The last time Anderson Silva had to defend his middleweight championship against Chael Sonnen, he did so with success—but when the two face each other again on Saturday at UFC 148, it won’t exactly be as simple as doing more of the same.
Silva obviously still has to find a way to win, but he’s going to have to do it without losing his mind in the process.
The anticipation leading up to this rematch has been building for years, and it’s led to a personal, bitter feud between these two fighters, both of whom have enormous amounts of pride at stake. It’s clear that at this point, the title isn’t the only thing on the line here.
Silva knows he can beat Sonnen, but simply knowing that isn’t all it’s going to take to win on Saturday. He, rather than Sonnen, is the one with all of the pressure building on his shoulders. He’s the one who has to prove he can get the job done again—versus someone he hates more than anyone else in the sport—and he’s going to have to filter out immense expectations to do it.
Though it’s a bit out of character for Silva to betray as much raw emotion and fury as he’s shown leading up to this fight, it’s just an indication of how much this title defense means to him. He not only wants to win, he wants to destroy his opponent. He wants to show the world what happens when you disrespect him.
There are a lot of things Silva hates about Sonnen at present. In particular, Silva is still fuming about remarks Sonnen made about his wife after a post-fight interview at UFC 136 back in October, when Sonnen said (via ESPN), “You tell Anderson Silva I’m coming over and I’m kicking down his back door and patting his little lady on the [butt], and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare, just how I like it.”
Silva is also fuming about Sonnen’s possible PED abuse: In 2010, following his first fight with Silva, Sonnen was suspended for one year for elevated testosterone levels.
Silva’s anger was evident during Tuesday’s media event in Las Vegas, when he had to be restrained from hitting his opponent as the two posed for photos. It’s also obvious that he doesn’t respect his opponent, nor does he want to fight him. He told ESPN.com’s Franklin McNeil this week:
The comments he made about my wife, the comments he made about my country were very disrespectful, not only to me but also to the country and also the UFC. We’re very elite top athletes and we shouldn’t be talking like that about each other. Chael tested positive for steroids, he offended a nation, he’s been charged with a crime. How can you take anything this guy says for real? This guy is ridiculous.
But what Silva has to avoid, at all costs, is letting Sonnen believe he’s won before the fight has even started. He cannot give Sonnen a mental edge; he cannot let Sonnen believe that he’s gotten inside Silva’s head. And the more Silva talks, the more it seems like Sonnen has succeeded.
When emotions are running this high, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture—but that, for Silva, cannot happen.
For Silva, winning this fight is going to come down to channeling his emotion into productivity. It’s going to be about using that aggression to fuel his performance instead of letting it interfere with what could be the most critical 25 minutes of his career.
There’s nothing wrong with a little fury-fueled adrenaline, as long as Silva knows how to handle it. Saturday is his chance to prove he can.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com