UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar Preliminary Card Thoughts And Analysis

(Photo by Esther Lin via MMA Fighting)

The UFC was back in Rio over the weekend for UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar we were treated to another awesome card. We saw that Anderson Silva truly is a ninja. Truly a one of a kind martial artist who I don’t think we will see the likes of for years to come. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira showed he’s still got it and that BJJ in fact DOES work. And Erick Silva got to experience a Jon-Fitching, a particularly brutal one at that.

Before all of that went down on the main crd, we saw the prelims, featuring some Brazil’s up and coming/unknown talent. As I’ve said before: I always enjoy the prelims. You enter into them with the perfect set of expectations. If the preliminary card doesn’t deliver you still have the main card to look forward too, which is where all the event hype is anyways. And when the prelims do deliver (which they did this weekend), you get to be pleasantly entertained while you excitement builds for the night of fights ahead.

It was another great night of fights, folks. Lets take a brief look at some of high points from the UFC 153 prelims.

• As far as Sam Sicilia vs Rony Jason – really exciting fight, lots of action, but Sam Sicilia needs to keep his hands up son! Protect your face! Sicilia looks like a mini Johnny Hendricks, winging his punches from his hips. You would think that after he was stumbled by that first flying knee from Rony he would have kept his hands up. Rony looked great off his back and on his feet, finishing Sicilia with ground-and-pound from the top at the end of round 2.
• Gleison Tibau bullied his way to another decision win in a pretty stereotypical Gleison Tibau fight. I think the only thing I remember commentary wise was Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg talking about Gleison’s best weapon is his experience. All I can think of when I watch him is, man you’re really big.
• Sergio Moraes is a weird looking dude, and a weird fighter as well. After every exchanged he spread his arms out wide. I still can’t come up for a reason why he would do that. Maybe that’s is reset cycle? I also did not understand why Renee Forte didn’t jump in and try to land. Forte looked a little slow throughout the fight, and I was perplexed as to why he didn’t try to take advantage of his obvious striking superiority more than he did. Towards the end of the first round he had Moraes hurt instead of letting him stand back up he stood over Moraes on his back and kicked his legs. Moraes made the most of his opportunity and latched onto Forte’s back in round three and secured a choke.
• Diego Brandao looked a bit more measured, yet still very dynamic and explosive. Greg Jackson seems to be reeling that aggression in one fight at a time. But how tough is Joey Gambino? That kid took some punishment from Brandao and hung in there, landing some shots of his own as well. Once he loosened up he was finding a home for his straight right hand. Brandao definitely landed the more powerful and significant strikes and controlled the fight. I will say he acted a bit unprofessional at the end of the fight jumping up and down in front of Gambino and slicing across his throat with his finger.

Solid night of fights. If you missed any of the results from the UFC 153 preliminary card, here’s a recap.

Preliminary Card (FX)
Featherweight Bout: Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra def Sam Sicilia via TKO (Strikes) – R2 (4:16)
Lightweight Bout: Gleison Tibau def. Francisco Trinaldo via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight Bout: Diego Brandao def. Joey Gambino via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight Bout: Sergio Moraes def. Renee Forte via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – R3 (3:10)

Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Middleweight Bout: Chris Camozzi def. Luiz Cane via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight Bout: Christiano Marcello def. Reza Madadi via Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)