UFC 125 Results: Keys to Victory for Each Winner on Saturday Night

UFC 125 was full of surprises for fight fans, with unpredictable being the name of the game more often than not. 

In an action packed event, the main card was certainly not devoid of controversy. 

Let's take a look at the fighters' keys to victory for each of the five fights on the main card.

Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi

Both fighters took their time feeling each other out, but Guida ended up striking first with a roundhouse kick and a left hook.

Gomi made the mistake of allowing Guida to control the pace of the fight, looking very passive in the process.  

Guida had his takedown attempts stuffed several times in the early going, but constantly being the aggressor allowed him to stun Gomi with a high kick and dragged him to the mat with a double leg takedown at the end of the first round.

While Gomi did not give Guida many openings, Clay remained patient and calculated, capitalizing on the few opportunities he was given.  

Guida caught a knee thrown by Gomi and delivered a perfectly executed high single leg takedown to once again bring the fight down to the mat.

As Guida looked for an arm triangle while Gomi attempted a kimura, Guida loosened Gomi’s grip with an elbow to the face and then was able to squeeze his right arm around Gomi’s head.

Guida then swiveled his hips and stepped over for a picture perfect guillotine.  Gomi had no choice but to tap out.

Gomi’s normally impressive boxing and wrestling were simply not on display in this one, aside from pretty solid takedown defense in the early going. 

“The Caveman” was just overpowering in this one, as Gomi did not land one offensive flurry during the course of the fight.

Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Kim is a fourth degree black belt in Judo as well as a tremendous wrestler, both of which were very apparent against Nate Diaz.

“Stun Gun” showed superior power and technique, with Diaz being unable to showcase any of his Brazilian jiu-jitsu or boxing skills.

Kim was mostly able to control Diaz with his Judo, controlling the pace on his feet and on top and never looking like he was in any sort of danger.

This allowed Kim to keep his undefeated streak alive, with a professional record of 14-0-1 (one no contest). 

While Kim showed that he can be a contender in the welterweight division, many are going to question his decision to call out Georges St. Pierre during his post-fight interview.

Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva

Long story short here is that Vera looked like a guy ready to embrace retirement, while Silva appeared to be in peak form. 

The old saying, "The truth hurts," rang true in this one, but not in the way the old saying implies.

As anyone can easily see by the photo.  Silva used his superior striking skills to wear down Vera, and then just embarrassed him with ground-and-pound tactics in the third round.

Silva had taken Vera’s back, and then teed off with a variety of punches and open hand slaps, which is how he badly broke Vera’s nose.

Vera’s had essentially no offense in this one, and by the third round looked like a guy who really had no interest in winning.

Silva looks like he is finally fully recovered from his back injury, and looks like he could contend for the light heavyweight title sometime in the next year. 

Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann

Many found the end result of this fight as a bit of a shocker, with Stann winning by TKO in the first round.

There is not a whole lot to say here, as Stann looked like a force to be reckoned with as Leben simply did not. 

Leben has gone 3-3 in his past six fights, but he was riding a three-fight win streak heading into this one.

The “Crippler” made his presence known during his entrance, sporting what has become signature pink hair, as well as black nail polish on all 10 finger nails.

However, his entrance was really the only thing Leben did right all night.

The “All American” Brian Stann caught Leben with a big shot early on, and refused to let up from there. 

Give some credit to Leben for hanging tough for a couple minutes while continuously taking hard strikes from Stann, but it is obvious now that it is going to take a lot more than toughness to beat the lesser known Stann.

A former WEC light heavyweight champion, as well as a Silver Star recipient during his time in the Marines, Stann could turn out to be a force within the light heavyweight division in the months to come. 

By the way, does anyone else think that Hulk Hogan’s “Real American” theme would be a perfect entrance song for Brian Stann?

Lightweight Title Bout: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

How insane was the action that took place during Edgar vs. Maynard II?

Maynard definitely lived up to his “bully” nickname in the first round, plastering Edgar with vicious shots for a good 40 seconds in the early going.

It looked like this one was going to end very early, as Edgar was getting dominated and did not appear to have any answers for Maynard’s aggressive striking.

However, in a tremendous show of will power, Edgar managed to hang in there and miraculously escape the round.

This writer could have sworn he heard Maynard tell his corner, “He’s not human, he’s like a piece of iron,” when talking about Edgar in between the first and second rounds. 

In all seriousness, not one viewer watching could have honestly expected Frankie to escape the first round with his title in tact.

Somehow, Edgar exploded in the second round; landing a few quality strikes of his own and a notching a fantastic double leg take down.

Against all odds, there is no question that Edgar won the second round definitively.

The third round saw Maynard bounce back, landing a couple more big strikes and the former All-American wrestler notched his first two takedowns of the fight.

Edgar responded with two more takedowns of his own in the fourth round, and actually looked like he could end it as he locked in a guillotine choke against the cage.

Maynard escaped, but he had gotten dominated in the fourth round.

The fifth round was the one that was the most difficult to call: A legitimate argument can be made that either fighter won the round.

What likely kept Edgar alive is the fact that he was being very aggressive; throwing jabs, knees and combinations throughout the last round.

Don’t get it twisted, though; Maynard was busy in round five as well, landing plenty of quality shots of his own.

The fans and competitors alike were disappointed that this one ended in a draw, but Edgar certainly deserves loads of credit for hanging onto the belt when it was all said and done. 

Despite the fact that UFC president Dana White said that Anthony Pettis would get the next title shot immediately after the pay-per-view was over, he quickly flip-flopped on this statement.

White went on to say that Pettis never had a title shot guaranteed, that is was just likely.  He rationalized that after Maynard’s performance, it would be almost unfair for Maynard not to get an immediate rematch.

Therefore, Maynard vs. Edgar III is in the cards for the near future; this will be Edgar’s next title defense as Pettis continues to wait in the wings.