Frank Mir Halts Bigfoot Silva In Night Filled With Upsets UFC Fight Night 61 Main Card Recap

Sunday nights were made for the UFC and a night filled with nine upsets left many viewers in disbelief for a card that projected to be less than stellar. Frank Mir has a resounding KO of Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the first round that completely captured the night. We saw a recharged Michael Johnson eager to remind everyone of his climb in the 155 ranks after a year layoff. Also we have to mention the wonderful first round submission finish by Marion Reneau who is making some noise in the women’s 135 bantamweight division. In front of a packed house in the beautiful arena in Porto Alegre Brazil man fans went home dissatisfied as their home country favorites did not dominate the card.

The main event for tonight's card was a heavyweight bout between Mir (17-9) and Silva (18-7). While we thought Silva was headed to a possible early finish, it was the exact opposite that happened. Frank Mir was able to knockout Bigfoot in devastating fashion. He landed a hook that sent Silva to the canvas and showed the entire world that he's not done with the sport yet. It won't shake up things in the UFC Heavyweight division but it was a perfect ending to a night filled with upsets.

Johnson (16-8) is a fighter that was on a tear last year until an injury sidelined him. A year later he steps in the cage against the dangerous legs of Edson Barboza (15-3). From the moment the fight started the pace was high for but you could tell Johnson had some nasty intentions. He cut off the cage and took each kick to the body Barbosa delivered. He returned with a left, right to the face each time and that combo worked all night and threw off Edson Barboza. Even though Edson also showed a great chin and tested Michael as well he couldn't contend with the take downs and all-around game of Michael Johnson. It is great to see him back in the 155 division.

When it comes to pure one shot power you can never count out a fighter. I stop making a habit of picking against Smiling Sam Alvey (25-6) on his knock out if Dylan Andrews and the man continues to impress. In the first round it looked as if his Cezar Ferreira (8-4) was heading toward controlling the first round with his lightning quick leg kicks. He landed an elbow to Alvey who took it with no issue and landed a left hook to the chin of Cezar and sent him to the mattress. It was another scary performance by Alvey who many fighters won't be lining up to face anytime soon.

A sharp elbow and some timely body shots by Rustam Khabilov (17-3) deep in the second round was the start of the offense in the lightweight matchup against Adriano Martins (27-7). Adriano was able to land a huge left hand at the end if the round that finally woke up the crowd. Rustam showed great athleticism buy was unable to avoid a takedown late. The main key in this match for Khabilov is how great he looked with his striking against Martins. That wasn't enough though as the judges seemed to favor the takedowns of Martins and gave him the split decision.

Frankie Saenz (9-2) implored a great game plan to stay active and wear down the number 8 bantamweight in the world. Iuri Alcantara (32-6) never got a chance to get anything going as the underdog wrestler pushed a pace that dictated each round in his favor. This is two straight for Frankie in the UFC and a hell of an upset for Saenz.

The opening bout on the main card between Sean Strickland (15-1) and Santiago Panzinibbio (20-2) was great from the start. The technical assault of Strickland went hand to hand with Panzinibbio brawling style. Sean showed a steady chin as he used large right hands mixed with head kicks that keep the crowd roaring throughout the match. It was an evenly contested bout as Strickland neutralized the leg kicks with a healthy jab. The judges saw the fight in favor of Santiago as he ends Strickland’s undefeated streak.

Up next for the UFC is UFC 184 Rousey - Zingano Saturday February 28th. The full results of UFC Fight Night 61 Bigfoot - Mir are listed below.

Main Card

Frank Mir def. Bigfoot Silva via first-round KO (1:40)

Michael Johnson def. Edson Barboza via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27 x2)

Sam Alvey def. Cezar Ferreira via first-round KO (3:34)

Adriano Martins def. Rustam Khabilov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Frankie Saenz def. Iuri Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Sean Strickland via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Prelims

Marion Reneau def. Jessica Andrade via submission (triangle choke) (1st, 1:54)

Matt Dwyer def. William Macario via first-round KO (3:14)

Mike de la Torre def. Tiago Trator via first-round TKO (2:59)