Silva vs. Sonnen II - Title vs. Career

[Turd Ferguson]

Anderson Silva, you absolutely SUCK. Super Bowl Weekend, the biggest rematch in the history of the business, I'm calling you out Silva, but we're upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I will leave the UFC forever.

What Chael Sonnen did last night after completely dominating Brian Stann, was lay down the greatest post-fight interview in the history of the UFC. It was a stroke of brilliance, and as the crowd went bananas, I'm sure all Dana White could hear was "Cha-Ching". Seriously, the rematch was going to be huge in the first place. The first fight was the best fight of 2010, and Chael would have talked his way to a huge buyrate for the UFC with his trash talking. Furthermore, Chael is still the only guy to have put Anderson Silva in major trouble. Now, you potentially have the added stipulation where if Chael loses, he will retire. The rematch could easily do 1 million+ buys.

It's amazing how much Chael bridges the gap between pro wrestling and MMA. And in the rematch, I think you have to consider that Chael has a very good chance to beat Silva. Chael absolutely dominated Silva the last time. The rib injury - lets face it - is an absolute crock in the first place. Silva is the king of excuses if things don't go his way to perfection. Chael's been out 14 months. That's a lot of time to improve on the one hole that you have in your game - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As seen against Brian Stann, he's improved his grappling. On the ground, not only will he terrorize his opponent with his ground and pound, but he feels comfortable threatening with submissions now. Part of this has to be the fact that Matt Lindland is no longer his trainer, and during his time off, he spent time training at Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu as well. Something tells me that he had to have learned how to really defend a triangle in these last 14 months.

Chael absolutely dominated the second best striker in the Middleweight Division last night. Brian Stann isn't on Anderson Silva's level, but Sonnen showed that he has not missed a step while being away. Anderson Silva wants no part of this fight. Chael has the best takedowns and the best wrestling in the UFC. A Chael Sonnen that may be competent with BJJ now is Silva's worst nightmare.

I think the only concern here is if Chael can get licensed in Nevada, which is where the UFC holds the Super Bowl weekend cards. I think the fight is better suited for the next card they hold in Brazil in the 100,000 seat stadium, or Cowboys Stadium.

What do you guys think? Can Chael pull it off in the rematch?

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I agree 100% with you, dude (enjoy some rep), Chael literally took 800,000 PPV buys, placed them in a nice box, gift wrapped it and stuck a Hallmark Card on it that said "To Dana, with Love, Chael."

Silva has a great deal of humility, and handled himself well. Almost anyone else would have entered the cage for a face to face. Chael is probably the only guy in the Middleweight Division who has a shot of stopping the Spider, and he's on top of his game. I love Brian Stann and was bummed h lost, but I recognize a master at work.

Sonnen put it all on the line. Putting his UFC career up against Silva leaving the division is too much for any party to say no to. And when you think about it, this sets Sonnen up as the fan favorite. Think about it - fans get an underdog fighting for his career against a guy who has so dominated the Middleweight Division that forcing him to go up in weight to LHW is almost doing UFC a FAVOR.

I say Sonnen wins the rematch, and within a year Silva is fighting Jones for the LHW Title.

 

[jmt225]

One thing Chael Sonnen and his fans refuse to acknowledge is the fact that he lost the first match with Anderson Silva. He put up a good effort, sure, but he lost. Bottom line.

Let's say the Packers go undefeated all year and they blow everyone out, and then in the Super Bowl they play the Patriots and the Patriots have a big lead the entire game, only to blow it late the 4th quarter. Will people still give the Patriots all this praise for dominating the first 3 quarters? OF COURSE NOT! So, why do we give Sonnen all of this credit like he's some unstoppable monster that's sure to beat Anderson because he came close the first time?

If people rewatch that fight, the only true stand-up exchange they had at the beginning of the 4th round, Chael Sonnen got his fucking ass kicked. Also, how many times did Silva go for the triangle? Not one time until his attempt in the 5th Round. You never know.... he probably could have gotten it much sooner, but he patiently bought his time. Moreover, who looked the worst for wear at the end of the fight? Chael had cuts and bruises all over his face, while Silva was unmarked.

