Chael Sonnen Gets His Rematch

[M. Winters]

Despite his loss at UFC 117, Chael Sonnen has earned an immediate rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

UFC president Dana White, who's busy with a final media blitz for this week's UFC 118 event in Boston, today confirmed the plans while on ESPN's "SportsCenter," though a date has not been determined for the rematch.

Your thoughts?

Personally, I'm glad that he's getting an immediate rematch. From a promoters standpoint it's instant money with how much trash talking and selling Sonnen will be doing for this fight after his first bout with Silva. I hope Sonnen can bring his A game though because I expect Silva to come at him this time but Sonnen's wrestling in the last match was dominant.

Belfort is sort of hanging in the balance now, him vs Leben would make sense and would be a great fight.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Im happy the UFC made the right decision. Let's face it Vitor Belfort was doing piss all, i almost forgot all about him and yeah a match against Chris Leben would make a little sense but regardless an immediate rematch between Chael and The Spider is what everybody wants to see. It is a win-win situation, this fight sells itself, you can bank on how much shit Chael will talk this time after their first fight.

But the difference in this fight is, i don't think anyone will be dumb enough to rule out Chael Sonnen this time and underestimate him. That would be a huge mistake.

 

[Fizzy]

Better Sonnen than anybody else. Vitor beat Rich Franklin at a catchweight and hasn't even fought in the UFC at middleweight yet. I didn't want him to get a shot in the first place. After Vitor honestly who else is there for Anderson? A bunch of rematches where he destroys the challengers? Hopefully this next fight is as competitive as the last because I love seeing Anderson have to use his skills to win. I guess you could say Chael deserves this rematch just because it was a good fight. I don't think he deserved it as much as some people make it seem. It's not like Shogun/Machida 1 or Frankie/BJ where they were razor close decisions. He got finished, and if there were any other interesting matchups against deserving challengers i'd be against this rematch. Lucky for Chael there aren't so we get treated to another good fight. Question for me is win or lose what do you do with Anderson after this fight?

 

[Window Licker 101]

Good decision Dana! Sonenn deserves the rematch for his gutsy performance. I am excited for this fight for several reasons. Obviously Chael will be working his submission defence like crazy but it will prove if Silva "was 100% fit" in the last fight or not. As for Belfort I think he should face Okami in a title decider fight. Leben should take on Belcher. The middlewight division is the most interesting to me at this current moment in time.

 

[M. Winters]

Isn't Belcher's career in jeopardy with some kind of eye injury though?

 

[Window Licker 101]

Currently speaking, yes. He may need to retire. Just read a report about how serious is it

 

[Via Armbar]

I'm somone that isn't against immediate rematches when the scenario is right. There are very few contenders for Silva, especially ones he hasn't already fought. Hell, they were giving Belfort a title shot and he hadn't even technically fought in the UFC at MW. You have Marquardt coming off a loss and Palhares barely entering the mix. I can the latter getting a shot if he beats Nate simply due to lack of contenders. There is the ever lurking Okami who will most likely get a shot at the champ if he could get another win. Other than that, who would get a shot? Leben? Wanderlei? Let's be real, neither of those men have beaten an opponent worthy of earning them a title shot.

If there was a couple contenders hanging out waiting for their shot, then yeah they should get one before Sonnen gets a rematch. The thing is, there isn't. Belfort will be fighting before Silva is healed, so at least that gives him a chance to earn at least one victory at 185 in the Octagon. Nate and Palhares are fighting each other which makes sense. Okami barely squeezed out a win against Munoz and a win against less than impressive Linhares. Bisping beat Miller but lost to Wanderlei prior. Akiyama just lost. As epic a comeback story as Leben has had, he needs to beat a contender.

Sonnen/Silva 2 is the money match. It's the most intriguing and makes the most sense right now. It's not like Silva dominated every second of the fight and made it clear that Sonnen doesn't belong in a title fight. Nothing could be further from the truth honestly. I firmly believe that a champion should defend against the toughest opposition and Chael has proven to be just that at the moment.

 

[jmt225]

Perfect decision by the UFC.

Though, I must say I am a tad disappointed that we won't be able to see Chael smash Bisping's face in before he gets his rematch, but meh... maybe it'll happen sometime after, who knows.

