Chael Sonnen is the best talker in the UFC. Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the UFC. Over the next few months, I expect to hear Sonnen do what he does best and relentlessly trash talk Silva leading up to their inevitable middleweight title fight.
And then when they step into the cage I expect to see Silva do what he does best and give Sonnen a beating.
When Sonnen grabbed the microphone after beating Brian Stann at UFC 136 and said, “Anderson Silva, you suck,” it was disrespectful and preposterous. Silva is universally regarded as the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world, and Sonnen talking to him that way is absurd. But it also elicited a roar from the crowd, and there can be no doubt that hundreds of thousands of UFC fans are already planning to fork over $50 to buy that fight on pay-per-view.
So Sonnen did his job: He beat a good opponent after a long layoff, and then he immediately started hyping up the Silva fight. But does anyone seriously doubt that Silva is going to do his job and beat Sonnen when the rematch happens?
Sonnen is the only man ever to give Silva any real test inside the Octagon, and he’s to be commended for that. When Silva and Sonnen met at UFC 117, Sonnen gave Silva all he could handle for four rounds before finally getting submitted in the fifth. This isn’t meant as a knock on Sonnen.
But let’s get real: Silva is the best fighter this sport has ever seen, and he’s going to be highly motivated to put on a show against Sonnen, It’s really, really hard to imagine that Sonnen could win the rematch. Silva should put him in his place.
Sonnen vowed that he would leave the UFC if he loses to Silva, but that smells like pure hype: Sonnen knows pro wrestling has long sold tickets with “loser leaves town” matches, and he wanted to borrow that tactic. A loss to Silva wouldn’t cause Sonnen to leave the UFC.
Nor should it. Sonnen is a great personality, as he has shown in countless interviews over the last couple of years, but he’s also a great fighter, as he showed against Stann.
He’s just not as great as Silva.
UFC 136 Notes –Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have given us a wonderful trilogy of fights, with Edgar evening the score at UFC 136 after Maynard had beaten him once and fought to a draw with him once. Edgar remains the lightweight champion and will defend his belt against someone else next, but I’m personally hoping we’ll see a fourth fight between these two some day.
–According to CompuStrike, Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan combined to land 232 strikes, with Phan outlanding Garcia 161-71 in total strikes and 87-51 in power strikes. There’s not much doubt that Phan deserved his unanimous decision victory.
—Anthony Pettis looked in his split decision win over Jeremy Stephens like he has put a lot of work into improving his takedowns and his wrestling since his loss to Clay Guida in June. I expect the 24-year-old Pettis to keep getting better, and to eventually fight for the lightweight title.
–It’s been disappointing to see Demian Maia, who’s a brilliant Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner, settle for getting dominant positions and winning fights by decision. When Maia entered the UFC he made everybody tap: He won his first five fights by submission and received the Submission of the Night bonus four times. But since then Maia has had seven more fights and hasn’t submitted anybody. Against Jorge Santiago Maia easily won the unanimous decision, but Maia has reached the point where he doesn’t seem to want to take any chances. That makes him a lot less entertaining than he used to be.
–The UFC would love to see its only Chinese fighter, Zhang Tiequan, have some success inside the Octagon. If that’s going to happen, Zhang is going to need to spend a lot of time training with a high-level camp in the United States. As we saw in Zhang’s unanimous decision loss to Darren Elkins, Zhang has a rudimentary ground game and doesn’t have a backup plan if his go-to move, the guillotine choke, doesn’t force his opponent to tap. Zhang showed a good deal of toughness just surviving to go the distance with Elkins, who thoroughly outclassed him. Now it’d be nice to see Zhang show the capacity to develop into a complete mixed martial artist.
UFC 136 Quotes “He’s got a good head. I watched all his fights. He’s got a head, man.” — Stipe Miosic after his unanimous decision victory over Joey Beltran. Miosic hit Beltran over and over again, and Beltran just kept coming back for more. Beltran isn’t a particularly good fighter, but he does have a lot of heart — and, as Miosic noted, a hard head.
“This ain’t easy fighting someone three times. Gray forced me to bring the best out of myself.” — Edgar, after the fight with Maynard. They both brought out the best in each other.
