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Anderson Silva Will Never Fight Chael Sonnen

The rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen has been agreed to, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath to see it delivered.It just isn’t going to happen.Dana White already made the rematch in Brazil somewhere in June. There isn’t a signed co…

The rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen has been agreed to, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath to see it delivered.

It just isn’t going to happen.

Dana White already made the rematch in Brazil somewhere in June. There isn’t a signed contract yet and there never will be.

It isn’t because Anderson Silva is afraid of Chael Sonnen, either. In this writer’s opinion, Silva would win a rematch easier than he did their first fight.

It is because of hate.

Brazilians hate Chael Sonnen, and that passionate hatred will stop him from getting into the country and competing.

I have a few friends who are Brazilian. They are very intelligent people and very knowledgeable about the sport. They know that Chael Sonnen is just saying things to get noticed and make the UFC and himself more money.

No matter how many times that is explained to them, they still hate Sonnen with a frenetic energy that is hard to find anywhere else. Their emotions are stronger than their logic.

That isn’t an insult. It’s understandable that when someone attacks their heritage and culture, they would ignore any reason to give the fighter a pass, but it also makes them slightly dangerous to be around because when it comes to Sonnen they can’t be reasoned with.

Silva is the same. He is a passionate fighter even if he is calm and collected in the cage. He was angry about a photo a few months back in which his manager Ed Soares seemed to be joking with Chael Sonnen.

Silva hates Sonnen as much as his countrymen.

Even if the two sides do sign a contract to fight each other, the fight can’t happen in Brazil. There is just too much hostility there for Sonnen to be able to fight.

And Silva isn’t willing to fight him anywhere else. Silva even stated that if Sonnen wanted to fight him he needed to “go to Brazil.”

There is a good chance that even if the fight gets signed and the UFC hires a personal guard to protect Sonnen, it won’t be enough to stop the Brazilian fans from hurting him.

It won’t help that Sonnen will ramp up his insults about Silva and Brazil before the fight. It is what he does and he won’t stop now, especially when he knows it will affect attendance and pay-per-view numbers.

It could also mean he will be seriously harmed or even unable to compete.

Sonnen decided to anger some of the most emotional people in the world and while Brazilians can be some of the most loving people you’ll ever meet, they can be just as violent and angry.

Sonnen has found that out in the Octagon, but when he does head to Brazil a second time, he might find out that the average Brazilian can be just as dangerous.

Fortunately, that will never happen.

Unfortunately, that means the fight won’t.

Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.

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10 Classic Pro Wrestling Interviews That Chael Sonnen Can Learn from

Fighting is a lack of words and an abundance of actions.Chael Sonnen is excellent on the mic, but it is his skill as a fighter that makes those words relevant. If he couldn’t back up what he said then he wouldn’t be so captivating to fans.That doesn’t …

Fighting is a lack of words and an abundance of actions.

Chael Sonnen is excellent on the mic, but it is his skill as a fighter that makes those words relevant. If he couldn’t back up what he said then he wouldn’t be so captivating to fans.

That doesn’t mean he should slow down on the trash talk or keep him from changing it up. He needs to stop himself from being a one-note wonder in interviews, and to do it he should study some of the best interview moments in pro wrestling’s history.

While some men like the Rock and CM Punk have been left off the list, it is because they cut promos well—not interviews. Sonnen also cuts a great promo, but his interviews are going to get stale if he doesn’t learn from the greats.

Here are some classic interviews that he could learn from.

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Nick Diaz’s Loss Was Good for MMA: A Positive Drug Test Would Have Ruined a Win

What a difference a decision makes.Fans should be thanking the judges who scored the fight for Carlos Condit at UFC 143. They saved the welterweight division from being thrown into confusion and people from feeling cheated.It was found out recently tha…

What a difference a decision makes.

Fans should be thanking the judges who scored the fight for Carlos Condit at UFC 143. They saved the welterweight division from being thrown into confusion and people from feeling cheated.

