Author: Michael Hatamoto

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II: Can It Live Up to the Hype?

Chael Sonnen will enter the cage at UFC 148 against Anderson Silva in four days time as a marked man. After relentless trash talk and self-promotion, it’s finally time for Sonnen to put up or shut up.  For two years since their first encount…

Chael Sonnen will enter the cage at UFC 148 against Anderson Silva in four days time as a marked man.

After relentless trash talk and self-promotion, it’s finally time for Sonnen to put up or shut up. 

For two years since their first encounter, which Sonnen lost via submission, the so-called “American Gangster” has repeatedly attacked Silva. The anticipation leading up to this fight has been intense, with MMA fans disappointed by a rash of injuries ruining several other marquee matchups.

Meanwhile, Silva remained silent and well composed, until he absolutely snapped during a UFC 148 conference call last week.  It was an unexpected and shocking revelation that Silva is human—and that he is tired of all the talking from his brash, cocky opponent.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sonnen unleashed his verbal attacks on Silva yet again.

However, the excitement truly happened when both men stood for a traditional stare down, where Silva bumped into Sonnen.

We know about all the hype and pre-fight banter—but can the fight live up to such high expectations that have been created by the media and fans alike?  Some people already seem skeptical about the fight, but MMA fans won’t be disappointed whether they are in attendance or watch on pay-per-view. 

The fight will absolutely live up to all of the pre-fight hype.  Whether we get to enjoy watching Silva brutalize his American opponent, or if Sonnen can control on the ground, we should be treated to a great main event. 

Sonnen was in complete control during their last encounter, able to land clean shots on his feet and control the action on the ground—but still managed to get caught in a heroic, yet surprising come from behind by Silva.

All of the trash talk stops on Saturday night, when Silva and Sonnen meet inside the cage again.  Either the dominant champion will continue his title reign, or the loud-mouthed challenger will learn from his mistakes in the first fight.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dana White Believes Wanderlei Silva’s Legendary Career Is Coming to an End

UFC President Dana White plans to communicate with Wanderlei Silva after the Brazilian’s gutsy loss to Rich Franklin during the main event of UFC 147. The PRIDE and UFC striker wants to continue fighting, but it may be time for the UFC brass to s…

UFC President Dana White plans to communicate with Wanderlei Silva after the Brazilian’s gutsy loss to Rich Franklin during the main event of UFC 147.

The PRIDE and UFC striker wants to continue fighting, but it may be time for the UFC brass to step in and force him into retirement.

Silva, a professional MMA fighter since 1996, has been involved in complete slugfests throughout his career. After entering the UFC, however, he only found moderate success, and has lost four his last six fights in the UFC cage.

The 35-year-old is a former PRIDE middleweight champion, and was involved in epic battles with the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ricardo Arona, and Mirko Filipovic during his PRIDE career.

Here is what White recently told MMAjunkie.com:

“Wanderlei is a guy, yeah, I want to talk to. He looked good in that fight He almost won, and it’s not like he got knocked out. And Rich Franklin can crack (guys). He just knocked Chuck (Liddell) out. I don’t think fighting wise. I think Wanderlei is coming to the end. I think he knows that too. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all get old, and this is a young man’s game. We’ll see what happens. I’m not saying he needs to retire, but he’s getting close.”

A growing number of people agree that it may be time for Silva to retire, even though he survived—and almost finished Silva—to take him to a decision. However, after he gassed trying to finish Franklin, he seemingly was one step behind of the American former champion through the following three rounds of their fight.

Whether or not he wants to continue to fight, it’s time for Silva to seriously consider calling it a career.  It may take the guidance, or forceful persuasion of White, but Silva deserves to finally rest his body after a long career. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator Considering All Options for Former Champion Eddie Alvarez

Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez still has five months left on his current contract and it’s possible he plans to wait it out. Alvarez served as a dominant champion in the Bellator promotion, but was unseated by new champion Mic…

Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez still has five months left on his current contract and it’s possible he plans to wait it out.

Alvarez served as a dominant champion in the Bellator promotion, but was unseated by new champion Michael Chandler. Since then, Alvarez sought revenge against Japanese MMA superstar Shinya Aoki, smashing him in Round 1.