Good Call I liked seeing Aaron Simpson enter his fight with a great game plan and execute it perfectly in his unanimous decision victory over Eric Schafer: Simpson knew Schaefer’s best chance of winning was pulling off a submission on the ground, and so Simpson, an excellent wrestler with good takedowns, resisted the urge to put Schaefer on his back and instead turned their fight into a boxing match. Simpson showed that his punching power and accuracy were far better than Schafer’s, and Simpson won 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Bad Call Mike Goldberg said, “Garcia and Jung” at the start of the fight between Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan, confusing Phan with Chan Sung Jung. That was a mistake, but maybe Goldberg was just being prescient: Just like Jung, Phan had lost a bad decision after a wild slugfest with Garcia, and just like Jung, Phan then won the rematch.
Stock Up Mike Massenzio showed a lot of heart in his unanimous decision victory over Steve Cantwell. After Cantwell got the better of him in the first round, Massenzio came on very hard in the second and blew Cantwell away in the third. Massenzio had lost his last three UFC fights and probably wasn’t going to get another chance if he didn’t beat Cantwell. But he looked like he belongs on Saturday night.
Stock Down Heading into UFC 136, Melvin Guillard had a good chance of proving that he deserved to be next in line for the lightweight title. Instead, he was choked out in 47 seconds by Joe Lauzon, and he now has to get behind a whole lot of guys in a long line in the lightweight division.
Fight I Want To See Next Is there any doubt? Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva. Let’s see this soon.
Chael Sonnen is the best talker in the UFC. Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the UFC. Over the next few months, I expect to hear Sonnen do what he does best and relentlessly trash talk Silva leading up to their inevitable middleweight title fight.
And then when they step into the cage I expect to see Silva do what he does best and give Sonnen a beating.
When Sonnen grabbed the microphone after beating Brian Stann at UFC 136 and said, “Anderson Silva, you suck,” it was disrespectful and preposterous. Silva is universally regarded as the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world, and Sonnen talking to him that way is absurd. But it also elicited a roar from the crowd, and there can be no doubt that hundreds of thousands of UFC fans are already planning to fork over $50 to buy that fight on pay-per-view.
So Sonnen did his job: He beat a good opponent after a long layoff, and then he immediately started hyping up the Silva fight. But does anyone seriously doubt that Silva is going to do his job and beat Sonnen when the rematch happens?
Sonnen is the only man ever to give Silva any real test inside the Octagon, and he’s to be commended for that. When Silva and Sonnen met at UFC 117, Sonnen gave Silva all he could handle for four rounds before finally getting submitted in the fifth. This isn’t meant as a knock on Sonnen.
But let’s get real: Silva is the best fighter this sport has ever seen, and he’s going to be highly motivated to put on a show against Sonnen, It’s really, really hard to imagine that Sonnen could win the rematch. Silva should put him in his place.
Sonnen vowed that he would leave the UFC if he loses to Silva, but that smells like pure hype: Sonnen knows pro wrestling has long sold tickets with “loser leaves town” matches, and he wanted to borrow that tactic. A loss to Silva wouldn’t cause Sonnen to leave the UFC.
Nor should it. Sonnen is a great personality, as he has shown in countless interviews over the last couple of years, but he’s also a great fighter, as he showed against Stann.
He’s just not as great as Silva.
UFC 136 Notes –Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have given us a wonderful trilogy of fights, with Edgar evening the score at UFC 136 after Maynard had beaten him once and fought to a draw with him once. Edgar remains the lightweight champion and will defend his belt against someone else next, but I’m personally hoping we’ll see a fourth fight between these two some day.
–According to CompuStrike, Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan combined to land 232 strikes, with Phan outlanding Garcia 161-71 in total strikes and 87-51 in power strikes. There’s not much doubt that Phan deserved his unanimous decision victory.
—Anthony Pettis looked in his split decision win over Jeremy Stephens like he has put a lot of work into improving his takedowns and his wrestling since his loss to Clay Guida in June. I expect the 24-year-old Pettis to keep getting better, and to eventually fight for the lightweight title.
–It’s been disappointing to see Demian Maia, who’s a brilliant Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner, settle for getting dominant positions and winning fights by decision. When Maia entered the UFC he made everybody tap: He won his first five fights by submission and received the Submission of the Night bonus four times. But since then Maia has had seven more fights and hasn’t submitted anybody. Against Jorge Santiago Maia easily won the unanimous decision, but Maia has reached the point where he doesn’t seem to want to take any chances. That makes him a lot less entertaining than he used to be.
