UFC 125 Recap: Silva and Stann Impress, Guida Dances

The evening started quickly on Ion with Brad Tavares brutally KOing Phil Baroni. That’s three straight loses overall for Baroni and two since his return to the octagon. Baroni also lost his last 4 fights his first time around the UFC. He’s gone. He’s a fan favorite and the Zuffa guys apparently still have a soft spot in their hearts for him, but he should be getting his walking papers this week. Tavares on the other hand is now 7-0 overall and 2-0 since graduating from Season 11 of TUF. With that record and this performance, he’s got a little job security which is always nice in the UFC.

Top Featherweight contender Josh Grispi had a rude awakening as Dustin Poirier tooled Grispi in his 145-pound debut. Grispi was supposed to fight Jose Aldo at UFC 125, but Aldo pulled out due to an injury. This is why Rashad Evans has been on the shelf since May – you can’t lose if you don’t fight. Grispi tumbles back down to the middle of the featherweight division now.

Happy trails to Marcus Davis. MMA’s own version of The Fightah, Davis hasn’t looked good in a while. He’s dropped 4 of 5 and even at lightweight, he looks kind of small. Stephens picked up his 3rd KO of the Night award for picking on Davis and has now won 3 of 4. The best part about the KO? It came just in time to send everyone to the PPV.

Clay Guida danced around the octagon and completely took Takanoi Gomi out of his game. It was a weird fight that some people enjoyed and most detested. The striking was minimal, but what does Guida care? Dude picked up his third consecutive submission victory and The Fireball Kid couldn’t touch him. While Anthony Pettis has earned a title shot and would probably be smart to sit out and wait for Edgar and Maynard to sort themselves out, a fight between Guida and Pettis might be fun and keep both guys occupied and legitimize either’s potential title shot. Bonus points to Guida for The Big Lebowski reference in the post-fight interview.

Nate Diaz and Dong Hyun Kim went to the judges and Kim got the nod. It was one of those classic fights where you feel like one guy deserves the decision, but know that the other guy is going to get it. If Diaz had done a little more in the second round to pull away, he would have won, but Kim kept it close and the judges fell for it. Stockton Unified Rules be damned. Kim remains unbeaten in the UFC, but no one except his mother cares.

Happy trails Brandon Vera. For once, I knew he was going to get his ass beat and boy, oh boy, did he ever. Silva flat out embarrassed Vera. The Truth had no answer for Silva and had his face rearranged for the second straight fight. He’ll make a fine addition to the Strikeforce roster when his face becomes recognizable again. Silva should get a top guy next. Rampage Jackson. Make it be so, Dana.

Brian Stann supplied the highlight reel knockout against an under-the-weather Chris Leben. This surprised just about everyone. Leben was knocked out about 12 times before the referee mercifully called a stop to the drubbing. Leben will head back to the middle of the pack, while Stann may finally become the fighting military hero that Zuffa has always dreamed of since they imported him from the WEC. He’s 2-0 since moving to middleweight and now has an impressive KO on his resume. The only other person to knock out Chris Leben? Anderson Silva. Good company to keep indeed. In a perfect world, we’d get Stann fighting Alan Belcher, who is due to start training this month – *fingers crossed* – this spring. For now, we’ll wait and see how high up they’re ready to move Stann.

For more on the main event draw between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, check out yesterday’s post.

Fight Night Bonuses ($60,000)
Fight of the Night: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Knockout of the Night: Jeremy Stephens
Submission of the Night: Clay Guida

Payroll
Champion Frankie Edgar: $102,000 (includes $51,000 win bonus)*
vs. Gray Maynard: $52,000 ($26,000 win bonus)*

Brian Stann: $42,000 ($21,000 win bonus)
def. Chris Leben: $46,000

Thiago Silva: $110,000 ($55,000 win bonus)
def. Brandon Vera: $60,000

Dong Hyun Kim: $70,000 ($35,000 win bonus)
def. Nate Diaz: $33,000

Clay Guida: $62,000 ($31,000 win bonus)
def. Takanori Gomi: $50,000

Jeremy Stephens: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus Davis: $31,000

Brad Tavares: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus)
def. Phil Baroni: $25,000

Diego Nunes: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Brown: $23,000

Daniel Roberts: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. Greg Soto: $8000

Jacob Volkmann: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio McKee: $15,000

[Video via Fightlinker, Vera’s nose via Cosby Sweaters, Payouts via MMAJunkie, Dana and Jwoww via Twitter]