UFC 126 Results Videos: The Real Winners and Losers from Saturday’s Fights

There was no controversy in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 126 event as UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva solidified his position atop the division with a ridiculous front-kick that knocked out the challenger, Vitor Belfort.

The following were the results from the main card of the big event.

UFC 126 Results:

Mike Pierce defeated Kenny Robertson via TKO (punches) in Round 2, 0:29.

Kyle Kingsbury defeated Ricardo Romero via TKO (punches) in Round 1, 0:21.

Paul Taylor defeated Gabe Ruediger via KO (head kick) in Round 2, 1:42.

Demetrious Johnson defeated Kid Yamamoto via Unanimous Decision.

Donald Cerrone defeated Paul Kelly via Submission (rear naked choke) in Round 2, 3:48.

Miguel Torres defeated Antonio Banuelos via Unanimous Decision.

Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduardo Rocha via Split Decision

Jon Jones defeated Ryan Bader via Submission (guillotine choke) in Round 2, 4:20.

Forrest Griffin defeated Rich Franklin via Unanimous Decision.

Anderson Silva defeated Vitor Belfort via KO (front kick and punches) in Round 1, 3:25.

But while these were the results of the fights, they do not necessarily tell the whole story. Sometimes simply winning or losing isn’t enough to make you a real winner or loser on a given night.

Fanhouse’s Ariel Helwani interviewed many of the show’s fighters and will help explain who the real winners and losers were from Saturday night’s UFC 126 event!

Winner: Kyle Kingsbury

The night didn’t last long for Kyle Kingsbury, as he took care of business early in his fight, knocking out Ricardo Romero just 21 seconds into the first round.

Now on a three-fight win streak after back-to-back losses, Kingsbury got the monkey off his back by finishing his first opponent since March 2007 at KOTC Battle at the Bowl when he submitted Angelo McElroy.

AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) continues to represent well on pay-per-view, and Kingsbury may have earned himself more appearances on the big show with his great performance.

Loser: Michihiro Omigawa

Michihiro Omigawa’s return to the UFC was a disappointing one, as he was on the losing end of Chad Mendes’ impressive night.

Omigawa struggled to do much of anything in this fight with the only real source of offense he had coming in the first round, when he appeared to have Mendes’ trapped in an arm bar.

Though his arm looked like it was in bad condition, Mendes was able to fight through the pain and escape the hold before the end of Round 1.

Though he showed great takedown defense at times during this fight, strong wrestlers appear to be one of Omigawa’s weaknesses as he had a very difficult time getting Mendes off him once he was on his back.

“Money” rained down punches and elbows, one of which opened up a large cut on Omigawa’s eyelid that could be seen from a mile away.

Not to be cynical, but it almost seems as if the UFC intentionally brought Omigawa in as a hand-picked opponent to help build credibility for Mendes.

Winner: Jake Ellenberger

In one of the more confusing split decisions in recent memory, Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduardo Rocha to continue his climb up the welterweight rankings.

Now 23-5 in his career and on a streak of seven wins in his last eight fights, Ellenberger escaped some tough situations in the first round against a submission specialist in order to come away with a big victory.

Coming into the fight, Rocha was a perfect 8-0 in his MMA career with seven wins coming by way of submission.

Things looked dire for Jake Ellenberger as Rocha nearly ended the fight with as he cranked on his opponent’s arm near the end of the first round. If there were only a few more seconds left, we could have seen Rocha on this list as a “winner.”

Instead, Ellenberger came out in Rounds 2 and 3, dominating the action from then on out. Rocha appeared frantic as he threw quite a few wild kicks and punches while Ellenberger utilized a much more controlled grappling game to gain control of the fight and win a judge’s decision.

Though one apparently drunk referee scored the bout 30-27 for Rocha, the other two judges scored it 29-28 for Ellenberger, as he ended Carlos Rocha’s undefeated streak.

Loser: Rich Franklin

It may be back to the drawing board for Rich “Ace” Franklin, who lost a tightly contested fight with fellow fan favorite Forrest Griffin at UFC 126.

Franklin has been gradually making his transition back to 205 pounds and weighed in two pounds under the weight limit at 203 pounds during Friday’s weigh-ins.

While there’s no rule that says a fighter can’t be a few pounds under the weight limit, the fact Franklin was underweight for this fight was an obvious factor.

