position instead of staying in the guard like that. Damn what a dumbass. HE HAD IT
Lord and baby irrational…
We almost had him!!!
I’m sorry lord!
I’m not sure what I did wrong!!
Wasn’t Sonnen an Olympic team alternate? If so, it’s not hard to figure out that a wrestler of that caliber (like an NFL player compared to a Division 1 player)would be able to take down a non-wrestler. Mark Munoz said that when he tried taking Silva down, he ate a knee. While Munoz was Division 1, did he do much after that?
Everyone thought that Silva would punch, kick and, knee is way to an easy victory and, were wrong! Who would have thought he’d be on his back and, would have to rely on his secondary skills (and it looks as if he takes those skills seriously)like the sankaku jime.
Chael blew it, which makes him not as complete an MMA fighter as Silva, but he took Silva out of his game, and decimated his take down defense. Silvas striking game is among the best in MMA, as are his elusive take down skills. Chael Sonnen proved himself on Saturday, despite his loss.