It was found out recently that Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana after the fight. No matter what a fan’s stance may be on the drug, it was a banned substance and Diaz used it before a main-event match for the interim title.

It isn’t the first time Diaz has been busted for using pot. He actually failed a test after fighting Takanori Gomi in Pride and had it ruled a no contest years before.

Just like his fight with Condit, the fight with Gomi was in Nevada. This time, Diaz had won by submission, but it was overturned thanks to his positive test.

It looks like Diaz hasn’t learned much since then.

While the drug in no way helps Diaz win fights, it does seem a little ridiculous that he continues to use when he knows that it could wash away any wins he has over opponents. It may not be fair, but Diaz chose a certain profession, and he has to deal with the effects of it.

He chose not to do that for his fight and competed anyway.

But what if he had won?

In the short-term, fans would have been happier. It would have meant a more exciting fight, and journalists and fight lovers alike would have started anticipating the showdown between Georges St-Pierre and Diaz.

Until the drug test came out.

No matter how many negative reactions it would have made, the fight would have been changed to a no contest and the interim title would be vacant, leaving St-Pierre without an opponent.

Worse is the feeling that it would have left fans with.

There is something hollow about a no contest. It leave fans without the outrage that a debatable loss does or even an outright robbery gives them.

Fans love to argue. It is part of the enjoyment of the sport. As much as there is a passionate love when things turn out their way, it turns quickly into rage when things don’t. No contests just give them neither emotion.

There is a vacuum, an emptiness that comes from having an entire contest between two fighters nullified. It doesn’t affect their careers or their standings in the history of the sport or even in the current standing of their division. The only thing it helps is fighters’ pocket books.

So, fans are lucky that Condit won. It doesn’t mean that it will change their opinion of the verdict or that they enjoy it, but it does give them one thing that a Diaz win wouldn’t have.

Closure.

Fans know who got the victory. There is a win and a loss and an argument over who should have won, but it is there and outrage or joy can be felt. It isn’t perfect, but it is MMA.

And it is a little better off thanks to Diaz losing.

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UFC on FX 2: Predicting the Inaugural UFC Flyweight Tournament

Fans may have to wait until March 3 for the UFC on FX 2 card, but they will finally see the arrival of the flyweight division. Most casual fans won’t care or even have known it was coming, but longtime MMA fans are excited. Flyweights bring exciti…

Fans may have to wait until March 3 for the UFC on FX 2 card, but they will finally see the arrival of the flyweight division.

Most casual fans won’t care or even have known it was coming, but longtime MMA fans are excited. Flyweights bring exciting bouts just like bantamweights and featherweights. Now, even the smallest men in MMA will get a chance to make money in the sport.

The only question is, who will end up winning the tournament? There are four participants, and though some serious names have been overlooked, the winner will have a claim to being one of the best at 125 pounds.

But who is going to win?

The competitors are former bantamweights Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson with UFC newcomers Yasuhiro Urushitani and Ian McCall. While Urushitani and McCall are great choices for the tournament, Benavidez and Johnson got spots out of convenience.

After all, it made it so the UFC didn’t need to sign two more fighters for their roster.

Both UFC fighters will be squaring off against the new talents and who wins will determine who fights for the title.

Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall is a fight of two men who were both beaten by bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. McCall lost to Cruz at WEC 38 while Johnson lost to him on UFC on versus card.

McCall is a bit of a jack of all trades while Johnson is a bit sharper in submissions, but against top opposition, both men usually go the distance.

As much as Johnson was able to overwhelm Cruz in striking, he is now facing someone who is his size, and McCall won’t have to try to adjust to Johnson’s speed. He will match it.

McCall is best known for beating top flyweight Jussier Da Silva, but he didn’t really have any notable wins before that and he hasn’t had any since then either.

