At UFC 148, Chael Sonnen will once again have the opportunity to do something that no one else in UFC history has been able to do: defeat Anderson Silva. Yet all the talk about what will happen in this fight misses the biggest point of all—that Sonnen has already won the battle.
One of the reasons that this is expected to be the biggest UFC event of the year, aside from the amazing ending to the first fight between these two at UFC 117, is because of the talk that Sonnen and Silva have done leading up to this show.
For Sonnen, talk is nothing new. He has made himself into a star because of his ability to cut a promo on anyone at any given moment, regardless of the situation. He made the first fight into must-see TV because of his mouth.
Now, with Silva falling into the trap, Sonnen has the advantage that he needed for this fight.
Silva has built a career on being unflappable. He is so smooth and effortless inside the Octagon that he doesn’t have to play into the theatrics of a fight. Sure, there have been moments in the past when he has done it, but never to this extent.
Even Silva’s comments during the conference call last week, when he said he was ” going to break his face and every tooth in his mouth. I know he’s on the call listening to this and playtime is over. There’s no more talking from him. I’m going to beat him out of the UFC.”
Sonnen knows that on talent alone he can’t compete with Silva. He needs an advantage somewhere in order to win this fight.
What better way to set yourself up for a victory than by getting into the head of your opponent?
Defeating Sonnen is not going to be good enough for Silva. He wants to destroy him, literally and figuratively. Silva does not want to see Sonnen walk out of the Octagon on his own. He wants to send a message in the biggest way possible.
Fighters who enter a match feeling like they have something to prove often leave themselves open to mistakes. Silva has never done that before, but he has never looked like this leading up to a fight.
Sonnen has set all the pins up to pull off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. He just has to knock them down on Saturday night. All of this has come thanks to a whole lot of talking, which is what makes Sonnen so brilliant.
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