MMA

UFC 156 Upset Alert: Silva Stuns Overeem, Nogueira Tops Evans

posted February 3, 2013 by FightDay Staff

Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva / photo by Esther Lin

Overeem, Evans fall on Super Bowl weekend card

UFC 156 was a rough card for the Blackzilians.

The Florida-based squad sent two of their best into battle at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday night, but both men walked away empty handed.

Of course, the two fighters to lose were Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans, heavyweight and light heavyweight contenders, respectively.

Overeem met Strikeforce veteran Antonio Silva in the third-to-last fight of the pay-per-view, dominating early, though dishing out limited damage. He walked away from the first two rounds without sustaining any damage and likely well ahead on the judges' scorecards. Then "Bigfoot" came along.

Silva unleashed a vicious flurry on "The Demolition Man" in the early going of the third round, crushing the former Strikeforce champion. Standing over his victim, Silva yelled down at him, but referee Herb Dean had seen enough, stopping the fight.

With Overeem now joining Fedor Emelianenko on Silva's list of victims, the heavyweight once again finds himself back in the title mix.

But he was not the only Brazilian to earn an upset win, as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stunned heavy favorite Evans in the evening's co-main event.

Nogueira, worked his crisp, technical striking while avoiding the offense of Evans in the contest. Evans, meanwhile, was inactive, uninspired, and altogether unimpressive.

The two exchanged for three, five minute rounds, but hardly delivered anything worthy of the co-main event status. Evans simply didn't do enough, while Nogueira didn't exactly have much to work with as far as making the contest exciting.

Regardless of the entertainment value, Evans drops his second fight in a row (his third as a professional) and seems to be ready to make the move down to 185 lbs. to meet Anderson Silva.

Nogueira, on the other hand, makes a huge leap forward in the light heavyweight mix, taking down the heavy favorite.

Check out all our UFC 156 news