–The UFC would love to see its only Chinese fighter, Zhang Tiequan, have some success inside the Octagon. If that’s going to happen, Zhang is going to need to spend a lot of time training with a high-level camp in the United States. As we saw in Zhang’s unanimous decision loss to Darren Elkins, Zhang has a rudimentary ground game and doesn’t have a backup plan if his go-to move, the guillotine choke, doesn’t force his opponent to tap. Zhang showed a good deal of toughness just surviving to go the distance with Elkins, who thoroughly outclassed him. Now it’d be nice to see Zhang show the capacity to develop into a complete mixed martial artist.
UFC 136 Quotes “He’s got a good head. I watched all his fights. He’s got a head, man.” — Stipe Miosic after his unanimous decision victory over Joey Beltran. Miosic hit Beltran over and over again, and Beltran just kept coming back for more. Beltran isn’t a particularly good fighter, but he does have a lot of heart — and, as Miosic noted, a hard head.
“This ain’t easy fighting someone three times. Gray forced me to bring the best out of myself.” — Edgar, after the fight with Maynard. They both brought out the best in each other.
Good Call I liked seeing Aaron Simpson enter his fight with a great game plan and execute it perfectly in his unanimous decision victory over Eric Schafer: Simpson knew Schaefer’s best chance of winning was pulling off a submission on the ground, and so Simpson, an excellent wrestler with good takedowns, resisted the urge to put Schaefer on his back and instead turned their fight into a boxing match. Simpson showed that his punching power and accuracy were far better than Schafer’s, and Simpson won 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Bad Call Mike Goldberg said, “Garcia and Jung” at the start of the fight between Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan, confusing Phan with Chan Sung Jung. That was a mistake, but maybe Goldberg was just being prescient: Just like Jung, Phan had lost a bad decision after a wild slugfest with Garcia, and just like Jung, Phan then won the rematch.
Stock Up Mike Massenzio showed a lot of heart in his unanimous decision victory over Steve Cantwell. After Cantwell got the better of him in the first round, Massenzio came on very hard in the second and blew Cantwell away in the third. Massenzio had lost his last three UFC fights and probably wasn’t going to get another chance if he didn’t beat Cantwell. But he looked like he belongs on Saturday night.
Stock Down Heading into UFC 136, Melvin Guillard had a good chance of proving that he deserved to be next in line for the lightweight title. Instead, he was choked out in 47 seconds by Joe Lauzon, and he now has to get behind a whole lot of guys in a long line in the lightweight division.
Fight I Want To See Next Is there any doubt? Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva. Let’s see this soon.
Chael Sonnen made an emphatic statement in his return against Brian Stann, literally. Sonnen dominated his opponent from the opening bell with constant pressure, as he closed the distance, and immediately fought for a take down. From there, Sonnen…
Chael Sonnen made an emphatic statement in his return against Brian Stann, literally.
Sonnen dominated his opponent from the opening bell with constant pressure, as he closed the distance, and immediately fought for a take down. From there, Sonnen would take control of the bout and dictate the pace and he easily controlled Stann and passed his guard.
Stann tried to retreat back to the feet but Sonnen had his back and applied a rear naked choke, before slamming his opponent back down to the mat. He would continue to dominate Stann by landing strikes from top position as the round came to a close.
Sonnen would continue to rough up his opponent as he took him down again in the second round, continuing to control and outwork Stann. He showed excellent technique in transitioning to side mount, before he transitioned to full guard again. Sonnen applied a triangle choke, only for the referee to abruptly call for both competitors to stand up.
As the action resumed, Sonnen, again, imposed his will and slammed Stann down to the canvas. Sonnen ended up in side mount and applied an arm triangle, forcing Stann to tap.
However, Sonnen was not humble in defeat as he proceeded to call out UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and requested a rematch. Furthermore, he delivered an ultimatum to the Brazilian that will surely provoke fans to watch the anticipated title bout: If Sonnen wins, Silva would no longer compete in the middleweight division, but if Silva is victorious again, Sonnen promised to leave the UFC.
The post-fight interview certainly sounds more like a professional wrestling promo from Sonnen; however, the animosity he holds towards Silva is anything but scripted. The title bout is likely expected to take place on Super Bowl weekend.
