UFC 148 is right around the corner, which means the long-awaited rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is in clear sight. This much-anticipated bout is one of the biggest rematches in UFC history, if not the biggest.
The fight has much trash talk and plenty of fighting words to go around, which is greatly pumping this match up for fans. You know this fight is personal when Silva has snapped on conference calls, saying he is going to cause serious injury to Sonnen.
Although the rematch promises to be a great fight, I feel there is no way it can be as good as the original.
Don’t get me wrong, the fight is going to have excitement and breathtaking moments, but it cannot beat the original for several reasons.
The first reason is that the surprise factor of Sonnen will be gone. If he does in fact dominate the match with his takedowns and aggressive wrestling attack, we will not have the surprise we had at UFC 117. Not many gave Sonnen a chance at UFC 117, making the match crazier, as the brash American dominated for 20-plus minutes.
Now, people may say that if Silva finishes Sonnen early and dominates, that would be a surprise. On the contrary, in my view, as Silva has dominated everybody put in front of him. If he manhandled Sonnen, it wouldn’t be a shocker, thus again taking away from the surprise factor.
Also, the ending of the fight in the first meeting was a Hail Mary that shocked the world. The triangle choke-armbar combo that put Sonnen away came with Silva’s title retention dwindling away and was one of the craziest ways to end one of the craziest matches in UFC history.
No matter how the rematch ends, unless Sonnen brutally knocks out or submits Silva, the finish cannot match the first fight’s finish.
Now, I’m not trying to sound like a pessimist. I am absolutely pumped for this fight and will enjoy it however it goes (unless it turns into a Clay Guida versus Gray Maynard main event). This is just some food for thought and an observation.
I really hope the fight proves me wrong in turns into an all-time classic. Nevertheless, the electricity will be in the air come fight night, emotions will be running high and millions of MMA and non-MMA fans will watch in awe as two warriors of the Octagon will put their bodies on the line for our entertainment.
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