A much larger Forrest Griffin was able to control the pace of the fight, particularly in the first round when he brought Franklin to the ground and smothered him with ground-and-pound from the guard.

Franklin escaped the round and looked much better in the subsequent rounds, but the energy he used during Round 1 may very well have doomed him, as he had to work tirelessly to avoid Griffin passing his guard, where he would be able to do some serious damage.

The unanimous judges' decision went to Griffin in what was a clear showing that Franklin is going to have a tough time against the bigger-bodied fighters at light heavyweight. He will need to continue to add muscle and bulk up for his next fight.

Winner: Demetrious Johnson

UFC 126 was supposed to be the debut party for Japanese sensation “Kid” Yamamoto, but Demetrious Johnson apparently didn’t get the memo.

The ultra-quick 135-pounder bounced around the cage for 15 straight minutes, exhausting “Kid” with his relentless pace. As UFC commentator Joe Rogan alluded to, this might have been the first time in his career that Yamamoto was out-paced by his opponent.

Both men showed a tremendous amount of respect for one another in the fight, which was great to see for a fight that was viewed by so many people on Facebook.

Johnson was awarded a unanimous decision with the judges scoring the bout 29-28 once and 30-27 twice. His career record improved to 8-1 as he gained his third straight win under the Zuffa banner.

Johnson thanked Xbox after the fight, a company that he said, “stepped up” as a sponsor for him.

It was a big night for the bantamweight, as his victory over a well-respected fighter was viewed by what will very likely amount to be by far the biggest number of fans who have ever watched him fight live.

Loser: Kid Yamamoto

With Demetrious Johnson being in the “Winner” column, it’s not surprising that his opponent was on the opposite list.

In this case, that man is “Kid” Yamamoto, who spent most of the night watching “Mighty Mouse” bounce around the cage and take him down on numerous occasions.

Yamamoto was not only making his UFC debut, but was also making his debut in the Continental United States as he had only ever fought in the States in Hawaii.

“Kid” failed to impress us, as he didn’t really bring the usual fire and non-stop action that we see in his fights. In fact, he looked very tired, particularly in the third round.

His striking was off all night and he couldn’t get Johnson on his back in what must have been a very frustrating situation for the highly talented Japanese fighter.

This certainly won’t spell the end for the “Kid” in the UFC but it certainly does not put him in good starting position as he hopes to ascend back to the top of the world rankings.

Winner: Donald Cerrone

After a bizarre start to the fight that saw Paul Kelly throw punches just a split second after touching gloves with Donald Ceronne, the “Cowboy” was finally able to take care of business in the second round.

Though Cerrone has a background in Muay Thai kickboxing, he submitted Kelly with a beautifully executed rear naked choke; marking the 12th submission victory he has notched in his 14 career wins.

Ariel Helwani caught up with an emotional Cerrone as he discussed the fight and reluctantly informed Helwani that Cerrone's grandfather had recently passed away.

It wasn’t until later tonight that we found out via Cerrone’s Twitter account that the passing of his grandfather actually happened just 20 minutes prior to fight time.

Our thoughts go out to Cerrone and his family in this very tough time. Certainly his grandfather would be proud of the way he performed tonight.

Loser: Vitor Belfort

This was supposed to be the night that Vitor Belfort ended Anderson Silva’s reign over the middleweight division in the UFC, but sometimes things just don’t work out.

After over two minutes of feeling-out time in which neither fighter really landed much of anything to note, aside from a solid but unspectacular punch from Belfort; the fight ended very dramatically.

As the two circled the center of the cage, Silva faked a front body kick but changed it at the last minute to a front kick to the face.

The kick connected right on the jaw, sending the Brazilian challenger to the canvas as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

After a couple more punches to make sure his opponent was out, Silva’s hand was raised once again as the king at 185 pounds.

Though Vitor and Anderson showed a tremendous amount of respect for one another after the fight, the exact direction of Belfort’s career going forward is unknown.

He claimed that he would be back sooner than later, but will this loss do what it has done to so many other victims of Silva’s in the past and send him into a downward spiral? Only time will tell.

Winner: Forrest Griffin

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - NOVEMBER 21: Forrest Griffin celebrates his victory over Tito Ortiz after their Light Heavyweight Fight at the UFC 106 at Mandalay Bay Events Center on November 21, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

After a 14-month layoff to recuperate from surgery and various nagging injuries, Forrest Griffin made his triumphant return to The Octagon as he defeated Rich Franklin by unanimous decision.

