Thiago Silva absolutely humiliated Brandon Vera at UFC 125, winning a do
minant unanimous decision that left Vera with blood streaming down his face, a badly broken and disfigured nose, and questions about whether he has a future in the UFC.
Vera was once viewed as a future UFC champion (maybe even in two different weight classes), but he's now on a three-fight losing streak, and after the way Silva destroyed him on Saturday night, it's worth wondering whether Vera even belongs in the UFC at all. He certainly can't compete with top light heavyweights like Silva.
The two clashed in the center ring from the opening seconds, with Vera landing some hard leg kicks and Silva landing some hard punches. Then, a minute into the fight, Silva took Vera down and got on top of him on the canvas. After working on the ground for another minute, Silva passed into side control and started to rain punches down on Vera. Silva spent the rest of the round on top, and it was an easy 10-9 round for Silva that ended with the two fighters getting in each other's faces and having to be separated by referee Steve Mazagatti.
Vera came out swinging in the second round, but Silva answered by swinging even harder, and when they clinched against the cage 30 seconds into the second round it was Vera who appeared to be more hurt. From there Silva tripped Vera and landed on top of him on the ground, and once again Silva completely controlled the fight from the top position. It was another easy 10-9 round for Silva.
At the start of the third round Vera knocked Silva down and briefly looked like he was going to have some success in the stand-up game, but within a minute Silva had taken Vera down and jumped on top of him on the ground once again. For the rest of the third round Silva just whipped Vera on the ground, at one point unleashing a series of open-handed slaps that looked designed more to humiliate Vera than to hurt him. Vera was bloodied and beaten and his nose was badly broken by the time the fight was over, and Silva had won a lopsided decision. The judges scored it 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Silva, who improves his professional MMA record to 15-2. Vera drops to 11-6.
minant unanimous decision that left Vera with blood streaming down his face, a badly broken and disfigured nose, and questions about whether he has a future in the UFC.Vera was once viewed as a future UFC champion (maybe even in two different weight classes), but he's now on a three-fight losing streak, and after the way Silva destroyed him on Saturday night, it's worth wondering whether Vera even belongs in the UFC at all. He certainly can't compete with top light heavyweights like Silva.
The two clashed in the center ring from the opening seconds, with Vera landing some hard leg kicks and Silva landing some hard punches. Then, a minute into the fight, Silva took Vera down and got on top of him on the canvas. After working on the ground for another minute, Silva passed into side control and started to rain punches down on Vera. Silva spent the rest of the round on top, and it was an easy 10-9 round for Silva that ended with the two fighters getting in each other's faces and having to be separated by referee Steve Mazagatti.
Vera came out swinging in the second round, but Silva answered by swinging even harder, and when they clinched against the cage 30 seconds into the second round it was Vera who appeared to be more hurt. From there Silva tripped Vera and landed on top of him on the ground, and once again Silva completely controlled the fight from the top position. It was another easy 10-9 round for Silva.
At the start of the third round Vera knocked Silva down and briefly looked like he was going to have some success in the stand-up game, but within a minute Silva had taken Vera down and jumped on top of him on the ground once again. For the rest of the third round Silva just whipped Vera on the ground, at one point unleashing a series of open-handed slaps that looked designed more to humiliate Vera than to hurt him. Vera was bloodied and beaten and his nose was badly broken by the time the fight was over, and Silva had won a lopsided decision. The judges scored it 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Silva, who improves his professional MMA record to 15-2. Vera drops to 11-6.
Get the latest gear
