The UFC Blog

Philadelphia, PA – The dominating force that is Anderson “The Spider” Silva resurfaced Saturday night as he knocked out Forrest Griffin in embarrassing fashion.

The main event featured BJ Penn retaining his UFC lightweight title against top contender Kenny Florian, but it was Silva who stole the show in front of a wild Wachovia Center crowd.  

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin was hand picked to bring the fight to “The Spider” and he did.  However we were quickly reminded why many fighters aren’t willing to stand and trade with Silva.

Griffin came out the aggressor as Silva patiently gauged the timing of his punches.  Once Silva figured that Griffin couldn’t hurt him he quickly exploited his opponent’s chin.  

Reminiscent to Roy Jones Jr., Silva bobbed and weaved as he peppered Griffin’s chin knocking him down on two different occasions.  Griffin was smiling after the first knockdown, but Silva would quickly wipe that smirk off his face with the second time around.  

The gentleman that he is, Silva offered to help his downed opponent and surprisingly Griffin obliged.  

Griffin continued to fight but could only hit the air as Silva used his Matrix-esque abilities to dodge a flurry of punches and ended the fight with a stiff right hand.  Griffin was floored and referee Kevin Mulholland stopped the contest at 3:23 of the opening round.

An obvious embarrassed Forrest Griffin quickly ran out the Octagon and it’s not sure if he’s yet to resurface.

Silva celebrated his second victory as a light heavyweight and it’s uncertain if he’ll continue fighting at 205.  "It’s a big problem, because these guys at 205 are a lot bigger than me," Silva said. "But I want to fight against the best; whoever the best is at the time, that’s who I want to fight."

Silva continues his reign of terror in the UFC posting his tenth victory in a row, while Griffin has dropped two consecutive.

Next in line for Silva is rumored to be Dan Henderson who would get his second crack at the UFC middleweight strap.  

I would love to see Anderson tussle with fellow Brazilian, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort who recently signed with the UFC and will face Rich Franklin at UFC 103.

BJ Penn proved to the world why he’s considered the best lightweight after a tough fought victory over Kenny Florian.

Penn was able to hold off any offense from the challenger and displayed how well his cardio has improved since his last fight against GSP.

Florian’s strategy was to tire the champ as he pinned Penn against the cage for much of the first three rounds.  Florian, constantly looking for a takedown, was unsuccessful due to the incredible balance of the champion.  

The first three rounds were all very close, but most would score all three for Penn.

The fight would not go past round four as Penn was able to take Florian down.  As Penn worked in Florian’s guard he was able to land some ground in pound eventually taking Florian’s back.  

Penn quickly ended the fight with a rear-naked choke 3:54 into round four.  

BJ Penn tied Jens Pulver with most consecutive title defenses in the lightweight division at two.  His next opponent is most likely Diego Sanchez.

Kenny Florian will take some time off to decide on what’s next.  This was his second title shot and it’s unlikely that he’ll be granted a third anytime soon.  

Amir Sadollah, winner of TUF7, made his long awaited Octagon debut only to be defeated in 29 seconds.

Johny Hendricks landed a right hand from the clinch that dropped Sadollah to his knees.  He quickly followed it up with a barrage of punches that hit nothing but air as he attempted to finish Sadollah.  

Referee extraordinaire Dan Miragliotta quickly stopped the fight when it looked like Sadollah was getting back to his feet.  

The crowd booed, I booed, and everyone booed at this early stoppage.  It’s too bad for Amir who waited so long to fight, better luck next time.  

Hendricks moves to a perfect 6-0 while Sadollah is .500 at 1-1.

The losses keep piling up for former TUF winners as Kendall Grove was beaten by BJJ ace Ricardo Almeida.

Almeida controlled much of the action on the ground but was unable to submit Grove.  He landed some nice ground and pound, but nothing too dangerous as Grove was able to survive on his back.  Grove nearly stole the bout in round two with an air tight arm-bar, but Almeida was able to wiggle free.  

Surviving a big right hand from Grove in round three, Almeida controlled the majority of the fight and earned an unanimous decision, his second in a row.  

Almeida stated that he would move down to welterweight for his next fight, while Grove’s two fight win streak was snapped.

In a fight that I predicted as “fight of the night,” Kurt Pellegrino smothered Josh Neer for three boring rounds.  Pellegrino used his superior wrestling skills to take Neer down time after time and Neer was unable to secure a submission.  

Neer would talk a little trash to Pellegrino, and Pellegrino gave him a nice “bitch slap” which was the highlight of the fight.  

UFC 101 “Declaration” was saved by the Anderson Silva fight which receives “fight of the night” honors as well as “KO” of the night.