The lightweight division can finally breathe again, as the Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard saga finally came to a fitting conclusion on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas at UFC 136.After getting dropped several times in the first rou…
The lightweight division can finally breathe again, as the Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard saga finally came to a fitting conclusion on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas at UFC 136.
After getting dropped several times in the first round, Edgar brought about deja vu and rebounded in the following rounds.
Maynard completely abandoned his wrestling game and found himself getting lit up in the standup exchanges by the faster and more technical striker.
The climax came at 3:54 of the first round, when Edgar dropped Maynard with a massive right hand.
Fans in the arena were on their feet as they watched the champion follow up with unanswered ground strikes to put an end to the most exciting rivalry of 2011.
Meanwhile, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo also kept his strap intact at UFC 136, taking a tough unanimous decision over a game Kenny Florian.
Florian had his moments on the feet, but Aldo’s explosiveness, underrated ground game and otherworldly striking proved too much for the multiple division title contender.
With the win, Aldo continues to prove that he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but was it enough to remain ahead of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones?
HOUSTON — Chael Sonnen arrived at UFC 136 with modesty, and left with bluster.
The dominant second-round submission win over Brian Stann? It was just the beginning of the Sonnen show. It was what the middleweight contender said afterward that sent a buzz through the MMA world.
The middleweight champion Silva happened to be at the Toyota Center, and as his face was shown on the replay screens inside the arena, Sonnen issued his challenge.
“Super Bowl weekend, the biggest rematch in the history of the business,” he said. “I’m calling you out Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I will leave the UFC forever.”
Upon issuing his pro-wrestling style, loser-leaves-town challenge, he walked out of the cage.
Sonnen had once been scheduled to get that rematch. In August 2010, he beat up Silva for four-and-a-half rounds before falling victim to a triangle choke submission. It was a dramatic finish and a heartbreaker for Sonnen, but afterward, UFC president Dana White quickly decided Sonnen would get a second chance.
But that was scuttled shortly thereafter when Sonnen’s pre-fight drug test came back irregular due to an elevated testosterone to estrogen level, indicative of steroid use. Sonnen later revealed he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy but the California state athletic commission ruled he hadn’t properly disclosed it, and he was suspended. Sonnen later had legal woes relating to a federal money laundering charge, and with his compounded problems, Sonnen was shelved by the UFC.
With that, his chance at gold seemed gone. By the time he returned, the UFC middleweight division was not much different. Silva is still at the top. But surging closer was Stann, a former Marine who had mowed through his last two opponents in dominant knockouts.
But for Sonnen, Stann was barely a roadblock. Sonnen took him down repeatedly from the opening bell and held the top position, and in the second, he closed out the show, transitioning to an arm triangle for the finish. That task done, he took no time to turn his attention back to Silva.
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“As far as Anderson goes, we’re playing for keeps this time,” said Sonnen, who claimed he was the rightful champ and his win over Stann was his first successful title defense. “I’ve had it with this guy, and he’s probably had it with me, so let’s just figure this thing out once and for all. You heard what I said. My word is good. A deal is a deal and I didn’t see him stand up and accept the challenge. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’d come over there and shove the microphone up his ass, if he would’ve said that to me. But you saw what he did. He sat there, and it was a good move.”
White said later that Sonnen’s wish would probably be granted.
“More than likely,” he said. “I don’t like to commit to anything the night of the fight, but I’d be pretty f—— stupid if I don’t make that fight.”
Even on a night where two titles were defended and Frankie Edgar pulled off one of the most dramatic comeback wins in recent history, all it took was a few choice words for Sonnen to take back the spotlight. The Chael Sonnen show is back, whether Silva and the rest of the MMA word like it or not.
HOUSTON — Chael Sonnen arrived at UFC 136 with modesty, and left with bluster.
The dominant second-round submission win over Brian Stann? It was just the beginning of the Sonnen show. It was what the middleweight contender said afterward that sent a buzz through the MMA world.
The middleweight champion Silva happened to be at the Toyota Center, and as his face was shown on the replay screens inside the arena, Sonnen issued his challenge.
“Super Bowl weekend, the biggest rematch in the history of the business,” he said. “I’m calling you out Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I will leave the UFC forever.”
