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UFC 147: Brian Stann Says Chael Sonnen Will Beat Anderson Silva

Brian Stann is no stranger to Chael Sonnen’s fighting skills. The Marine and American hero was thoroughly dismantled by Sonnen at UFC 136 in one of the best performances of Sonnen’s career.So when Stann makes a prediction for Sonnen’s second crack at m…

Brian Stann is no stranger to Chael Sonnen’s fighting skills. The Marine and American hero was thoroughly dismantled by Sonnen at UFC 136 in one of the best performances of Sonnen’s career.

So when Stann makes a prediction for Sonnen’s second crack at middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva—a bout that headlines a soccer stadium show in Rio de Janeiro this summer—we should probably sit back and listen. Stann appeared on UFC Tonight last night to give his thoughts on the bout:

I think that Chael Sonnen takes it. There are a lot of factors that are going to play into that. Just similar to when I fought Chael, I think he’s particularly a very, very difficult match up for Anderson Silva. Just due to the years and years of difference in grappling and how physical Chael is when he’s on top. We’re going to have to see some new techniques from Anderson that he wasn’t able to showcase in his first fight. But, if Chael performs the way he did against Bisping, he could be in for a long night against Anderson.

There are many people in the industry who feel the same way Stann does, including my colleague Jonathan Snowden.

Me? I’m not sure what I think.

I do believe that Sonnen has the best chance of any middleweight in the world to beat Silva. He has the tools and the mindset to go in and take the fight to Silva. He’s not afraid of Silva’s mystique like so many opponents “The Spider” has faced during his UFC tenure. He’s proven that he can go in the cage and take the fight to Silva for well over 20 minutes. That’s a special thing.

But like Stann said in the quote above, it’s going to depend on which version of Chael shows up. If the Sonnen from the first Silva fight and the Stann massacre shows up, Silva could very well lose his title this summer. But if Sonnen performs the way he did against Bisping? I’d wager even Sonnen himself wouldn’t give himself much of a chance of winning the belt.

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The Best of Brock Lesnar: The WWE and UFC Star’s 15 Career Highlights

Brock Lesnar. His name will ring long and loud through history. His exploits have made him immortal—NCAA champion, wrestling champion, cage fighting champion, and possibly, the biggest star in the world of professional wrestling, eight …

Part of Lesnar’s unquestioned star power comes from his time in the Octagon. Everyone remembers Lesnar’s UFC successes. Everyone remembers his UFC failures. Those events were recent enough to be etched into our collective consciousness as fans.

But what about the events that drove the UFC to sign Lesnar in the first place? Despite having minimal professional experience as a fighter, he inked a huge money contract. Who is Brock Lesnar? Why do people in the stands look like they are suffering convulsions after simply seeing his image on the TitanTron?

Come with me on journey into Lesnar’s past. It’s a mirror into the soul of the hardcore fan. Not excited about Lesnar’s return? After this slideshow, you will be. You will be.

Begin Slideshow

Dana White Accepts Challenge from Former MLS Soccer Star

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Dana White said that soccer was the least-talented sport on earth?Let me refresh your memory.I’m not a big hockey fan. But I respect how talented you have to be to play hockey. Soccer? That’s a whole othe…

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Dana White said that soccer was the least-talented sport on earth?

Let me refresh your memory.

I’m not a big hockey fan. But I respect how talented you have to be to play hockey. Soccer? That’s a whole other ball. Can’t stand soccer. It’s the least-talented sport on Earth. There’s a reason three-year-olds can play soccer.

I noted in my story that this claim was ludicrous. Dana is a passionate guy and speaks from the heart, but he was dead wrong on this one.

Former Major League Soccer star Jimmy Conrad also took issue with White’s comments. Conrad, if you don’t know, used to play center back for Chivas USA. He was a pretty good footballer, at least from the American side, and was named to the equivalent of the MLS All-Pro Team on four separate occasions.

Conrad issued an open challenge to White, which can be viewed in the video above:

Have you ever even played soccer, Dana? Can you pass a ball, like to a teammate, instead of some guy in the 3rd row? Can you run at top speed, while holding off a defender, and aiming for the corner of the goal being guarded by a massive 6’4″ goal keeper? Yeah, probably not.

So listen, here’s what I’m going to do. Because I like you, I’m going to give you the opportunity to join me and a few friends for a game of soccer. Since you believe playing soccer requires no talent, I’m sure you’ll be the star. Unless you’re scared. Well let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

To White’s credit, he immediately accepted the challenge via Twitter. Much like the time White promised to base jump off Mandalay Bay if UFC 100 did 1.5 million pay per view buys, we don’t know if he will actually show up. He’s a busy man, after all, and can be forgiven if something like this slips through the cracks.

But if White does show up, I sure hope someone gets the event on video. Watching Dana attempt shots on goal and seeing his sure-to-be-awful first touch on passes would be pure comedy gold of the highest order. Not to mention the hilarity of seeing White’s attempts to defend Conrad and his friends as they dribble around him in Harlem Globetrotter fashion.

God, I hope this actually happens.