The win wasn’t pretty as Franklin himself acknowledged and it was the third straight victory of his career to come by decision, but it was great to see Forrest back in the cage and entertaining his fans.

Not only was Griffin promoted tonight as a fighter with his win but Joe Rogan made a special point to mention the two books he has put out which is always a great way to create some publicity for those of us who don’t exactly stay up-to-date on the latest writing projects from our favorite fighters.

Expect Griffin’s book sale numbers to take a nice spike tomorrow as fans rush out to the book stores to see what crazy thoughts are going through this maniac’s head!

Winner: Chad Mendes

Chad “Money” Mendes improved his undefeated record to 10-0 with a big unanimous decision win over Japanese featherweight Michihiro Omigawa.

Many consider Mendes to be “the next Urijah Faber” as he continues his ascension to the top of the 145-pound division. This comparison is a tough one to live up to, but he shares many tendencies with his fellow Team Alpha Male training partner.

Both fighters are excellent wrestlers with solid stand-up and powerful ground-and-pound techniques. But while Faber recently made the decision to drop to 135-pounds, it is Mendes who has risen up the rankings at 145-pounds.

This win almost certainly puts Mendes in everyone’s top-10 in the featherweight division. It may only take one or two more wins before he is stepping in the cage and competing for the UFC Featherweight championship.

Loser: Yushin Okami

At this point, it’s hard not to feel bad for UFC Middleweight championship No. 1 contender Yushin Okami, who seems to have been being promised a title shot for as far back as anyone can remember.

With victories over Lucio Linhares, Mark Munoz, and Nate Marquardt in 2010, Okami should have been on the path to face the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort tonight.

Unfortunately, that likely won’t be happening.

UFC President Dana White explicitly said that he would attempt to put together the “dream fight” between UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre if and when both fighters won their upcoming bouts.

With Silva having defeated Belfort, it’s now up to St. Pierre to defeat Jake Shields before the huge fight will be booked.

It’s hard to blame the UFC for wanting to make this potentially blockbuster fight but you also have to feel for Yushin Okami who will likely have to continue to defend his position as the No. 1 contender until his title fight is eventually booked.

“I don’t care, I simply would like to fight the best fighter,” Okami told Ariel Helwani in a post-show interview.

Translation: “Give me my damn title shot.”

Winner: Jon Jones

The biggest winner of the night realistically could be Jon “Bones” Jones, who earned his place in UFC history when he was announced as the new No. 1 contender for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, live on pay-per-view.

Jones manhandled a very tough, previously undefeated Ryan Bader for nine minutes before slapping on a guillotine that would eventually be the nail in the coffin in this huge fight.

“Bones” had been criticized by some over the past few weeks who claimed that he was beginning to get a bit egotistical about his skills but he shut down those critics by proved his talents while remaining very humble in the process.

Just 23 years old, Jones will take the place of the injured Rashad Evans in six weeks at UFC 128, live in New Jersey.

It doesn’t get much bigger than that for this young superstar.

Biggest Winners: Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre

Another amazing performance from Anderson Silva truly ended all discussion about him being the best fighter in the world at 185 pounds.

After toying a bit with the challenger, Vitor Belfort, early in the fight; Silva eventually caught his former training partner with a highlight-reel front kick knockout that will certainly go down in history as one of the best finishes to a fight in UFC history.

Though there was a lot of trash talking the week leading up to the fight, particularly at the weigh-in, both Silva and Belfort were very appreciative of one another after the fight and both men likely earned quite a few fans in the process for their display of sportsmanship.

But now that the debate between Silva and Belfort is out of the way, it’s time to finally settle the debate that we have been dreaming about for years. That’s right, it’s time to see Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre.

If St. Pierre can just get by Jake Shields at UFC 129 in April, UFC President Dana White announced recently that he will be working on finally getting the fight booked between the world’s top two pound-for-pound fighters.

The pay day for this fight will be enormous and could very well go down as the biggest fight in MMA history.

Even looking aside from the unbelievable competition we will likely see between these two juggernauts, the payday for the fighters is likely to be bigger than anything they have received in the past.

If the UFC doesn’t break their all-time pay-per-view buys record with this fight as a headliner, it would be absolutely shocking.