UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who has been the scourge of anything remotely named Chael Sonnen, spoke to MMAWeekly.com about what the significance of Sonnen’s constant abrasive and vitriolic attacks meant to him personally. The respon…
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who has been the scourge of anything remotely named Chael Sonnen, spoke to MMAWeekly.com about what the significance of Sonnen’s constant abrasive and vitriolic attacks meant to him personally.
The response by Silva, who had been in attendance at the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA (mixed martial arts) Awards, was casual and straight to the point.
“Nothing” he said.
He elaborated a bit more on why Sonnen’s antics were inconsequential to him.
“I’m in the UFC for fights,” Silva explained. “Chael, Mark Munoz, Vitor Belfort, Brian Stann, Chris Leben, I’m staying here for fight. This is my work. It’s my life.”
Of the above mentioned combatants, Silva has defeated three of them—Sonnen, Belfort and Leben.
Since Silva defeated Sonnen back at UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 117, the latter has done everything in his power to instigate a rematch and might just get it, but first he needs to take care of others vying for UFC gold.
Also, before any type of rematch takes place, “The Spider” needs to fully recuperate following a damaged shoulder he sustained prior to the Yushin Okami fight at UFC 134.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, who is slated to throwdown with Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 140, has only one thing of his mind—to remain champion. Jones’ rise in the UFC and the 205-division …
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones, who is slated to throwdown with Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at UFC 140, has only one thing of his mind—to remain champion.
Jones’ rise in the UFC and the 205-division has been meteoric to say the least and nothing short of phenomenal.
In his ascendancy to UFC gold, he dispatched the so-called future of the light heavyweight division, Ryan “Darth” Bader, from whence he attained the No. 1 contendership to then champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
“Bones” would go on to decimate Shogun in a one-sided beatdown en route to capturing the title.
And in his first defense of the 205-crown, Jones handed Quinton “Rampage” Jackson his first loss in the Octagon via stoppage—rear naked choke.
Thus far, the young phenom has fought and defeated three opponents in 2011—next up is the somewhat elusive Machida.
I say “somewhat” because Shogun found a way past his elusory style to put him to sleep at UFC 113.
Speaking to UFC.com, this is what Jones had to say about the prospect of going toe-to-toe with The Dragon,
“I’ve always felt confident with martial arts; and I always knew that I would fight Lyoto one day.Lyoto’s a great opponent, man, he’s game. I think he takes this sport seriously. I think he’s unpredictable, he’s fast. Lyoto loves distance and I love distance; but I have the longer limbs and I believe I’m just as fast. So if Lyoto wants to play the distance game with me, I think that’s going to be awesome.
I’m also very unpredictable. I have tons of confidence and faith in my wrestling abilities against Lyoto. I feel as if I can shoot at his legs and take him down, and I also feel as if I have tons of versatility in my takedowns from the point and shoot.”
Jones also spoke about his own capabilities and his limitations as well as that of Machida’s,
“I know myself, I know my weaknesses, and I’m not naive to them,” Jones said. “I’m starting to understand my opponent, I’m starting to understand what makes Lyoto, Lyoto, where he’s strong, where he’s weak.”
Jones made his final play when he said,
“I will defeat Lyoto Machida. I believe that it’s my destiny to be the UFC Champion for many years.”
This isn’t a cocky Jones, but a confident Jones, and he will prevail come fight night.
Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida are slated to throw it down at UFC 140 in what might turn out to be the toughest test yet for the young phenom.Thus far, both fighters have shown an equal amount of respect for each other leading up to the fight, however, th…
Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida are slated to throw it down at UFC 140 in what might turn out to be the toughest test yet for the young phenom.
Thus far, both fighters have shown an equal amount of respect for each other leading up to the fight, however, that will change once Jones gets wind of “The Dragons” recent comments about him.
The normally laid-back Machida recently took an uncharacteristic swipe at the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Apparently Machida has refused to be caught up in the Jones hype and he more or less stated it, emphatically I might add.
