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UFC 134 Results: Is Chael Sonnen Rematch for Anderson Silva Next?

Amidst the aftermath of UFC 134: Rio, the MMA world is just starting to comprehend how good Anderson Silva really is. Everybody is starting to wake up and realize that they are witnessing history in the making, a legend in the living flesh and a hero i…

As the father of the UFC, Royce Gracie, watched on from the crowd, Anderson Silva set about cementing his legacy alongside the UFC 1, 2 and 4 champion’s prestige as one of the sport’s greatest competitors ever. To once and for all unify Silva’s pound for pound dominance, there is a buzz beginning to ring around the media—should Anderson Silva fight Georges St.Pierre? Should Anderson Silva fight Jon Jones? Or…should he give Chael Sonnen a well-earned rematch?

Sonnen did a lot of trash talking about Anderson Silva previous to their fight back at UFC 117. And, up until almost the final minute of the final round, he backed it up. Then Silva dished up a bit of that magic he seems to have in abundance, and slapped on a triangle choke. Sonnen defeated. Silva proved to be human, but still Champion.

So Sonnen proved in that fight that he IS able to rock Silva, he IS able to dominate him on the ground and, most of all, he IS able to stand with the Middleweight Champion.

What Sonnen wasn’t able to do, though, was beat The Spider. This is something that will eat away at him until a rematch is made—as he made so clear in the Post-fight conference at UFC 117.

So should a rematch be on the cards?

I think so. Before Anderson even considers moving up to Light Heavyweight to fight Jones or moving to a Catch-weight to fight St.Pierre, he should at least honour Sonnen’s legitimate requirement of a rematch. It was a great fight that saw the Brazilian pushed to his very limits—only to prove that he has genius and cunning far beyond what anyone thought possible.

Sonnen will certainly be haunted by the ghosts of UFC 117—and therefore I would expect to see him very hesitant and methodical when on the ground. Likewise, I think Anderson Silva would respect Sonnen’s punching power a lot more the second time around. Both fighter’s gained each other’s respect after their first encounter, so naturally the second encounter would be a lot more wary and cautious.

My Prediction:

If these two were to meet again—a likely possibility—I see Silva winning…again. He would know what to expect with Sonnen, he would train to counter-act Sonnen’s strategy and, ultimately, Silva possesses that ability to always find a way to win, no matter what. Just like Ali laid back on the ropes in 1974 for eight rounds—whilst George Foreman abused his ribs—Anderson took a severe beating from Sonnen. Just like Ali sparked a picture perfect KO in the eighth and literally changed history in a second, Anderson finished Sonnen with a breath of time to go. History is in the making again—this time in MMA.

Anderson would win the rematch by either a dominant decision victory or a KO later in the fight.

Disagree?

Let me know why below.

Thanks for reading!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 134 Results: Anderson Silva Crushes Okami, Jon Jones Next?

So people…let’s confess now, who was as naive and clueless as Chael Sonnen? Who really ever doubted Anderson Silva would lose to Yushin Okami? Me neither.I don’t want to spend this article ranting (like some articles I have written in the…

So people…let’s confess now, who was as naive and clueless as Chael Sonnen? Who really ever doubted Anderson Silva would lose to Yushin Okami? Me neither.

I don’t want to spend this article ranting (like some articles I have written in the past), but let me just get something off of my chest…honestly, this is like a therapy for me. If Chael Sonnen really believed that Yushin Okami stood any chance against Anderson Silva, he is living in a dream world. So what if Okami trained with him? And so what if Sonnen is the only person to push Silva to his absolute limit? At the end of the day, he didn’t beat him. So I lost what little respect I had for Sonnen last night. End of rant.

The way Anderson Silva disposed of Okami on Saturday Night was scary. It sent shock-waves across the entire Mixed Martial Arts world. His 14^th consecutive win and 12^th UFC Middleweight Championship Title defense is enough to give him the Pound for Pound King Crown.

His elusive head movement and unbelievable footwork completely overwhelmed Okami. His speed and accuracy broke Okami. And his power? That destroyed Okami. Once Anderson steps it up a gear, his movements become sincere, his head becomes loose, his hands drop and then his opponents follow. He is simply out-of-this-worldly good.

With this in mind then, and a flurry of punches still ringing fresh in Okami’s ears, it’s beginning to look impossible to find a worthy opponent for The Spider now. He has avenged his controversial loss to Okami as well as cleared out his entire division. And, after recent performances on Georges St.Pierre’s behalf, it is highly unlikely we will ever see that superfight happening in the future. So who can the most dangerous man on the planet fight next?

The second most dangerous man, of course.

At the moment, Jon Jones is still yet to hit his prime. But he is a supremely talented young fighter that is more than capable of taking a fight to Silva, more so than Okami managed anyway. The only question that remains is whether Silva would be prepared to move up to light-heavyweight again to do so. He performed well at light-heavy last time, out-classing James Irvin and Forrest Griffin.

An area in which Silva would be significantly weak against Jones is his reach—something that is usually his biggest advantage. Jon Jones has the longest reach in UFC history at 84.5 inches, compared to Silva’s 77.6. But a fighter like Anderson Silva seems to always find a way to overcome a problem like this.

Aside from the reach, I see this fight being extremely close in every department—although Silva is 12 years the elder.

Superfight Prediction:

My prediction then for the possible clash between Anderson Silva and Jon Jones.

I think this clash is dependent on time, really. If the fight happened tomorrow, I would go with Anderson Silva. But if the fight happens a year or two down the line, Silva will be nudging 38 years of age, whilst Jones would be entering his prime. If this was the case, I would have to go with Jones. But, for the sake of the prediction, if the fight happened within the next year—as Dana White hopes—I would give it to Anderson.

It would be a very close encounter, possible even a split decision, but as both fighters are explosive, I see the likely end being a KO or TKO. Chael was able to rock Anderson, so Jones would have no trouble doing the same. Likewise, Anderson was able to KO Forrest Griffin—amongst other huge names—so he is probably able to do the same to Jones.

It’s a close call, really. But I’m not sitting on the fence by any means—Anderson Silva would win via third round TKO.

Disagree?

Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 132: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber Fight Breakdown

Yes, the time is close, for Dominick Cruz to defend his Bantamweight title against Urijah Faber on July 2 at UFC 132. In all honesty, this Bantamweight bout isn’t going to get the whole MMA world overexcited initially.Recently the UFC has co…

Yes, the time is close, for Dominick Cruz to defend his Bantamweight title against Urijah Faber on July 2 at UFC 132.

In all honesty, this Bantamweight bout isn’t going to get the whole MMA world overexcited initially.

Recently the UFC has come under heavy criticism for their lackluster main events which have failed to impress of late. The Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields fight was overshadowed by some much better battles that night (Mark Hominick and Jose Aldo spring to mind). UFC 132’s main event however should prove to be a more exciting clash between Cruz and Faber.

Let’s take a look at how the fight might unfurl round by round.

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UFC 130: Power Ranking Each Matchup’s Excitement Level

The countdown, the wait, the anticipation for UFC 130 is almost over. The hype, the training, the blood, the sweat and the trash talking will all be tested this Saturday night. Can Rampage, coming off of his victory over Lyoto Machida, dispose of Hamill in front of the Vegas crowd? Can Edgar overwhelm Maynard to retain the Lightweight Championship? This is the power-ranking of UFC:130 – the matches that promise to be the most exciting, thrilling and outright thoroughly entertaining clashes on the night; and the matches that could turn into potential blowouts. Enjoy!

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