Alvarez still has a solid 23-3 pro MMA record with an impressive 20 fight finishes on his resume.

Here is what Bellator CEO Bjon Rebney previously said regarding Alvarez’s status (via Full Contact Fighter): 

Ed is with the organization (Bellator)… he has about five months left on a deal, and one fight left.  He’s been a star and awesome member of the Bellator family.  We’ll do one more fight with him, and we may be able to negotiate a long-term deal before his last remaining fight.  It just depends because there are so many paths; we’ll see what happens.  I have nothing but respect for him.

It’s interesting to hear Alvarez also has one fight left on his current contract because it’s possible he may take one last fight in the Bellator cage. A lone fight would give him the chance to honor his contract, collect a paycheck and sponsor money and avoid an extended layoff if he wants to jump to another promotion.

There is a high demand for Alvarez. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and UFC President Dana White are interested in signing him. 

In Strikeforce, a potential super fight with champion Gilbert Melendez is possible, though the majority of top-level fights would be in the UFC.

The UFC would be able to give Alvarez a pay-per-view cut for his fights, along with a potential fight purse and sponsor money increase.

Alvarez was one of the top-ranked lightweights prior to his loss to Chandler, but if he’s not currently in the top 10, he’s really close. A jump to the UFC will give him the chance to compete with the best lightweights in the world and claw his way to a potential title shot.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II: Sonnen Verbally Attacks Wanderlei, Belfort

UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen will fight Anderson Silva in the main event at UFC 148, but he still can’t help but spit venom about two other Brazilian fighters.Speaking with a small group of journalists, Sonnen discussed Vitor Belfort’s injur…

UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen will fight Anderson Silva in the main event at UFC 148, but he still can’t help but spit venom about two other Brazilian fighters.

Speaking with a small group of journalists, Sonnen discussed Vitor Belfort’s injuries and Wanderlei Silva’s current fight ability (via MMA Fighting).

Vitor Belfort pulls out of more fights than he agrees to. He’s fantastic, but he’s such a chicken and he’s such a liar. To say you’re going to fight, to sell tickets, to sign your name, to film the TV show, and then to pull out? Against an invalid? That’s insane. It’s shocking they’re able to stay that with a straight face. My opinion of Wanderlei is constantly evolving, because as atrocious as he is skills-wise, he shows up and fights. He goes hard in spit of the lack of talent and gives the fans his best.

Belfort broke his hand during training for his scheduled 147 rematch with Silva, and lost a decision to the eventual replacement, Rich Franklin.

Both aging fighters are on a growing list of Brazilians speaking out about Team Quest’s fighters pre-fight trash talk, which included attacking Brazil as a country.

To be fair, even if Sonnen loses against Silva during their rematch, a potential fight against Silva or Belfort would sell tickets—but likely wouldn’t be a relevant fight to determine a middleweight contender. Aside from the UFC’s potential marketing opportunities, neither fighter deserves to have the opportunity to punch Sonnen in the face for his repeated attacks against Brazil.

By midday Monday, Sonnen was still 20 pounds away from making the 185-pound middleweight limit for his fight against Silva. Despite cutting weight and obvious media obligations, Sonnen is certainly willing to anger any Brazilian fighters—and fans—en route to his rematch with Silva.   

 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II: GSP Says Sonnen Is in the Champ’s Head

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre believes middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen is in Anderson Silva’s head and that could impact the champion’s performance at UFC 148. It’s interesting to hear what other fighters think abou…

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre believes middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen is in Anderson Silva’s head and that could impact the champion’s performance at UFC 148.

It’s interesting to hear what other fighters think about Sonnen’s trash talk and Silva’s outburst, as they can likely appreciate each fighter’s current position.

Here is what St-Pierre had to say (via SportsNet.ca):

He wants to get into Anderson Silva’s head and he did it. That’s what he wants, because when you fight with emotion, you don’t fight smart. The crowd, they love it. (Silva) he’s going to go crazy but he can make a mistake if you do that. It’s a big mistake. You have to go back to the reason he’s a champion; he fights smart, he’s skilled.

