The UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar event took place on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. It was a night of upsets and overall an excellent event except for the co-main event between former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Let’s take a look at the top five moments of the event.
Moment #1: Alistair Overeem getting too cocky and gassing..then getting knocked out by Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva
Overeem had his way with a cautious Silva early on as he won most of the striking exchanges in the first round. Overeem then took the fight to the ground and unleashed some good ground and pound, but seemed to gas himself out in the beginning of the third. Once the third round got underway, Silva unleashed a “Killer Instinct” ultra combo that caused Overeem to drop to the canvas like a sack of rocks. It’s doubtful that Overeem can recover from a knockout like that as the aura he had built up as a devastating striker since winning the K-1 tournament went up in flames…as did his chance fighting for the UFC heavyweight title.
Moment #2: Demian Maia ‘fitching” Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch is known for his smothering top game and his ability to grind out his opponents for decision wins. Well, Demian Maia did exactly that for all three rounds of their fight to win a unanimous decision. He took Fitch down at will and spent the majority of the time each round with back mount and working for the rear naked choke that Fitch defended well. However, Fitch offered no offense whatsoever.
Moment #3: Frankie Edgar being involved in another close decision
Jose Aldo lit Frankie Edgar up for the better part of the first three rounds, but Edgar came on strong to make a fight out of his attempt to become UFC featherweight champion. Aldo won the first two rounds hands down like 6:30, and won the third round by doing more damage. However, Edgar won the final two rounds to make it a close fight. Some fans thought Edgar won the third round, but the majority of the people feel the judges got it right. I scored it three rounds to two for Aldo.
Moment #4: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira outboxing Rashad Evans to win a unanimous decision
If you told me that Rashad Evans planned to strike with Nogueira for the better part of three rounds, I would have picked Nogueira to win all day. However, Evans had a speed advantage and is one of the best at transitioning from striking to takedowns. He was only able to take Nogueira down once during the fight, and Nogueira was back on his feet within seconds of being taken down. It was a fight in which Evans didn’t look like himself, and I wonder if he was injured going into the bout. He was coming off a long layoff, but it had been longer since Nogueira had fought and he’s older than Evans. Huge upset win for Nogueria, and Evans needs to figure out if he’s going to go to the middleweight division after the loss. He almost has to at this point.
Moment #5: Strikeforce fighters going 3-0 inside the octagon
Bobby Green had to overcome a tough first round and a horrible referee decision in the second round to submit a worn down Jacob Volkmann in the third. The two had traded verbal jabs leading up to the fight, but Green made a huge statement with the way he beat Volkmann. Isaac Vallie-Flag edged UFC veteran Yves Edwards in a very close contest. Vallie-Flag was the more aggressive fighter which was mostly likely the difference in the fight. Finally, Tyron Woodley just plain starched Jay Hieron in the first round. He landed a huge right hand that rocked Hieron, and then followed Hieron to the ground to put the finishing touches on him. Forever Strikeforce!
Stay tuned to ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) for more UFC 156 coverage.