UFN Re-Cap: Silva Still Untested

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva didn’t see his pound for pound crown tarnished at all in his UFC light heavyweight debut against James Irvin tonight at The Pearl at The Palms. Instead, his 61 second knockout win showed that if anything, he’s getting better and more fearsome with each outing.

“I’m a Muay Thai fighter, I’ve been doing it since I was a kid,” said Silva. “I didn’t come up to the 205-pound division to disrespect any fighters, but if you stand up and exchange Muay Thai, this is what happens.”

After the ritual touch of gloves, both fighters traded kicks to start the festivities. A few tense moments later, Irvin fired a right kick to the side which Silva caught. ‘The Spider’ proceeded to fire a right hand straight down the pipe at Irvin that landed flush and put him on his back. Silva pounced with a series of shots, but just when ‘The Sandman’ appeared to be weathering the storm, a final right hand knocked him out at the 1:01 mark.

It was yet another clip for Silva’s highlight reel, but when it comes to a permanent stay at light heavyweight, the pride of Curitiba still wants to take care of business at 185 pounds unless bigger fights present themselves.

“This was my first time coming up here and it was a good experience,” said Silva. “But my responsibility is to defend the 185-pound title.”

In other action, Brandon Vera got back on the winning track but didn't impress as he decisioned Reese Andy in his first fight at lightheavyweight.

“The 205 cut was tougher than I thought,” he said. “I didn’t think it affected me until me and Reese walked up and I was like ‘woo, I’m tired.’”

Scores were 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Vera, who ups his record to 9-2. Reese falls to 7-2 in his UFC debut.

Lightweight contender Frankie Edgar impressively rebounded from his April loss to Gray Maynard, pounding out a shutout three round decision over Hermes Franca.

Scores were 30-27 across the board for Edgar.

The fighters went to the mat early, with Edgar doing nice work from the top as he pounded away on Franca. Suddenly though, with 2:30 left, Franca sprung into action with an armbar that appeared to be locked in. Edgar showed the benefit of his recent training with Ricardo Almeida and was able to escape, and when the two stood, he held his own striking with the heavy-handed Brazilian before scoring another takedown before the end of the frame.

Franca came out for round two with a big knot between his eyes and plenty of urgency. Despite this, Edgar refused to back down, and after some crisp exchanges, he scored the takedown and resumed the ground and pound attack that worked so well for him in the opening stanza. With under two minutes to go, Edgar got Franca’s back and continued landing punches, and the onslaught continued even when Franca was able to roll back out of danger.

Trying to turn the tide, Franca – whose face was bruised and swollen – tried with all he had to take Edgar out, but even when he landed, the New Jersey native took each shot without flinching, except for a right knee that appeared to rock him momentarily. In the end though, it was too little, too late for the Brazilian, who saw his return for the first time in a year spoiled.

With the win, Edgar improves to 9-1; Franca falls to 19-7.

Heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez probably gained even more believers in his bout tonight as he pounded out fellow up and comer Jake O’Brien in just two minutes and two seconds.

There was no getting acquainted period for these old wrestling rivals, as they got after it immediately, with Velasquez (4-0) taking an early lead due to some solid striking on the mat. By the second minute though, Velasquez pulled away, pinning O’Brien (10-2) to the mat and firing away with a series of unanswered blows until referee Mario Yamasaki called a stop to the bout.

A competitive welterweight bout between up and comers Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson ended in controversial fashion when an inadvertent poke in the eye by Burns led to an unpopular third round TKO victory for the Iowan.

“It was extremely accidental,” said Burns, now 8-1. “I throw palm strikes because I broke my left hand three times in 16 months.”

“This is a fight,” said a classy Johnson, 5-2. “Anything can happen. He fought hard.”

Ultimate Fighter cast member Jesse Taylor made his first appearance since being removed from the show due to an off-camera incident, but after a strong start, he was dismantled by fellow TUF fighter CB Dollaway, who submitted him in the first round of their middleweight contest.

“It’s one of my favorite moves, it was there for me, and I took it,” said Dollaway.

Taylor swarmed Dollaway, pinning him against the fence in the opening minute. By the second minute the fight hit the mat, but Dollaway wound up getting docked a point for a knee to Taylor’s head while he was down. When the fight was restarted, it went back to the mat, and this time Dollaway took control briefly, getting Taylor’s back before the Californian escaped and fought his way back into his foe’s guard. Taylor worked well there, but a momentary lapse of judgment gave Dollaway the opening he needed and he reversed position and locked in a Peruvian necktie, forcing Taylor to tap out at the 3:58 mark.

With the win, Dollaway improves to 8-2; Taylor falls to 7-3.

Former IFL standout Rory Markham lived up to his reputation as a knockout artist in his first UFC bout, spectacularly taking out Brodie Farber with a kick to the head in just 97 seconds of their UFC Fight Night preliminary bout at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Despite the outcome, Farber won the standup battle in the early moments of the bout, rocking Markham repeatedly, primarily with his right hand. Markham backpedaled, trying to clear his head, but as Farber moved in a little too recklessly, the Chicago native stopped and exploded with a right kick to the jaw, knocking Farber down and out at the 1:37 mark.