The Canadian MMA fans witnessed a record-breaking title defense from Anderson Silva and may very well have witnessed the end of an era and a spectacular career courtesy of Chuck Liddell. These were some of the ups and downs that took place at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec.

Cheick Kongo Vs Antoni Hardonk
This was a clash of two massive heavy weights both with world class stand up games. Hardonk had a slight edge on the feet thanks mainly to his feared leg kicks and Kongo was more advanced on the ground. Round one saw the two briefly exchange at the start. Hardonk wasted no time in letting fly with his kicks and the Parisian closed the gap and clinched. The first round was fairly even as they went to the break.

Cheick picked up the pace in the second round and got the Dutchman to the mat, thanks to a well judged catch of a Hardonk kick, where he gained the ascendancy and quickly finished the fight with some hefty blows. Kongo showed his ground and pound skills once again and continues his move up the HW ladder thanks to a TKO victory at 2:29 mark of round two.

Steve Cantwell Vs Luiz Cane
Rising Brazilian star Cane was to test his worth against 22 year old WEC Champ Cantwell. This fight always had the makings of fight of the night and it delivered (in my opinion). The fight never went to the ground as “The Robot” and “Banha” went toe to toe for the full fifteen minutes. Luiz scored plenty of hard shots in the opening stanza and was ahead on points as they headed into the second round. Cantwell finally found some rhythm and was coming back nicely, putting together several nice combinations and probably won a close second round.

Cane began the final round much the same way as he started the fight… delivering hard punches in succession to a staunch Cantwell. Cane went on to record an excellent victory and thrust himself right into the LHW mix. Cantwell can hold his head high and will learn from this experience, keeping in mind that he is only 22.

Krzysztof Soszynski Vs Brian Stann
Stann was making his debut in the UFC and Soszynski wanted to prove that he was more than a contestant on TUF. The adopted Canadian got the better of the American soldier as he avoided his striking, took Stann down and applied a fight ending Kimura at the 3:53 mark of round one.

Mauricio Rua Vs Chuck Liddell
The event was called Redemption and that’s exactly what “Shogun” and “The Iceman” were after. Liddell looked focused as he marched toward the octagon and was looking in great shape. Rua also entered the arena in great condition hoping to erase a less than stellar performance last time out. When the fight got under way, Chuck didn’t look too sharp, if anything, I’d say he was sluggish and heavy footed. Mauricio on the other hand was moving nicely and with confidence. Liddell seemed to be controlling the tempo of the fight (despite his lack of speed) and was landing a few shots. Rua was connecting with leg kicks and regularly threw out the over hand right, which has exposed Liddell before.

“Shogun” landed a takedown but Chuck (as usual) bounced right back to his feet. He then returned the favor and got a takedown of his own, only to release Rua and bring the fight back standing. Moments later Rua exploded forward and hit Chuck with a solid left, right on the switch, sending the former champion reeling backwards to the canvas. The Brazilian then swept in to finish off his opponent with several hammer fists before he was waived away by Mario Yamazaki. Redemption for Rua at 4 minutes and 28 seconds of round one. Speculation of “The Iceman’s” future (or lack there of) was rampant following the fight – we shall wait and see…

Anderson Silva Vs Thales Leites
This main event had a lot of fans wondering why it had been put together in the first place (myself included). Our concerns where confirmed by a rather lack luster performance from one of the greatest MMA exponents of all time. Granted, Leites didn’t contribute greatly to the outcome, however “The Spider” could have been a little more aggressive than he was.

The only real positive that Thales can take from this experience is that he survived five rounds with Anderson Silva. The Champ will be happy to claim the victory and create a new record of most consecutive wins inside the octagon (9) and equal most UFC title defenses (5).

Silva did push the fight but every time he connected with a punch or a kick Leites was keen to get away and a lot of the time he flung himself to the mat in a feeble attempt to entice Silva into his territory. “The Spider” easily out scored his fellow Brazilian with precise sidekicks to the thigh of Leites and numerous body kicks.

Cruising towards a unanimous decision victory, Anderson bobbed and swayed, taunting Thales regularly, even punching him in the leg – that was now surely hurting from plenty of those sidekicks. The crowd showed their disdain by booing several times and chanting GSP, among other things.

At the final bell Silva thrust himself to the mat in celebration, then straddled the side of the octagon, seemingly happy with his performance. It was never going to be a great match up and Leites was never going to really engage with a striker of Silva’s caliber. Likewise, Silva was never really going to challenge Leites on the ground. A win is a win and Silva remains undefeated in the UFC and will continue to wear the MW crown for the time being.
Perhaps he is just searching for a real challenger to his title. I’m sure Joe Silva and the UFC crew won’t let this type of thing happen again any time soon.

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