UFC 126: The Aftermath

Jake Russell | February 7, 2011 | 2 Replies

It’s all over now, UFC 126 is now in the books and it actually lived up to all the hype behind it. By the end of the night, fans were both shocked and satisfied with what they watched unfold inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Now that the dust has finally settled, let’s take a look at what we’ve learned since Saturday night.

Silva vs. GSP is a must for the UFC

Judging by the opening two minutes, it appeared that we might end up watching the staring contest Dana White predicted for the Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. Once the two Brazilians began engaging, the crowd began getting loud and before anyone could really get excited, it was over. With a perfectly timed front kick, Silva showed just how easily he could defeat any middleweight on the planet. It may not have been the war some had hoped for, but no one can deny how impressive it was. With that, Silva is now left with only one realistic opponent, UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. The French-Canadian is set to face Jake Shields at UFC 129 in April and should he get past the former Strikeforce champion, White himself has stated that St. Pierre will move up to 185 lbs. to challenge Silva. Cowboys Stadium is the targeted location for the bout that could happen by the end of 2011. If the fight does happen, Silva vs. GSP could become the biggest fight in MMA history.

Jon Jones will face Shogun Rua in just six weeks

Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones was a bout to determine which young prospect would propel himself closer to a title shot. Not only did Jones defeat Bader in impressive fashion, he was rewarded right on the spot with a light-heavyweight title shot against Rua next month. Jones’ teammate and friend Rashad Evans was forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Rua after suffering a knee injury. Although Jones is young in his career, it’s tough to argue against his legitimacy as a contender. He has been able to completely dominate every opponent put in front of him. Even before losing via disqualification to Matt Hamill, Jones tossed Hamill around with ease and overwhelmed him with strikes on the ground. Jones will look to mirror the success Rua himself achieved at such a young age in Pride. At 23-years-old, Rua won the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix after defeating such greats as Alistair Overeem and Quinton Jackson. Jones has worked his hardest to get to this point in his career, but Rua is awaiting his chance to end the hype Jones will bring into the bout.

Forrest Griffin is back

Before stepping in against Rich Franklin, it had been over a year since we had seen Griffin inside the cage. A shoulder injury had sidelined the Las Vegas native since he faced Tito Ortiz in November of 2009. Ring rust was thought to be a possible issue facing Griffin, though he showed no signs against Franklin. Griffin controlled Franklin both on the ground and on his feet throughout the fight to earn the unanimous decision. The win adds another notch in his belt and will move him into bigger fights in 2011.

Kid Yamamoto isn’t who he used to be

When the UFC announced the signing of the Japanese star, the MMA community had mixed feelings. It seemed as if the signing came just a little too late and that Yamamoto wasn’t the fighter he used to be. In interviews leading up to his debut, Yamamoto claimed he was the fighter of old and the world would see it. Demetrious Johnson, who was also making his UFC debut, was named as Yamamoto’s opponent. Johnson executed the prefect game plan and defeated Yamamoto rather easily by unanimous decision as Johnson’s speed and takedowns were just too much for Yamamoto. It’s difficult to tell if this was just a bad night for Yamamoto or if he truly isn’t the fighter he once was. Despite losing his debut, he is likely to get a second chance inside the Octagon later this year.

UFC 126 gave us plenty to look forward in the coming months and 2011 should be full of big fights and more exciting performances from the newly acquired WEC fighters.

Tags: Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson, Forrest Griffin, Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Kid Yamamoto, Mauricio Shogun Rua, MMA, Rich Franklin, Ryan Bader, UFC, UFC 126, Vitor Belfort