BJ Penn earned “submission of the night” with his rear-naked choke of Kenny Florian.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
• B.J. Penn def. Kenny Florian via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 4, 3:54 (to defend lightweight title)
• Anderson Silva def. Forrest Griffin via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 3:23
• Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Johnny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:29
• Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 20-27)
• Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
• John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop via submission (kimura) - Round 2, 1:59
• Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) - Round 3, 3:37

There will be no brotherly love this Saturday night as The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its long awaited debut in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.  

The Wachovia Center will be filled to the rafters for UFC 101 “Declaration,” as B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn is set to defend his lightweight belt against Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian.  

The insanity doesn’t stop there.  Middleweight king-pin Anderson “The Spider” Silva will face his toughest challenge to date as he will collide with former light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin.

Remember the UFC 94 lubing incident known as “Greasegate,” where Georges St. Pierre had a little too much fun with some Vaseline?  The mixed martial arts world has finally put this controversy behind us and so has Mr. Penn… finally!

GSP didn’t do any favors for the UFC lightweights when he dominated B.J. Penn last January.  He relit the fire within and an angry, determined champion will be on full display as B.J. unloads on Kenny Florian.  

Penn is a known commodity in the world of grappling.  His striking is second to none and even famed trainer Freddie Roach has proclaimed Penn’s stand-up as best in the biz.  The natural talent that Penn possesses such as his flexibility and takedown defense is absolutely shocking.  

However his reliance on such talents has been his Achilles heel over the years and his work ethic cardio wise has been questioned.  

“I want B.J.’s belt,” proclaimed TUF1 runner-up Kenny Florian after his destruction of Joe Stevenson at UFC 91.  He’ll get his chance this Saturday.  

Florian comes into his second title fight a hungry, grizzled veteran of the Octagon riding a six fight win streak all by stoppage.  His last taste of defeat was the title fight against Sean Sherk; way back in 2006.  
  
Known for his outstanding BJJ skills early on in his career, Florian has added some vicious Muay Thai skills that have left his opponents a bloody mess.  Truly a student of the game, Florian never shows up without a game plan.  He’s very tactical as he picks apart his opponents and must stay at least two steps ahead of the champ or Penn will pick him apart limb by limb.  

Penn is the favorite for good reason, he’s better across the board than Florian and looks to be in great shape.  Florian’s best chance of victory will be by a cut due to his razor sharp elbows.  B.J. is too good and angry as hell; I feel bad for Florian, B.J. Penn by second round TKO.
Dana White is pound for pound the best promoter in MMA, no doubt about it.  Anderson Silva is also considered a pound for pound champ, but his last few fights have many doubting such claims.  

Silva looked disinterested during UFC 90 bout with Patrick Cote, who was satisfied to reach round three.  Silva’s last opponent Thales Leites was either scared or didn’t get enough sleep as he was content lying on the mat.  Silva apologized for the Cote fight, but didn’t seem to care that he didn’t finish Leites.  Hey, a win is a win.  

An embarrassed Dana White was puzzled and had no answers for his champion’s latest performance.  Who’s going to motivate this guy to fight?

The answer was clear as day; Forrest Griffin.

Promoting a fight between Silva and former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin was perfect, but a fight between these two in Philadelphia was genius.  These fans booed Santa Claus!

Forrest brings it each fight.  I can’t think of a boring fight that he’s been in; the logical choice to motivate Silva.  Griffin is a big 205er and should use his size to his advantage.  He may not have the knockout power as Silva, but his relentless attacking and leg kicks have proven to be damaging, just ask Rampage.  Griffin’s cardio and heart are unquestioned and he will force Silva to stand and bang.

Silva has the best overall stand up in the game today.  He’s also very dangerous off his back and might be on his back during this fight.  Griffin should look to take Silva down before Silva finds “the button.”  Griffin has a strong heart, but the same can’t be said for his chin.  

We will witness the rebirth of Anderson Silva come Saturday at the expense of Forrest Griffin; he’ll live…maybe.  Look for a very entertaining fight, and a first round KO for “The Spider.”  

Remember Amir Sadollah?

He won TUF7 beating CB Dolloway!

Not only did he receive a UFC contract for his victory, but a nice case of staph infection and a broken clavicle as well.  After over a year on the disabled list, Sadollah makes his long awaited UFC debut post TUF.  Undefeated WEC welterweight Johnny Hendricks will be his first test.

Hendricks is a strong wrestler like Dolloway, who was submitted twice by Sadollah.  Sadollah has had over a year to train with the best Xtreme Couture has to offer and that should pay dividends in this fight.  Hendricks will be able to get Sadollah down only to get arm barred in round one.