Anyways, man... this one is a hard fight to call, but at least this time around I won't dislike Chael as much I did previously in the first fight between he and Anderson. Chael earned all my respect after his performance, and after all the things he said after the fight... I mean, it's just impossible not to like him now.

So, yeah... I'm torn in who I want to win and who I think will win. I'll have to wait until the fight gets closer for that. However, I'm very pleased this got set-up, and I hope it goes down Super Bowl weekend rather than the New Years show. Super Bowl + Silva vs. Sonnen 2 = Perfect Weekend.

 

[INDYjon22]

Great decision by the UFC. Sonnen proved he wasn't all talk in the first fight and took it to Anderson like no one has ever done before. It doesn't hurt that there aren't any other real contenders right now. The next closest person to the title is Okami as far I am concerned, though I would like to see Belfort get a shot at Silva. However, this is a perfect decision by the UFC. Sonnen was so close to winning the first fight and you know he will get the hype going real soon for this fight. I think this fight will draw huge because of how the first fight went down and how Sonnen will talk it up. Good move by the UFC.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

This is definitely the right thing to do. Even though Chael lost by submission and didn't lose by a close decision, Sonnen dominated Silva like no one has ever done in the UFC. That right there I think warrants him another shot at Silva without question.

All of the other contenders Silva has beat convincingly besides Okami which was his actually last loss, but that was for an illegal kick. Okami actually would have to win a few more fights before getting a go at Silva anyways. Belfort has been said to have a title shot at some point after just one win since his return to the UFC. This was actually gonna happen untill Silva was injured, then Belfort so that fight has been pushed back to who knows. My guess would be he gets the winner for his title shot. It also was confirmed that Belfort will fight in November against an unnamed opponent. Leben would be a good choice since all the top Middleweights are in matches the next few months.

This rematch has the chance to get Brock type after the way the first fight went down. Usually Silva isn't that much of a draw because of his lackluster performances, but after the first fight between the two, the numbers should be close to a million buys. Lets just hope they build an awesome under card to go with the main event.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

I've been a proponent of this before it was announced. I've grown tired of hearing people say "he definitively lost so he doesn't deserve a rematch." That's bullshit. Not only did Sonnen take it to Anderson like he's never had it taken to him before in the UFC, he also backed up all of his shit talking. Which, for the UFC, means that when Sonnen talks shit this time around, people will listen and take it seriously.

I can honestly say that I would order this fight before I would order Lesnar/Carwin 2 if they had announced that. I was supremely impressed with Sonnen and this will give us a chance to find out if Silva's ribs really were "injured" or if Ed Soares was just talking out of his ass like he usually does. Personally, I believe Anderson just got his ass kicked and Soares had to say something so that people don't walk in to that Octagon confident that they can beat a man who once appeared untouchable.

I hope that this card is as good as their last card.

Oh, on a side note, Belfort NEVER deserved a title shot. Fighting someone at catchweight should not, in any way, shape, or form, vault you into title contention in any division. That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. Personally, I want Matt Hughes to fight Vitor so he can put down another Gracie. (Yes, Vitor is a Gracie)

 

[Via Armbar]

I've been a proponent of this before it was announced. I've grown tired of hearing people say "he definitively lost so he doesn't deserve a rematch." That's bullshit. Not only did Sonnen take it to Anderson like he's never had it taken to him before in the UFC, he also backed up all of his shit talking.

I'll start off with saying I agree with you completely. Anytime a challenger dominates the champion like that, it really says something even if the challenger eventually loses. It not only shows everyone that he deserved to be there but it gives the world a glimpse into the fact that no champion is unbeatable. That is an incredible selling point. Nobody wants to watch someone who cannot lose. What I want to point out is you say that you're tired of people saying that he definitely lost. The thing is, he did. No matter how it went down, that is a loss on his record.

If I remember correctly, you and I had a back and forth about Fedor's record and his one loss (at the time). You said it was a DEFINITE loss and that nobody should look at it as anything but that. Just thought it was weird to say that about Fedor's loss, which was a result of an illegal blow and not a tko/decision/submission victory for his opponent. Yet, you say that it's not right to say that Chael definitely lost, when his loss was obviously more decisive.