St-Pierre’s statement follows Silva’s outburst last week during a UFC 148 media conference call, in which he talks about wanting to damage Sonnen in an especially violent fight.

It’s a topic that St-Pierre knows well, as he’s had to deal with trash talk from the likes of B.J. Penn and Josh Koscheck, among other challengers. Retired welterweight contender Nick Diaz also has widely criticized St-Pierre, despite losing a title shot for skipping mandatory UFC pre-fight press duties.

It’s confusing to try and figure out if Sonnen is trying to promote a fight, get inside Silva’s head, or a clever mix of both. Either way, Brazilian fighters aren’t happy with Sonnen and will clearly support the current middleweight champion at UFC 148 this Saturday.

The trash talk temporarily ends on Saturday night during the main event of UFC 148, with the UFC middleweight championship on the line.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II: Can Sonnen Avoid Being Submitted This Time?

Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will meet for the second time when they headline UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. next weekend.  It’s a long-anticipated rematch and features two of the best middleweight fighters the U…

Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will meet for the second time when they headline UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. next weekend. 

It’s a long-anticipated rematch and features two of the best middleweight fighters the UFC has to offer.  Trash talk and personal attacks aside, both fighters know what to expect from their opponent come Saturday night. 

Expect Silva to try and utilize his standup skills to outbox and control Sonnen in the clinch, while the challenger will do exactly what he did last time: turn this into a grinding ground battle.

At UFC 117 in 2010, Sonnen was just a couple minutes away from dethroning Silva from his long-held middleweight championship.  Instead, the Team Quest wrestler, after dominating more than four rounds of the fight utilizing grappling and ground and pound, tapped out due to a triangle armbar submission.

Surprisingly, Silva needed the come-from-behind victory, as he spent most of the fight on his back, defending punches and elbows.

Of Sonnen’s 11 career MMA losses, eight of them have come via submission.  A rather telling statistic, even if the last five submission losses came to strong grapplers and BJJ practitioners such as Silva, Demian Maia, Paulo Filho, Jeremy Horn and Renato Sobral.

Silva is extremely crafty when he’s working his ground game, even if it’s not a skill set he prefers to use against opponents in the cage.  A BJJ black belt under the Nogueira brothers, Silva has lanky limbs and impressive strength when he needs to defend—or attack—with submissions.

When Sonnen finds himself in Silva’s guard, the American wrestler can’t let Silva get wrist or arm control.  If Silva captures one of his arms, Sonnen should be aware of the Spider’s legs possibly sliding up his back to set up a triangle choke. 

Don’t be content to sit in Silva’s full guard!  If Sonnen tries to pass to side control or full mount, he needs to be careful not to be swept during any transitions.  He’ll have better luck trying to finish Silva if he can put Silva in even more precarious positions, as Silva will most certainly try and have a more offensive guard.

To help prepare for a possible ground war again, Sonnen recruited BJJ ace Vinny Magalhaes to grapple with.  The ADCC champion has a strong BJJ resume, and likely served as a great quality training partner for the West Linn, Ore. native.

Here is what Magalhaes had to say after training with Sonnen, according to Yahoo! Sports:

“Chael makes fun of a lot of things – but he picks stuff up really fast.  And the stuff that we worked on, I can guarantee you if he has the chance to use it in the fight, he will do it. If it’s a submission, if it’s a guard pass, whatever, I guarantee you he can do it. If he gets the chance, he can catch Anderson with something.” 

Even though Sonnen got submitted by Silva the first time around, he does have the ability to learn new techniques rather quickly.  Sonnen has studied the first fight and will look to posture up more—even if Silva has full guard and head control—the Team Quest wrestler was able to land short elbows and punches throughout the fight. 

If Silva tries to latch on the triangle choke, Sonnen may be able to escape it without leaving his arm exposed in the wrong position.  Before losing in the fifth round, Sonnen was able to defend other triangle setups by Silva earlier in the fight. 

Regardless of what MMA fans perceive about the cocky loud mouth, we can expect to see a new and improved ground game from Sonnen. 

We are just one week away from one of the most anticipated fights of the year, and we’ll be able to see if Sonnen can take the belt from Silva.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com