Middleweights Kendall Grove and Ricardo Almeida are set to do battle as well.  Grove’s glass jaw may get a night off as BJJ ace Almeida is not known for his knockout power.  Almeida has already stated he’s moving to welterweight after this fight, is he counting on losing to Grove already?

Grove has the edge stand up wise and has a long wing span which may be difficult for Almeida to submit him via arm bar.  However Grove’s neck is long as well and should stick out long enough for Almeida to choke it out sometime in round three.  

Lightweights Josh Neer and Kurt Pellegrino will start the televised portion of the night off in exciting fashion.  

Neer is an absolute animal and I love his fighting style.  He’ll have a reach and size advantage and should be able to punish Pellegrino standing.  Pellegrino has a great ground game, but don’t underestimate Neer’s.  I like Neer via TKO round two.  

MAIN CARD
• B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian (for UFC lightweight title)
• Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin (non-title fight)
• Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove
• Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino
PRELIMINARY CARD
• Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley
• John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory
• Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
• Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle
• George Roop vs. George Sotiropoulos
• Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort

The UFC will be coming to Philadelphia for the first time ever Saturday August 8th for UFC 101!

PENN vs. FLORIAN and SILVA vs. GRIFFIN to HEADLINE UFC 101 IN PHILLY

Las Vegas, NV (USA) –UFC® is coming to Philadelphia for the first time on Saturday, August 8th, and its bringing the big guns to the Wachovia Center for UFC 101, as BJ Penn defends his UFC lightweight crown for the second time against number one contender Kenny Florian, and UFC middleweight boss Anderson Silva jumps back to the 205-pound weight class to take on former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin.

“BJ Penn is called the Prodigy for a reason. He has proven to be dangerous in multiple weight classes but he is definitely at his best at 155,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Now the lightweight champ defends his title against top contender Kenny Florian, who has improved by leaps and bounds since his UFC debut on the Ultimate Fighter. Originally known for his outstanding jiu-jitsu skills, Florian is now as well known for his devastating Muay Thai. Both of these guys excel standing and on the ground so I am expecting non-stop action in this world title fight.”

"We are excited to finally be able to host a UFC event in Philadelphia," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "With a world-wide audience watching on pay-per-view, the Wachovia Center will once again be in the national spotlight. This is a terrific opportunity for the facility, our company and most importantly UFC fans in the Greater Philadelphia Region."

Tickets for UFC 101 will go on sale Saturday, May 23 at 10am ET and will be priced at $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50. Tickets are available via www.ComcastTIX.com, UFC.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200, the Wachovia Center Box Office, or select ACME markets.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, May 21 starting at 10 a.m. ET via UFC.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers and the Wachovia Center Cyber Club on Friday, May 22 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com or the Wachovia Center Cyber Club at WachoviaCenter.com.

The pride of Hilo, Hawaii, UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn (13-5-1) is on practically everyone’s short list of best fighters in the world pound for pound, and on August 8th, he will be returning to the division he is the undisputed king of. Unbeaten at 155 pounds since 2002, Penn has taken out Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk in successive lightweight fights, and after suffering a setback in his challenge for Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight crown in January, Penn is eager to get back to his optimum weight to continue his reign of terror.

In just six years as a pro, Kenny “KenFlo” Florian (13-3) has done nearly everything in the sport of mixed martial arts, as he’s fought in the middleweight, welterweight, and lightweight divisions, earned a spot in the finals on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter®, and beat some of the best fighters in the world in the process. The only thing missing for the 32-year old from Boston is a world championship, and after winning six in a row (including victories over Joe Lauzon, Joe Stevenson, and Roger Huerta), Florian is peaking at the right time for his second shot at the belt.

Currently sporting the longest consecutive win streak in UFC history at nine, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (24-4) has also tied the organization record for most consecutive successful title defenses at five, beating the likes of Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, Patrick Cote, and Thales Leites along the way. But the 34-year old native of Curitiba, Brazil is not satisfied yet, so he is tackling the light heavyweight division once again on August 8th, and if his first 205-pound bout – a 61 second knockout of James Irvin last July – is any indication, the big boys had better watch out for this lethal “Spider”.

The winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and a man credited by many as one of the reasons for the explosion of MMA in the United States following that TUF finale bout in 2005, Forrest Griffin (16-5) isn’t a fighter who will take credit for such achievements – he just wants to fight, and with UFC wins over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua under his belt, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has more than proved himself in the Octagon. On August 8th, the 30-year old Griffin looks to fight his way back into the title picture after his loss to Rashad Evans last December, and there’s no better way for him to do that than by handing Anderson Silva his first UFC loss.