Upon issuing his pro-wrestling style, loser-leaves-town challenge, he walked out of the cage.
Sonnen had once been scheduled to get that rematch. In August 2010, he beat up Silva for four-and-a-half rounds before falling victim to a triangle choke submission. It was a dramatic finish and a heartbreaker for Sonnen, but afterward, UFC president Dana White quickly decided Sonnen would get a second chance.
But that was scuttled shortly thereafter when Sonnen’s pre-fight drug test came back irregular due to an elevated testosterone to estrogen level, indicative of steroid use. Sonnen later revealed he was undergoing testosterone replacement therapy but the California state athletic commission ruled he hadn’t properly disclosed it, and he was suspended. Sonnen later had legal woes relating to a federal money laundering charge, and with his compounded problems, Sonnen was shelved by the UFC.
With that, his chance at gold seemed gone. By the time he returned, the UFC middleweight division was not much different. Silva is still at the top. But surging closer was Stann, a former Marine who had mowed through his last two opponents in dominant knockouts.
But for Sonnen, Stann was barely a roadblock. Sonnen took him down repeatedly from the opening bell and held the top position, and in the second, he closed out the show, transitioning to an arm triangle for the finish. That task done, he took no time to turn his attention back to Silva.
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“As far as Anderson goes, we’re playing for keeps this time,” said Sonnen, who claimed he was the rightful champ and his win over Stann was his first successful title defense. “I’ve had it with this guy, and he’s probably had it with me, so let’s just figure this thing out once and for all. You heard what I said. My word is good. A deal is a deal and I didn’t see him stand up and accept the challenge. If the shoe was on the other foot, I’d come over there and shove the microphone up his ass, if he would’ve said that to me. But you saw what he did. He sat there, and it was a good move.”
White said later that Sonnen’s wish would probably be granted.
“More than likely,” he said. “I don’t like to commit to anything the night of the fight, but I’d be pretty f—— stupid if I don’t make that fight.”
Even on a night where two titles were defended and Frankie Edgar pulled off one of the most dramatic comeback wins in recent history, all it took was a few choice words for Sonnen to take back the spotlight. The Chael Sonnen show is back, whether Silva and the rest of the MMA word like it or not.
The fans have spoken, and Anderson Silva has been voted to become the next cover star in the UFC Undisputed franchise. Past cover stars were Forrest Griffin and Brock Lesnar. Silva was announced as the cover athlete at a special presentation at the UFC…
The fans have spoken, and Anderson Silva has been voted to become the next cover star in the UFC Undisputed franchise.
Silva was announced as the cover athlete at a special presentation at the UFC Fan Expo in Houston earlier today.
Silva earned enough votes to outgain fellow champions Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Frankie Edgar, and will be the featured fighter in the third game of the Undisputed franchise.
Widely regarded as the best fighter in the world, Silva is the most successful fighter in UFC history, holding nearly every record in terms of wins and title defenses.
He also has a 14-0 record since entering the promotion in 2006.
UFC President Dana White made the announcement that Silva had been selected as the cover athlete and Silva subsequently came out and addressed the fans.
“I’m very happy, thank you to my fans and my family,” Silva said after he was revealed as the winner.
The fans were then treated to watch the final match of the UFC Houston video game tournament.
After a fan controlling Silva won the bout by beating another fan controlling Jones, the real Silva reappeared and started celebrating with the winner.
UFC Undisputed 3 is set to be released in early 2012, with new features such as PRIDE Mode, a new submission system, updated rosters and fighter walkouts.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to manager Ed Soares about Thursday’s announcement that his client Lyoto Machida would meet Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 140 in December. Soares also talked about what’s next for Anderson Silva, whether Jose Aldo would be moving up to 155 pounds and why Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira decided to return in December.
HOUSTON — MMA Fighting spoke to manager Ed Soares about Thursday’s announcement that his client Lyoto Machida would meet Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 140 in December. Soares also talked about what’s next for Anderson Silva, whether Jose Aldo would be moving up to 155 pounds and why Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira decided to return in December.
Chael Sonnen is the best talker in the UFC. Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the UFC. Over the next few months, I expect to hear Sonnen do what he does best and relentlessly trash talk Silva leading up to their inevitable middleweight title fight.
Chael Sonnen made an emphatic statement in his return against Brian Stann, literally. 
HOUSTON —