My point here is that Anderson wasn't as dominated as Chael Sonnen and his fans like to believe. And then to bring up the ribs, watch the fight... Anderson is nowhere near as mobile or agile on his feet as he has been in the past. I bought this up before, but if Damien Maia was able to rag doll Sonnen to the ground, why couldn't he do the same to Silva? Maia has very good judo and wrestling, but he could not once get Silva to the ground in 5 Rounds. And of course, Okami couldn't get him down either. To me, that's all the proof I need to know that Silva was very vulnerable going into the Sonnen fight, otherwise Sonnen wouldn't have gotten the takedowns he did with such ease (which is overstated in and of itself since according to Fight Metric, Sonnen was 6-14 in takedown attempts in that fight).

Anyways, of course for me to go into full detail like that of the first fight, I'm picking Anderson Silva to win here, only this time it will be much more decisive. Chael Sonnen is very entertaining and great for the sport, but he won't be champion as long as Anderson Silva remains in the Middleweight Division.

Oh, and for the record, I don't buy Chael Sonnen leaving the UFC for a minute. Dana White will not let that happen. Chael still has a few more years left in him, and the UFC will milk that mouth of his for all its worth.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I'm with Heisenburg and IC on this one for sure, I am 110 percent behind Chael Sonnen. Last night I was ready to see the man I've been backing to take the MW title since his drop to the weight class, my hero in MMA and my favorite fighter, Brian Stann. However he was shut down by my 2nd favorite MW and my 5th fav fighter in Chael, and while it was very difficult to not only see Brian lose but get dominated atleast he lost to someone else that I love.

Enough of the pity party, last night while I was avoiding putting my head through a wall Chael brought light into my night and turned that frown of mine upside down with his (what will one day be legendary) post fight promo that I absolutely loved. Sonnen is everything I love in a fighter, he's tough as hell, he brings shades of pro wrestling to the table with his promos and interviews that I absolutely love(being a major MMA/WWE fan) and he's got what it takes to beat Anderson Silva and take that asshole's title from him. Let's not forget what Heisenburg said, Chael has been training at my camp, Cesar Gracie which gives me another reason to root for him, and means that his submission defense and offense will be top notch, I can guarantee that.

To add to the excitement of this fight, Chael has stated that if he wins Anderson has to leave the division and if he loses he will leave the UFC Forever, as cool as that sounded I don't think that was the best thing to say buddy. I love Chael and I do believe he'll win but there's just as good of a chance of him losing and if he does I will be very upset to not get to watch more Chael Sonnen fights in the UFC. I agree with jmt that I can't see Dana allowing this, Chael boosts fights and PPVs like crazy, but idk how he'd get along with everyone if he continued fighting in the promotion after saying he'd leave but sticking around. Hopefully that situation is avoided and he just wins the damn belt because that'll be alot less complicated and I'll be happier with the result.

So what will happen in their fight? Ofcourse the fact that this time Anderson won't be fighting injured could come into play, my guess would be that his stand up will be much better and Chael won't be able to score as well as he did last time, and will be in danger of getting taken out on the feet. However, Chael's takedowns are still going to be Spider's kryptonite and with Chael working his ground at Gracie there is no doubt in my mind that once he gets it to the ground he wins this fight. I can't wait for this fight to go down, I was pumped for the last one and now I'm even more excited for this one, I love you Chael and I want to see you defeat Anderson Silva and become the new UFC Middleweight Champion.

Spoiler

Can't fucking wait

 

[INDYjon22]

Honestly, I'll be shocked if Anderson even accepts the conditions and in no way is that my way of saying Anderson is ducking Sonnen. I don't think Anderson has any issue facing Chael again or putting the title on the line, I just think he will find the condition that if he loses he must move weight classes silly. However, I hope he does take the conditions because it will make for the greatest build up to a title fight ever, and one with the biggest ramifications. As much as Dana must be loving what Chael has said and done, he must also be worried that if Chael loses he will have to leave the UFC because lets be honest, if the condition is for Anderson to move up in weight then Chael will certainly have to be held to leaving the UFC if he can't beat Anderson, and that would be a fairly significant blow to Dana and the UFC. Either way it is a fight I want to see badly and cannot wait for it to go down.

