Chael Sonnen never stopped flinging barbs in Anderson Silva‘s direction, not even after his loss back at UFC 117. Sure, he was respectful and humble towards Silva during the post-fight press conference and while doing media rounds after the fight, but that lasted all of two weeks before Sonnen was back to his old ringmaster ways.
Because, you see, Sonnen has long understood that, for some fighters, it takes more than your fighting skills to help you become a superstar. It also takes more than bowing to your opponents and discussing how excited you are to “test your skills” against the guy who will be standing across the cage from you. You’ve gotta create public interest, and that’s exactly what Sonnen has done.
Jorge Guimaraes is one half of Silva’s management team, and he recently chatted with Tatame about the Silva/Sonnen rematch:
Chael Sonnen is a guy who came from the shadows using that marketing thing. He was unknown and then started talking about everyone, he’s talked about Lance Armstrong. He’s a bully, but got the promotion he needed. He’s not a complete MMA fighter. In matters of resources, Anderson has plenty more resources than him. As Dana White said, this sport has transpassed all limits and there’s no such thing, this kind of feeling. Here in Brazil we have that Latin blood, there’s this fanaticism, but in the United States they really admire Anderson as the best MMA fighter ever and I guarantee you 80 percent of the fans will be rooting for Anderson Silva.
I think my absolute favorite part of this quote can be found right here:
Chael Sonnen is a guy who came from the shadows using that marketing thing.
If you’ve seen the excellent documentary Like Water, which covers Silva in-depth in the months leading up to the first Sonnen fight, you saw Ed Soares—the other half of Silva’s management team—bemoan the fact that Silva either doesn’t understand the concept of marketing a fight, or he simply doesn’t care. Either way, Soares is not happy about it.
Soares should explain the concept to Guimaraes, because it’s obvious that he suffers from the same affliction Anderson does. “That marketing thing?” It’s called building a fight, making things interesting for the mass-market fans and putting more money in your pocket.
I’m not sure I agree with the quote about 80 percent of Americans rooting for Silva, either. I’ve been cageside for two of Silva’s three fights since the Demian Maia fight back at UFC 112, and it’s evident to me that UFC fans have long memories. They still vividly remember the Thales Leites and Maia fights, and they boo him lustily, especially when Silva fought Vitor Belfort in Las Vegas.
I think Guimaraes is being overly optimistic here, but I guess we’ll find out in two months.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com