UFC 100 pre Big Nog possible title shot, Silva in a must-win

Dent · **Posted:** Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:45 pm

UFC 110 preview: Big Nog battles "new guy" for possible title shot, Silva in a must-win

Should he get past Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Cain Velasquez's status relative to his lack of experience will be second only to current champ Brock Lesnar since the UFC's early days.

The two heavyweights meet Sunday in the main event of UFC 110 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, the promotion's first incursion into the land Down Under. The event airs live on pay-per-view in its usual Saturday-night timeslot in North America.

UFC president Dana White said red-hot DVD sales led to a push for a show in the former British colony. Tickets for the event sold out within hours.

Additionally, after some early bad press, the Australian media has come around. White even said an Australian version of "The Ultimate Fighter" is not out of the question.

Nogueira (32-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), playing the "experience" part to Velasquez's "youth," said his heavily hyped opponent is the perfect opportunity to prove he's still got it after 11 years in the fight game.

"It's a good challenge for me; he's kind of new talent, very solid in the weight division," the 33-year-old said Wednesday at the pre-UFC 110 press conference. "But he's kind of a new guy in the UFC. I've been seeing him for less than two years.

"It's a big challenge for me. It's a new guy who will push the fight very much. It will be very exciting for me."

A meteoric rise to the top of the heavyweight division has not cracked Velasquez's stoic exterior.

"No, no pressure," the 27-year-old said Wednesday on the opposite side of the podium. "Regardless of what people say, I don't listen to what [other people say]. I know what my job is – that's to train hard in the gym and get better and go out and win fights. That's my job."

Velasquez's headlining spot is justified according to White.

"A lot of tough guys have been thrown at [Velasquez], and he's had a progression to get to this point," White said. "I think that he's faced good competition and won handily. He looks better every time he fights.

"I think he's one of the top heavyweights in the world, so facing a guy like Nogueira at this point in his career actually makes a lot of sense for him."

Velasquez (7-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), a former All-American wrestler who works with "Guerilla jiu jitsu" proponent Dave Camarillo at the American Kickboxing Academy, said he called in more BJJ black belts to put him in bad positions inside the cage.

Nogueira said he'd called in top wrestlers such as UFC middleweight Mark Munoz and sharpened his boxing skills.

Undoubtedly, much of their preparation was about the fulcrum of the fight: Velasquez's brutal ground and pound vs. Nogueira's boxing and submission skills from the bottom. Therein lies the intrigue – what Velasquez is good at is what Nogueira is good at, at least from a historical perspective.

So far, Velasquez is undefeated in the octagon with key victories over Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo at UFC 104 and UFC 99, respectively, though he's never faced a fighter with the breadth of experience that Nogueira holds.

Nogueira, meanwhile, has looked uneven in four UFC appearances. He most recently defeated Randy Couture at UFC 102 this past August in a brilliant rebound from a performance that cost him his interim title when he fought Frank Mir at UFC 92 with staph infection. Still, Tim Sylvia punished him on his feet at UFC 81 before he pulled a submission out of his hat, and Heath Herring almost knocked him out at UFC 73.

While Nogueira's toughness is unparalleled, it's been an awful long time since he's faced anybody with the wrestling skills of Velasquez.

White said the winner of the fight is on deck for a shot at Lesnar if the winner of UFC 111's interim title fight between Shane Carwin and Mir is injured.

With the promise of a great war awaiting them Sunday, the heavyweights showed much respect for each other at the podium. Not all of the fighters followed their lead.

Silva battles for his career while Bisping battles for respect

Wanderlei Silva needs a win, and needs it badly.

After losing five of his past six fights in the octagon as a light heavyweight, the congenial Brazilian is struggling to maintain relevancy in the UFC. He's an undisputed legend of the sport, and his five-year run in PRIDE is not likely to be duplicated. Unfortunately, he has only so far to fall.

Silva (32-10-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) could continue to fight and make money for the promotion, no doubt. He's loved almost unanimously by fans and will put on a show regardless of the outcome. He is, as his UFC 110 co-main event opponent Michael Bisping said, a great ambassador for the sport.

Still, his fight with Bisping is an attempt at reinvention as a middleweight. After years as an undersize 205-pound fighter, he hopes to eliminate on Sunday any factors that might hamper a return to the winner's circle.

Bisping (18-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), on the other hand, is not fighting for relevancy, but he is fighting to erase a lingering distaste among many fans who felt his appearance as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter 9" was less than flattering, to put it nicely.

The winner of the fight could get a shot at Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 115 if healthy, and with that, would be second in line to a middleweight title shot.

Silva, perhaps in tribute to his fans, has championed their cause in the pre-fight build-up and said he doesn't like the British fighter, nor do any of the fighters he's worked with in camp.

Bisping shrugs at the trash talk that's come his way, though he gave it back Wednesday when Silva promised to kick his ass. According to a later video blog post, Silva said he needs to hate his opponent.

And he's mostly right, though most of Silva's hate is for show – save for the emotion that's bound to come up when longtime nemesis Quinton "Rampage" Jackson steps into Bisping's corner.

“The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner shrugged off demons that arose from his knockout loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 100 and showed marked improvement on the ground in his most recent performance at UFC 105, a TKO win over PRIDE veteran Denis Kang.

Before he got caught with Henderson's overhand right, Bisping played a hit-and-run game with an active jab and ample footwork (though he moved into the right hand and later said he was forced to do so). He may hit-and-run with Silva. Or, on the advice of Jackson, he may feel confident enough in his defense to stand up to the Brazilian's swarm and throw straight punches.

Silva, driven by his emotion, will likely do what he always does: attack. But don't be surprised if he goes for a takedown early in the fight; he may want to keep Bisping down and play it safe. A win, after all, is a win. And as Bisping pointed out Wednesday at the press conference, a winner stays in the UFC.

Also on the main card, lightweights Joe Stevenson (31-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and George Sotiropoulos (11-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) lock horns in the third fight of the evening's main card.

Sotiropoulos is the somewhat-local boy with roots in the southern Australian state of Victoria. He is currently on a four-fight win streak and faces his biggest challenge in Stevenson.

Stevenson is currently riding a two-fight win streak with victories over Nate Diaz and Spencer Fisher. Although he has a height and reach disadvantage, Stevenson has defeated all but the top three competitors in the lightweight division and is excellent where Sotiropoulos has shown promise: on the ground and in the scramble. Expect Sotiropoulos to keep it on the feet while Stevenson drives the fight to the mat.

UFC 110 – Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia

MAIN CARD

* Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
* Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva
* George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Stevenson
* Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine
* Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Anthony Perosh

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
* Brian Foster vs. Chris Lytle
* C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
* Igor Pokrajac vs. James Te Huna

Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/17997/ufc-110 ... st-win.mma

UFC 100 pre Big Nog possible title shot, Silva in a must-win

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