Last Saturday UFC 148 took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This was billed as the greatest UFC event ever, and based on all reports it certainly seems to be the largest. Here are the results from the main card and how I got on with my predictions;
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
My Prediction: Easton by decision
What Actually Happened: I expected this to be a truly exciting fight. Both Menjivar and Easton are excellent MMA fighters, and were both really exciting to watch in their last MMA fights. This fight however did not live up to what I expected. I was a good fight with Easton pressuring all the way through and Menjivar show his usual array of crazy and sometimes inspired technique. Unfortunately it seemed that the fight never really got going. Has happened many times before in the UFC and is just the nature of MMA competition, sometimes fights just don’t live up to the expectations.
The actual result was Easton by decision as I predicted (1-0)
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
Prediction: Mendes via stoppage in round 2
What Actually Happened: Mendes looked in a different class to Mckenzie and quickly finished the fight with an accurate body shot, at only 30 seconds of the first round. (2-0)
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia
Prediction: Kim via decision
What Actually Happened: Maia came out and quickly established the clinch and looked to take Kim down. Kim defended well but eventually Maia managed to trip Kim and end up in the mount. Unfortunately Kim got injured as he hit the ground and was forced to stop the fight after only 47 seconds. I was really looking forward to seeing how Maia faired at the light weight, and how Kim got on against a higher level of opponent. (2-1)
Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote
Prediction: Cote stoppage round 2
What Actually Happened: Cung Le showed a great variet of technique and footwork to keep Cote at bay and stay away from his powerful right hand. Cote kept applying the pressure but could see he was wary of Le’s kicks. The result was a unanimous decision for Le (2-2)
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
Prediction: Griffin by Decision
What Actually Happened: This was the fight of the night, and a real back and forth battle. Initially Ortiz scored a take down and started his famous ground and pound, but Forrest managed to neutralise a lot of the attacks and get back to his feet. Griffin then showed great movement and scored with a lot of crisp techniques. From the second onwards Ortiz looked tired and Forrest continued to score and avoid his attempts. Ortiz did catch Forrest with a crisp right hand in the third and knock griffen down but was unable to finish the fight. The fight ended in a unanimous decision win for Griffin (3-2)
Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen
Prediction: Sonnen via decision
What actually happened: Sonnen started the fight in identical fashion as the first with a quick takedown, and started to work to punish Silva on the ground. Silva effectively tied Sonnen up and avoided any serious damage. In the second Silva took control of the fight and scored heavily with some crisp shots and stuffed Chaels takedown attempts. Sonnen went on to try a spin back fist but lost his balance and ended up on the floor against the cage. Silva capitalised with a crisp (and legal) knee to Sonnen, and then finished the fight with some accurate ground and pound. Sonnen looked tired after the first, and I found out later he cut 20lbs of water weight before the weigh in, not really a good idea, and could seriously have impacted his performance. Silva won via TKO round 2. (3-3)
My prediction rate for UFC 148 was 50%. That’s what I love about MMA competition you never really know what’s going to happen, or how well a fighter has prepared.
Have you ever wondered what a top UFC fighter earns?
Below are the prize monies for UFC 148, not including Sponsorship, Bonuses, or PPV percentages;
• Anderson Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Chael Sonnen: $50,000
• Forrest Griffin: $275,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def. Tito Ortiz: $250,000
• Cung Le: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Patrick Cote: $21,000
• Demian Maia: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus) def. Dong Yyun Kim: $44,000
• Chad Mendes: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) def. Cody McKenzie: $10,000
• Mike Easton: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Ivan Menjivar: $13,000
• Melvin Guillard: $72,000 (includes $36,000 win bonus) def. Fabricio Camoes: $8,000
• Khabib Nurmagomedov: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Gleison Tibau: $31,000
• Costa Philippou: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Riki Fukuda: $28,000
• Shane Roller: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus) def. John Alessio: $10,000
• Rafaello Oliveira: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Yoislandy Izquierdo: $6,000
If you are interested in learning UFC Style fighting or MMA in Plymouth call 01752 262233 or visit https://www.martialartsplymouth.co.uk/Join.html to start your 30 Day FREE trial to day