On a night with two title fights, one of which featured an incredible comeback performance, it was a non-title match that generated the most news: Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann.
And the buzz is not over the fight itself–the one-sided affair went as most expected, with Sonnen using his wrestling to dominate Stann until locking in an arm triangle submission in round two. It came in the post-fight promo.
After announcing that Anderson Silva “absolutely” sucks, Sonnen challenged the Middleweight Champion to a rematch at the Super Bowl weekend UFC. He then upped the stakes–if Sonnen wins, Silva has to leave the division; if Silva wins, Sonnen leaves the UFC forever.
Assuming UFC opts not to fight the obvious and goes with this match, it should do tremendous business–the soundbite of Sonnen’s promo should help create the best pay-per-view commercial campaign of all-time.
Onto the title fights.
For Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian, Florian simply did not have the speed to keep up with Aldo, and he did not have the strength advantage needed to neutralize the faster, more athletic opponent. Aldo did not do unheard-of damage, but he clearly outpointed Florian en route to a successful Featherweight title defense.
Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar opened similarly to the January 1 fight–Maynard absolutely crushed Edgar with punches, and yet Edgar somehow managed to escape the round. Though the comeback was not quite as dramatic–there was not much action in either round two or round three–it ended in more dramatic fashion. In round four, Edgar caught Maynard with a punch. He dropped his division rival, and then delivered more punches until the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Though this technically only evens the score–they are 1-1-1 against each other–a fourth fight is not on the immediate horizon.
UFC 136 Results
Mike Massenzio b. Steven Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Aaron Simpson b. Eric Schafer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darren Elkins b. Tiequan Zhang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Stipe Miocic b. Joey Beltran via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Anthony Pettis b. Jeremy Stephens via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Demian Maia b. Jorge Santiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Lauzon b. Melvin Guillard via submission (rear naked choke) at :47 of Round One
Nam Phan b. Leonard Garcia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Chael Sonnen b. Brian Stann via submission (arm triangle) at 3:51 of Round Two
Jose Aldo b. Kenny Florian via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Frankie Edgar b. Gray Maynard via TKO (punches) at 3:54 of Round Four