My point is, that there are times when a loss can mean just as much as a win. This rematch is definitely one of those times. Chael will now come in as someone who isn't seen as a complete underdog. If the story and trash talk leading up to the first fight was something to behold, you can multiply it tenfold for the rematch. The issue lies with immediate rematches and when they should be allowed.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

I'll start off with saying I agree with you completely. Anytime a challenger dominates the champion like that, it really says something even if the challenger eventually loses. It not only shows everyone that he deserved to be there but it gives the world a glimpse into the fact that no champion is unbeatable. That is an incredible selling point. Nobody wants to watch someone who cannot lose. What I want to point out is you say that you're tired of people saying that he definitely lost. The thing is, he did. No matter how it went down, that is a loss on his record.

If I remember correctly, you and I had a back and forth about Fedor's record and his one loss (at the time). You said it was a DEFINITE loss and that nobody should look at it as anything but that. Just thought it was weird to say that about Fedor's loss, which was a result of an illegal blow and not a tko/decision/submission victory for his opponent. Yet, you say that it's not right to say that Chael definitely lost, when his loss was obviously more decisive.

My point is, that there are times when a loss can mean just as much as a win. This rematch is definitely one of those times. Chael will now come in as someone who isn't seen as a complete underdog. If the story and trash talk leading up to the first fight was something to behold, you can multiply it tenfold for the rematch. The issue lies with immediate rematches and when they should be allowed.

You are one hundred percent right. I should have been more specific by saying that I'm tired of people saying "he definitively lost so he does NOT deserve one."

You're absolutely right. This is a case where Chael's loss means more than a win BECAUSE of how badly he beat that ass. After Machida lost, Edgar beat Penn, and Carwin LEVELED Lesnar before eventually losing, it was beginning to look like Anderson and GSP were the only unbeatable's in the UFC.

Along comes a shit-talking republican from Oregon named Chael Sonnen. He said "I'm gonna bring the fight to Anderson," "He's gonna know he was in a fight..." Etc..

I knew he could wrestle, but I'll be honest, never in a million years did I see him dominating Anderson like that for 4 and a half rounds. I don't even think the biggest Sonnen fans on the planet TRULY believed he would dominate Anderson in all phases of the game like that. Including standup.

I'm of the opinion that there are certain times when a definitive loss still deserves a rematch. Fedor should get one against Werdum. A record of 30-2 earns you fucking rematch against the first guy to "beat" you in the eyes of many fans.

Absolute domination for 99% of the fight against, what many considered to be, the best pound for pound fighter in the world, earns you an immediate rematch.

I should have been more clear or elaborated further, but yeah, Sonnen did lose definitively. That SHOULDN'T, however, be the reason he doesn't get an immediate rematch.

 

[Rayne]

Woot. Woot.

Chael Sonnen deserved this rematch more than BJ Penn deserved the rematch he's getting tonight. As it stands now, Sonnen will be able to tell his grandkids about how, for 22 minutes, he beat the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the game. I marked right the fuck on out during that fight, because I (like everyone who wasn't training with Sonnen) thought Silva would casually embarrass him, stuffing his takedowns before doing his best Charlie Chaplin impressions.

The previous best we had seen against Silva was Dan Henderson, who won a single round against Silva before getting choked out. Vitor Belfort; yeah, I like the guy, he's as tough as nails, but he's Just Another Victim to Silva. Tough as nails isn't enough to beat Anderson Silva. Chael Sonnen proved that he can hang with the champ, and no one else at middleweight has even come close to that. (Or light heavyweight, for that matter. Forrest Griffin says "ow.")

Anderson Silva blamed a rib injury for his poor performance against Sonnen. We'll get to see if the proof is in the pudding in a few months.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I'm beyond psyched Sonnen's getting a rematch. The guy deserves it and is right now, without a doubt, the best possible choice in the division. People are getting increasingly upset with the trend of immediate rematches, but in each time, it's been deserved. Shogun should have beaten Machida the first time, and the BJ/Edgar fight at first was real close to call.

Silva/Sonnen was a fight that Chael Sonnen had dominated. He set out to do what I knew he would do, which is dominate Anderson on the ground. Nobody has ever taken it to Silva that badly... and if he didn't get caught, he would have been the champion. And as far as this rematch goes, nobody deserves the shot more than Sonnen. Belfort needs to get through Okami first, and I think he might even need to get through Maia in order to get the shot.

Sonnen took it to Silva standing and on the ground. He needs to improve his submission defense now though. We know he can defend kimuras. We know he can defend Guillotines. He needs to improve his submission awareness and how to defend the Triangle now, and that's all he really needs to do between now and the time the fight happens.