UFC 136

[rayallen0]

This is a huge UFC event tonight and it will probably be one of the best of 2011.  Two title fights, big name fighters, and huge talents capable of putting on thrilling fights. This card looks absolutely fantastic top to bottom and I really want to see every one of these fights, except for maybe Mike Massenzio vs. Steve Cantwell.

That aside, we’ll see huge fights between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard along with Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian.  After a rough 14 months, Chael Sonnen will fight rising star Brian Stann.  Exciting lightweight Melvin Guillard will face the challenge of submission artist Joe Lauzon, while Nam Phan looks to avenge a bogus decision loss against Leonard Garcia.

The preliminary card on this bout is also pretty great: Maia vs. Santiago, Pettis vs. Stephens, and Beltran vs. newcomer Stipe Miocic should all be interesting bouts.  UFC 136 is the kickoff for the UFC’s awesome fall schedule, so be prepared for lots of fantastic MMA over the next few months.

UFC 136 will air live on pay-per-view at 9:00 PM EST/8:00 PM CST, with two prelims airing on Spike TV at 8:00 PM EST/7:00 PM CST.  The remaining prelims will air live on Facebook at 6:00 PM EST/5:00 PM CST.

Lightweight Title: (c) Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) vs. Gray Maynard (10-0-1, 1 NC)


Featherweight Title: (c) Jose Aldo (19-1) vs. Kenny Florian (14-5)


Middleweight: Chael Sonnen (25-11-1) vs. Brian Stann (11-3)


Lightweight: Melvin Guillard (28-8-2, 1 NC) vs. Joe Lauzon (20-6)


Featherweight: Nam Phan (16-9) vs. Leonard Garcia (15-7-1)


Middleweight: Demian Maia (14-3) vs. Jorge Santiago (23-9)


Lightweight: Anthony Pettis (13-2) vs. Jeremy Stephens (20-6)


Heavyweight: Joey Beltran (13-5) vs. Stipe Miocic (6-0)


Middleweight: Aaron Simpson (9-2) vs. Eric Schafer (12-5-2)


Middleweight: Steve Cantwell (7-4) vs. Mike Massenzio (12-5)


Featherweight: Zhang Tie Quan (13-1) vs. Darren Elkins (12-2)

[rayallen0]

Lightweight Title: (c) Frankie Edgar d. Gray Maynard (KO – Round 4, 3:54)

Frankie Edgar is my new man crush.  This dude is my hero.  The fight last night started much like their previous contest, Maynard scoring big early and coming close to finishing the fight.  Edgar survived and looked much better from the second round on, but was then able to knock Maynard out in the fourth round.

I have no idea what’s wrong with Gray Maynard.  Does he just blow his load in the first round and give up for the rest of the fight?  He probably could have ended the fight in the second if he pushed forward and got in Edgar’s face, but the champ prevailed and impressed the hell out of me.

Ideally, Edgar will take on Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez sometime in early 2012, while Maynard should take on the winner of Guida vs. Henderson for the next title shot.  I’m hopeful this will work out for Melendez’s debut as he absolutely deserves a title shot right away.

Featherweight Title: (c) Jose Aldo d. Kenny Florian (Unanimous Decision)

This fight ended up being pretty close, but to me, Aldo was very clearly the winner.  His striking looked more crisp and he just seemed more comfortable here.  Aldo will go on to greet another challenger, likely Chad Mendes, while who knows where Florian can go.  Toil near the top of the featherweight division?  Move back up to lightweight?  He seems to have exhausted all of his options here and that’s kinda sad.

Middleweight: Chael Sonnen d. Brian Stann (Submission – Round 2, 3:51)

Briefly, Chael Sonnen looked scary good and dominated Brian Stann during this fight.  End of story, right?

Oh, except Chael Sonnen called out Anderson Silva telling the champ that he “absolutely sucks” and challenging him to a loser leaves town match.  That is, Sonnen will leave the UFC if he loses but Silva must leave the middleweight division if Sonnen wins.  Silva looked bemused by the challenge and I’m sure we’ll be seeing the fight at the Super Bowl weekend card.  Oh, and Chael Sonnen complimented Anderson Silva’s dancing after the fight.

This is awesome.

Lightweight: Joe Lauzon d. Melvin Guillard (Submission – Round 1, 0:47)

This win for Joe Lauzon may have surprised many, but I actually thought Lauzon could win.  Guillard was so hot coming into this fight and a knockout win for the “Young Assassin” seemed to be a likely outcome, but Lauzon caught Guillard early and was able to pull off a quick submission.

Featherweight: Nam Phan d. Leonard Garcia (Unanimous Decision)

This turned out to be quite the exciting fight and was especially notable since Leonard Garcia lost a decision!  Nam Phan looked pretty good last night and won the striking battle with Leonard Garcia, earning a clear decision victory that should be a measure of retribution for their previous fight.

Middleweight: Demian Maia d. Jorge Santiago (Unanimous Decision)

Jorge Santiago kind of sucks, doesn’t he?

Lightweight: Anthony Pettis d. Jeremy Stephens (Split Decision)

This fight wasn’t as close as the decision might lead you to believe.  Pettis was in control for the majority of this fight, winning the limited striking exchanges and controlling most of the fight on the ground.  The top of the lightweight division is so congested and Pettis is going to have to keep winning fights like this to stay relevant in the division.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

There is no way Maynard will take on the winner of the Guida/Henderson fight. Gray Maynard should not fight for the title anytime soon, as long as Frankie Edgar is champion. These guys have had 3 fights already and no one wants to see another one in the near future. The Guida/Henderson fight should determine the next contender. I have no idea why Dana White wants to bring Melendez into such a stacked division. I can see Maynard fighting Pettis. Pettis seems to have fallen all the way back to mid-tier in people's eyes, but lets not forget that before the Guida fight he was promised a championship match. I still can't see anyone fucking with his striking. If only he could prevent those takedowns...