Johnson may have lost to Cruz, but has beaten top competitors at bantamweight like Miguel Torres and Japanese star Norifumi Yamamoto. Coupled with the fact that McCall will be fighting in the UFC for the first time, something that has tripped other fighters up in the past, Johnson will win a decision with superior wrestling.

The fight between Joseph Benavidez and Yasuhiro Urushitani is a bit more difficult to predict. While Benavidez has beaten every bantamweight he’s stepped into the cage with other than Cruz, he isn’t facing someone unknown.

Urushitani has beaten Ultimate Fighter winner John Dodson, Mamoru Yamaguchi and even has a draw with the top flyweight, Shinichi Kojima. The only problem with Urushitani is his lack of finishing power, with 14 of his wins coming by decision, and the fact that few of his fights have been in a cage.

Urushitani has fought in a cage before but never with someone who has the amateur wrestling credentials that Benavidez brings. Benavidez isn’t a finisher himself, but he has gotten used to the Octagon and knows how to manipulate it.

While Urushitani could pull out the win, it doesn’t seem likely. It may sound boring, but just like the Johnson fight, this should end in a decision victory for Benavidez.

It may not be a dangerous bet, but both UFC veterans should sweep their fights and meet in the finals making one of them a successful UFC champion.

Who that will be is the interesting part.

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Does Fighting for Entertainment in MMA Ruin Careers?

Successful strategy and entertaining fights are rarely heard in the same sentence when it comes to MMA. There may be exciting finishes, and there may even be some wars every once in a while. At the top level, however, most fighters aren’t that&nbs…

Leonard Garcia, Chan Sung Jung and even Chris Leben are all examples of fighters who have abandoned strategy at times just to have “fun” in a fight.

While a lot of fans get behind these fighters and enjoy their style of combat, it is a dangerous way of looking at things. Fans like both winners and exciting fighters, but when it comes down to it, fighters like Jon Fitch who are called boring can be employed longer and make more money than guys like Garcia.

While these fighters make great short money winning fight of the night, it doesn’t help their careers. Their win-loss record piles up, which gets them stuck on undercards or lower main cards and their pay scale doesn’t increase as much except for bonuses.

That isn’t their biggest danger though. While fighting in an exciting manner can shorten their UFC career, plenty of fighters never make it to the top league so that logic doesn’t apply.

The biggest danger for fighters who use a lack of technique is that they are shortchanging themselves the defense needed to protect their minds and bodies from the abuse that their opponents can dish out.

Part of what fans see as a “fun” fight is where both men trade blows, which usually means that both men walk away heavily damaged.

On a very rare basis, an exciting bout will consist of high-level striking and grappling with neither man being seriously hurt, but most times it ends up like Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick, with one or both of the competitors facing serious injury.

The body breaks down after injuries, but also from the stress from fights as well. Injuries happen in training camp and in everyday life and make people slower and weaker. That effect is multiplied in a fight.

Those fighters who throw caution to the wind are willing to limit their defense and their overall health because it is entertaining to the crowd.

In a sport like MMA that does matter, but it isn’t the be all and end all of the sport. Fans want entertainment, but their is no pension in fighting. The longer fighters decide to fight in an exciting manner, the faster their career deteriorates.

It is their choice if they want to do that, but one day they will have to wake up and realize that their best days are behind them.

And the longer those fighters decide to scrap, the sooner that day will come.

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Sheldon Westcott Talks About His Fight, Who Shouldn’t Be in the UFC & Boxing

Sheldon Westcott will fight this Saturday at AMMA 9 in Edmonton Canada. He is now 5-1-1 and will be facing a late replacement in Jay Jensen, who is 7-5. But Westcott wasn’t always bound for MMA. In fact, if an accident hadn’t taken place in high school…

“I used to do track and field for Canada and I got hurt,” Westcott told Bleacher Report MMA. “One of the guys I worked with at the time, he fought, had like 35 fights and he went come try it out, come try it out! In all honesty after I did my first fight I was absolutely hooked.”

