Anderson “The Spider” Silva, arguably the most enigmatic combat sports athlete to be called “the best pound for pound fighter” in any sport, had himself a near-fatal career moment last year when he took a trip to Oakland for a UFC Middleweight Title defense against a man named Chael Sonnen.
Despite the circumstances surrounding the bout—namely the controversy surrounding the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Sonnen had undergone but overdone before the fight—the MMA world remembers that Sonnen did what many hoped the Chris Lebens, Nate Marquardts, Rich Franklins and Dan Hendersons of the UFC would do and pushed Silva for four and a half rounds.
Silva had fought guys with good submission skills before, but a fighter with the ground and pound of Sonnen?
Never, and Silva was still expected to waltz through Uncle Chael, but we all know how that worked out for both guys.
Now, it’s 2011. Silva has torn through all but a few Middleweights, and Chael Sonnen found a submission that he wasn’t really looking for against Brian Stann…complete with Sonnen saying Silva sucks and Dana White thinking about a few good venues for the rematch should he decide to go with it.
MMA Junkie reported after UFC 136 this past weekend that Dana White is looking at Dallas for a venue for the card which might feature Silva-Sonnen II if Silva’s shoulder is good to go by then.
Of course, if Dana White wants to do it in a stadium and he’s talking to Jerry Jones about a trip back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area—specifically to that big place with 110,000 seats and the huge screens in Arlington—he might be making a great move.
So while Dana considers allowing my credentials, here’s why Super Bowl weekend should feature Silva-Sonnen II in Dallas, TX.