 

[The Crock]

This is going to be one hell of an event, that's for sure. This will easily be the biggest UFC/MMA PPV ever and will sell through the roof. The rematch, without Sonnen upping the stakes, was going to take in some huge numbers, but now? Wow, this will be big. This is basically something you'd see in the world of wrestling, it's telling a story, really. It's getting people more interested, as if that was even possible. Chael has to be one of the best hype men in the business and I'm sure he'll be handsomely rewarded with a big fat pay check when this fight goes down.

Even though I do believe Sonnen will win; I can see what jmt is saying. Anderson wasn't being completely decimated in that first fight. Chael may have been winning it, but Anderson was close. He had his moments where he looked great in that fight, then obviously he finished Chael with a triangle. Where I don't agree with you, jmt, is that you say Anderson was looking for that triangle (or a submission) the whole time. It looked like he did it out of desperation and just caught Chael.

I see the second fight playing out similarly to the first I guess, except I think Chael will grind it out this time and pick up the win. He looked awesome against Stann last night and if he can keep that up, we'll be seeing a new champion. I wouldn't doubt Silva working his way through the Light Heavyweight ranks, though. He's still one of the best fighters in the world, I just feel like he doesn't match up well with Sonnen. I'd think that a Silva/Jones fight would sell a ton too and it would be interesting to see how that would shake out.

 

[Fizzy]

"Hey look, i'm Chael Sonnen! Look at me everybody! I quit in the biggest fight of my life, I said uncle, but i'm still undefeated guys! I never lost guys! Anderson sucks even though he made me quit! I swear everybody is afraid of me!"

That's what I hear everytime Chael opens his big ass mouth. He says the SAME shit every single interview and people eat it up. Every single thing he says is delusional and annoying. It's actually sad that he says this shit and people buy into it and believe it. That's all he can do is talk. Anderson's a coward? He took 320 of your best shots and STILL managed to make you quit. Why should he be afraid of you? He sets a date and venue for a fight and says if the other fighter doesn't accept, he's afraid? Fucking lol that people take him seriously.

The rib injury was a crock? The entire documentary they made on it says otherwise. Plus, why does he need an excuse for a fight he won by finish for fucks sake? After the first round, you see Anderson grab his rib as he walks to the corner obviously in pain. I guess that was just him setting up the excuse early in the fight because that's obviously what he thinks about all fight. Making the excuse believable. The entire round when he was on the bottom of Sonnen, he was thinking of an excuse and how he can make it believable. Makes perfect sense. Fuck the proof of the injury, it was him faking.

Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter of all time. He needs no excuse because he does not lose. JMT used the perfect analogy when talking about the Patriots/Packers. All Sonnen fans have to cling to is that he almost won. Just like their hero, they refuse to acknowledge how the fight actually ended. With Chael quitting. It's funny how delusional they all are.

I'll admit it. Anderson got beat up. I won't say otherwise because when you get hit with 300+ punches, you have gotten beat up and i'm not delusional like Chael and his fans. I will also say, Anderson Silva is still the champion. He still made Chael quit after getting hit with those 300+ punches. Until Chael beats Anderson for 25 minutes, not the 24 that he always talks about, he is still second best. He's still not a champion. He's still #2.

Am I saying Chael cannot beat Anderson? Of course not. I could be completely wrong and Anderson's rib injury didn't make any difference. Chael can beat Anderson and Anderson can beat Chael. What do I think will happen in their fight? Anderson will hit Chael with a flying knee as he goes for a takedown. That's my prediction. I could be completely wrong though. That's what makes this fight so interesting. I'm just getting tired of Chael and his delusional fans talk so much shit.