“Anderson Silva is the pound for pound best fighter in the world. He’s so good that he demands a serious challenge, someone who can push the pace and make him fight,” said White. “To me, nobody fits the bill more than former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Anderson is tremendously skilled but he’s going up a weight class and Forrest is a huge light heavyweight - this is going to be a war.”

The UFC will be visiting Philadelphia on August 8th and is stacking the card to rival the history making UFC 100 event.

Just the headliners of Penn vs Florian and Anderson Silva vs Griffin is enough to get most fans watching this event, which many would have though would be a hard task after having such a huge UFC 100 card.

Just added to the card this week are 4 more great fights.

Tamdan McCrory vs John Howard
Matt Riddle vs Dan Cramer
George Sotiropoulos vs Rob Emerson
Jesse Lennox vs Danillo Villefort
  
Also fighting on this card:

Amir Sadollah Vs. Johny Hendricks
Kendall Grove Vs. Ricardo Almeida
Josh Neer Vs. Kurt Pellegrino

Dont forget to watch UFC 98 with Evans vs Machida on MAy 23rd!

Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva agree to meet at UFC 102 in August
By: John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com

When one door closes, another opens.

Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva (13-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) woke up this morning believing he would be facing Forrest Griffin on Aug. 8 at UFC 101. He’ll go to sleep preparing to face Keith Jardine (14-5-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) at UFC 102.

Sources close to the organization have informed MMAjunkie.com that "The Dean of Mean" and Siva have verbally agreed to meet at the Aug. 29 event.

Bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

MMAjunkie.com originally learned of the planned Thiago Silva vs. Griffin matchup in March, but those plans were scrapped today in favor of the former light heavyweight champ and "The Ultimate Fighter" winner facing off with current UFC middleweight title holder Anderson Silva in a 205-pound contest.

The Anderson Silva vs. Griffin fight will serve as UFC 101’s co-main event.

Thiago Silva will instead fight three weeks later, as the American Top Team fighter looks to rebound from his first career defeat. After reeling off four-straight wins to start his run in the UFC – and 13-straight victories overall – Silva was knocked out in a January bout with current No. 1 contender Lyoto Machida.

Jardine also looks to rebound from a recent loss. Also familiar with UFC card-shuffling, Jardine had been expected to face Luiz Cane at UFC 97, but a series of events led the Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts fighter instead to a main event showdown with former light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 96 in March.

Jardine dropped a close unanimous decision to Jackson that many observers felt was decided in the final seconds of the 15-minute affair. While Jardine has gone just 2-3 in his past five fights, the always-dangerous, awkwardly styled fighter holds wins over Brandon Vera, Chuck Liddell, Griffin and Wilson Gouveia, among others.

While not officially announced, UFC 102 is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight bout between MMA legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Aug. 29 in Portland, Ore.

They hype and anticipation for UFC 100 is still growing as the event gets closer and has been sold out since tickets went on sale weeks ago.

Yet with all this hassle the UFC has managed to start getting ready for 101, wow UFC 101 already!

More information is still to be announced but so far it si already shaping up to be a great event following UFC 100 is no easy card to put together but it looks like the UFC will once again amaze the MMA fans around the world.

Anderson Silva Vs. Forrest Griffin - After the last fight Silva had many fans in a state of confliction if he is the fighter he has been hyped up to be, where is all the action in his game? Well good new for all you action junkies Silva vs Griffin! That’s all I should have to say.

Another great fight lined up for this card is Penn vs Florian.

This will be the first time the UFC comes to Philly, so mark your calender for August 8th and get ready to see some more top notch MMA action from the UFC.

Chack back often for updates on this event and the fight card!

There has been talk and rumors flying about that Florian would get his shot at Lightweight Title very soon. That time will finally come in August at UFC 101.

WOW!, After a huge event like UFC 100 and the first ever Fans Expo the UFC keeps coming strong with an amazing show starting to form a month later at UFC101.

After Penn’s lost to St. Pierre not to long back, at UFC 94, people started wondering when BJ was going tao have to defend his Lightweight Belt.

It is now official and Kenny Florian will get his shot to take the Lightweight Belt from BJ Penn in August.

Florian has won his last six fights and has been very impressive since his last attempt at the Lightweight Title against Sean Sherk at UFC 64.

Penn has been undefeated since his return to the UFC in the Lightweight Category and has had some very impressive wins over Stevenson and Pulver and of course his win over "The Muscle Shark".

Looking at these two and how they are fighting should turn out to be an awesome fight come August. Will BJ be even more furious then usual after the GSP controversy or can Florian show the world he has what it takes to take on one of the best lightweights to ever step into the octogon.

There are many rumors about some other great fights so check back and we will kep you updated with more to come on UFC 100 and 101!