According to abs-cbnNews.com, Machida had this to say about Jones.
“Jones’ rise doesn’t impress me,” Machida said. “I had my moments in the UFC, too.”
The first comment sounds like fighting talk, even if it’s a bit unseemly coming from Machida.
The second comment, however, smacks of sour grapes. Sure Machida’s had his moments, so why begrudge Jones his moment in the spotlight?
Jones acquisition of the championship belt is in no small part due to Machida’s failure to comprehensively negate the challenge of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
I’m not insinuating that had he still been champion he would’ve defeated Jones, but he’d at least have had the opportunity to do so.
That opportunity will present itself at UFC 140, where he’ll vie for UFC gold once again.
And as Machida pointed out, “I want to feel it again, that belt around my waist.”
So, is this Machida being quiet before the storm or is it an attempt to get under the skin of the phenom that is “Bones” Jones?
Chael Sonnen is set to put his oratory skills to the test as he gears up to host the forthcoming Only Fighters World MMA Awards at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. Speaking to the Las Vegas Weekly, Sonnen, ever the master rhetori…
Chael Sonnen is set to put his oratory skills to the test as he gears up to host the forthcoming Only Fighters World MMA Awards at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Weekly, Sonnen, ever the master rhetorician, spoke candidly about the awards, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste.
Most people would think that being the star attraction and with an audience to lap up his every word would play to Sonnen’s strengths—his loquacious magniloquence.
In this case, they’d be wrong.
However, he did have a few choice words for some of the aforementioned.
I’ll get back to that later.
This is what Sonnen had to say about the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards and why he was chosen to host the ceremony:
“I like the show. I like the format. I think it’s great for the industry and great to get recognition for the sport as a whole.” […]
“They hired me because I’ve got personality and attitude. I’m not up there to do stand-up. I’m just up there to award people and recognize them. I’m not going into this to be a comedian; I’m going into this to be Chael Sonnen and hand out awards.
“It’s not my night, and I’m not there to bring drama. People have worked hard and they deserve to be recognized, and I’m not going to interject myself.”
Sonnen even took time out to give “The Axe Murderer” an honorary mention:
“Everybody is welcome to come, from the real fighters to the fake fighters, which means even Wanderlei Silva should press his finest suit and limp on down to the Palms on Nov. 30.”
Nonetheless, the ex-realtor had nothing but praise for the young phenom Jon “Bones” Jones:
“I think the stuff Jon Jones has done as a fighter and the ways that he’s done it have been a big deal.”
Now, everyone knows that Sonnen loves a piece of Anderson Silva; it brings out the best in him—or is that worst?
Be that as it may, since he fought and lost to “The Spider” at UFC 117, Sonnen has been nothing but a thorn in Silva’s side—using every opportunity to attempt to rile and provoke the UFC middleweight champion into a rematch. (At this moment in time, Silva has accepted the challenge, but on the condition that the fight takes place in Brazil).
That continued after Sonnen upended former Marine Brian Stann at UFC 136, when he proceeded to call out Silva with the now famous words: “Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!”
Followed by his proposed fight stipulations: “If I beat you, you leave the Middleweight division. If you beat me, I’ll leave the UFC forever.”
Well, when asked whether he would really retire from the UFC if he lost in a future matchup with Silva, this is what he had to say and then some:
“Well, of course it was true. I meant every word of it. Anderson says he wants to get rid of me, and this is his chance. I knew Anderson Silva was a coward. I’m privy to what goes on behind the scenes. I’ve watched him duck and dodge and choose his opponents. He’s as phony as Mike Tyson was.
“But in a million years, I never thought he would publicly let it be known. I thought if I called him out in the ring and put everything on the line that he would stand up and give me a thumbs up or a nod or he’d send one of his handlers in the back to say he accepted my challenge.