Westcott may fight now, but he still treats it with the same view that made him do track and field. It is a competition to him more then a fight. With his competitive attitude, it is the right fit.

That isn’t to say that Westcott doesn’t appreciate how MMA is different from other sports.

When asked if track and field compared to fighting, Westcott didn’t hesitate in his answer.

“I’ve only experienced this feeling when I’m fighting,” he said. “When you do any other sport you’re not worried about getting punched in the face, you’re worried about shooting the jump shot or sprinting as fast as you can. Yeah, losing is still there and no one likes to lose, but if I don’t spell my p’s and q’s this guy is going to kick my head off! He’s going to beat me up in front of three, five thousand people!”

The mindset may be different, but that is what Westcott loves. That love got him through his first loss and was so strong that he didn’t even think of quitting after a such a rocky start.

“After that fight, I thought I won, one judge had me 30-27 and the other two judges had 29-28 (for his opponent).”Instead of being broken-hearted over losing a split decision, which Westcott took only after six months of training, he saw it as a challenge. His first thoughts after the loss were different than many others’ would have been.

“I need to get better. I’m a poor sport. I don’t like to lose. I absolutely hate losing. It drives me that much to get better and not lose.”

But Westcott’s resolve was going to be tested. On his record, it shows that he didn’t fight for a year.

It wasn’t by choice.

Westcott mentions that he had about four or five opponents pull out on him before he found someone who ended up facing him. Finally, Jeff Kilisolsky signed to fight Westcott and showed up.

Westcott won by submission choke in the first round and after that things were easier.

That isn’t to say there weren’t bumps in the road. Westcott faced Thomas Denny at MFC 28 and came away with a draw. No fighter wants to walk away with anything other than a win, but it was especially agonizing because only two years before the fight, Westcott and a friend had watched Nick Diaz fight Denny.

After watching, Westcott made the claim that he thought he could beat Denny. Two years later, he got his chance and didn’t get the win. He wasn’t even sure he would get the rematch.

“I was like a crazy ex-girlfriend,” he said. “I want this fight. As soon as the fight was done I asked for the fight.”Westcott got his wish and won the rematch.

Westcott loves competition. That passion that won him the chance at a match and then the rematch itself bled over into boxing.

Westcott has actually competed in a four-round boxing match and did so while facing a heavyweight.

“I actually took a professional boxing fight in October,” Westcott said. “I took it on three days’ notice.”

In an ironic twist, it was Westcott who was a replacement. His coach runs a promotion in Edmonton and his girlfriend boxes. Both came to Westcott and offered him the fight.

Westcott’s response was a simple one.

“When?”

It was that weekend. Westcott admits that he was nervous before the bout, but went ahead anyway.

“I knocked him out in a minute or two.”

Westcott isn’t afraid to speak his mind, so when the conversation turned onto fighters in the UFC who don’t deliver, he was vocal.

He wondered how Dan Stittgen had earned a contract with the biggest promotion in the world. Stittgen lost by KO in the first round at UFC 143.“He (Stittgen) fought one guy who had a winning record, ” Westcott told Bleacherreport MMA. “He fought nothing but bums and how the hell did that guy get into the UFC? I wasn’t surprised that Stephen Thompson knocked him out, I thought he would have done it earlier.”

Westcott even mentioned that he was willing to fight Stittgen either in the UFC or even in Aggression, the promotion he will fight for on Saturday.

Westcott believes in himself, which is why he is willing to take shots at fighters like Stittgen, boxing fights on short notice and even opponent changes for his MMA fights.

Because as a competitor and someone who had done track and field, he knows he can go the distance.

When asked about wanting a UFC contract, Westcott maintained his confident demeanor.

“I’ll make it there, it’s just a matter of time.”

If he keeps winning fights and improving, he certainly will.

And with his attitude, he might just become a fan favorite as well.

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