“In a million years, I never thought he would cower publicly. That’s not his culture. What an insult to the entire heritage of the Brazilian people that Anderson did not accept a challenge. That is not the Brazilian way. I was shocked.
“I was shocked he sat there and covered his mouth like a little fancy boy instead of standing up and saying, ‘Let’s do this.'”
So far we’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Sonnen. Now it’s time for his humorous side.
Sonnen’s thoughts when asked which girl he’d be rooting for in the Ring Girl of the Year category:
“We only had one and that was Chandella [Powell]. The other was the IQ card girl. Arianny [Celeste] kind of walks around and holds up her latest test score. One time when there was a title fight, she got all the way up to five and we were very proud of her.”
Just for that comment on Arianny Celeste alone, Sonnen deserves an Oscar. It’s comes straight out of the Sonnen school of put-downs—it’s a classic.
And there you have it, MMA’s own nonpareil trash-talking, mudslinging and king of smack, gets to host the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards…Hollywood style.
More information on the awards ceremony and nominees can be found here.
Jon “Bones” Jones heads into UFC 140 with the awareness that Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will be his sternest test to date. Unlike Ryan “Darth” Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Machida poses the most threat to his reign as UFC…
Jon “Bones” Jones heads into UFC 140 with the awareness that Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida will be his sternest test to date. Unlike Ryan “Darth” Bader, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Machida poses the most threat to his reign as UFC light-heavyweight champion.
At UFC 140, Jones will come face to face with a man on a mission, a man hell bent on redemption and a man who’s been handed an unlikely opportunity to once again hold aloft the gold that was ripped from his grasp by Shogun more than 18 months ago.
Machida (17-2) has the dynamic karate skills, punching power and elusiveness to upend the young phenom, and he’ll attempt to use those tools come fight night.
On the other hand, Jones (14-1), who’s making his second defense of the title, will want to end the year with the UFC gold still strapped around his waist.
Needless to say, he’ll have his work cut out for him if he’s to achieve that goal.
So what are the keys to ensure that the reigning light-heavy king remains just that, at UFC 140?
Wanderlei Silva’s showing at UFC 139 is akin to a resurrection if only for one night. “The Axe Murderer” wielded his axe in decisive manner for the first time since he demolished Keith Jardine back at UFC 84. At UFC 139 Silva survived…
Wanderlei Silva’s showing at UFC 139 is akin to a resurrection if only for one night. “The Axe Murderer” wielded his axe in decisive manner for the first time since he demolished Keith Jardine back at UFC 84.
At UFC 139 Silva survived an early onslaught from Cung “The Human Highlight Reel” Le to register his own brand of vicious punishment courtesy of ground and pound assault, add in a rearranged nose for good measure, and it was safe to say that The Axe Murderer was back.
Silva, whose record in the UFC reeked of embarrassing losses (two via devastating KO) in comparison to wins, was as I thought, one fight away from retirement or dismissal.
I honestly believed that Le would be the one to draw the final curtain on the storied and once inhumanely violent career of one Wanderlei César da Silva.
Needless to say, fate stepped in and dealt Silva a lucky hand, a hand which he gladly took, and with the other in unison, welcomed Le back into the MMA fold.
And with that second round TKO, he also took the honours for “Fight of the Night.”
Also, with that win, his record moves from 2-4 to 3-4 in the UFC.
One more victory and Silva will be evens in the company.
Though, the next time he steps into the Octagon, we’ll have a better idea of whether Silva is standing on the periphery of retirement or on the cusp of one last great run to crown off his illustrious career.
If it’s the latter, then he’ll more or less be firmly placed somewhere amongst the UFC’s top 10 middleweight assemblage.
Whether this is the re-birth of Silva or the resurrection of The Axe Murderer we’ll just have to wait and see.
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who has been the scourge of anything remotely named Chael Sonnen, spoke to MMAWeekly.com about what the significance of Sonnen’s constant abrasive and vitriolic attacks meant to him personally.