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Dana White Says Heavyweight Josh Barnett Can Return to the UFC

UFC president Dana White and Josh Barnett have never had the best relationship. Much of the contention from White’s side stems from the fact that Barnett tested positive for steroids after winning the UFC heavyweight title back at UFC 36. A single…

UFC president Dana White and Josh Barnett have never had the best relationship.

Much of the contention from White’s side stems from the fact that Barnett tested positive for steroids after winning the UFC heavyweight title back at UFC 36. A single steroid failure would normally be fine, even for a champion. You’ll be stripped of your title, but you’ll get a chance to regain it after you serve your suspension. All you really need to do is admit your guilt and apologize; a little remorse goes a long way.

But remorse—or an admission of guilt—is the one thing we’re likely never going to get from Barnett. Multiple drug failures has shown that to be true. And Barnett has fired back at White through the years like few others are willing to do, calling him a “hindrance” and saying a “trained monkey” could do White’s job.

However, things seem to be getting better between White and Barnett. The pair were photographed together during last summer’s annual Fight Summit in Las Vegas, and White has come out in support of a Barnett move to the UFC after the conclusion of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix:

The way that Showtime wants to do it is when that fight finally happens, whoever wins it, they wanna do another fight on Showtime. That guy would probably come to the UFC. We’ll see what happens, you know?

Josh and I have been playing nice with each other for a little while, ever since he got into the UFC. It’s more than just, does he win, does he do this? You gotta be able to come to terms with the guy and be able to deal with him. If he wins the fight, I can’t see why he wouldn’t come here, unless we weren’t able to make a deal with him.

I think Barnett will get a crack at the UFC’s heavyweight roster in 2012, no matter what happens in the finals of the heavyweight grand prix. They brought over the rest of the Strikeforce heavyweight roster, and those fighters didn’t even make the finals. Some of them didn’t even make it out of the first round. White is hinting that coming to a deal has very little to do with him actually winning the tournament.

Barnett’s place in the UFC is secure, and rightly so. And he seems to actually want another chance in the world’s biggest fight promotion, which means he’ll be much more willing to sit down and make a deal than he would have been, oh, four years ago.

The one hold-up, as I see it, will be Barnett’s pro wrestling career. I can’t imagine White allowing Barnett to continue working matches in Japan—at least not on a regular basis—so Barnett will have a choice to make: Continue professional wrestling or finally creating and cementing a real mixed martial arts legacy in the UFC.

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Winter Is Coming: Can the UFC Survive Brock Lesnar in the WWE?

Last night, Brock Lesnar made his return to professional wrestling when he F-5’d John Cena to close out Monday Night Raw. Since his rumored return, every MMA writer became an authority on professional wrestling, and authored stories about how Lesnar wo…

There were also been several writers who questioned whether Lesnar’s return would mark the end of the UFC’s dominance.

He was responsible for some of the biggest buy rates in the history of buy rates. Whenever he brandished a pair of four-ounce gloves, he would draw in casual fans who wanted to see the mountain of a man fight.

Lesnar became an anomaly in the sport of mixed martial arts. He bridged the gap between MMA and professional wrestling, and was able to elevate the UFC by creating intrigue and drawing wrestling fans to purchase pay per views to see him fight. He was able to turn professional wrestling fans into MMA fans.

Every card he headlined attracted even the biggest MMA detractors.

Unfortunately, Lesnar’s UFC run was cut short because of multiple bouts with diverticulitis. Following an embarrassing loss to Cain Velasquez where he lost his UFC heavyweight title, Lesnar was sidelined for more than a year before he’d make his return to the octagon.

His final fight against Alistair Overeem saw Lesnar retire in the middle of the cage after yet another poor showing against arguably the top heavyweight in the world. Lesnar closed the night by telling the audience that he would be hanging up his gloves and retiring from MMA. It was an unfortunate end to his successful, albeit short, MMA career.

After those two poor showings, the question remained if professional wrestling fans would accept him as the unstoppable juggernaut that he was almost a decade ago?

Last night’s episode of Raw proved that wrestling fans don’t care about his MMA career. When his music hit, the fans at the American Airlines Arena popped louder than they’ve ever popped and the losses in MMA just didn’t seem to matter. The beast was home and was anointed the savior of the wrestling world.

The WWE had an incredibly successful Wrestlemania weekend in Miami, and has positive momentum on their side. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence as Wrestlemania is the “grandest stage of them all” and the biggest event the WWE will promote all year. Historically, the momentum is only temporary.

Sooner rather than later, the WWE will settle back to its level of mediocrity.

As for the title? Don’t be ridiculous. The UFC will survive Brock Lesnar’s return to the WWE. The sky isn’t falling, nor is the UFC in any danger of losing momentum. What universe do you live in?

Lesnar will provide some casual interest and will draw fans back into professional wrestling, but it’s just a temporary fix. He’s only under contract for one year, and then he’ll escape back to his house in Minnesota. He’s not the messiah for the wrestling world, nor will his involvement mark the end of the UFC’s reign as the king of pay per view.

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Bellator’s Bjorn Rebney’s Day Sounds a Whole Lot Like Dana White’s

It cannot be denied that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney is a driven man.After all, he’s the son of one of the most legendary salesmen of all time—Jack Rebney, also known as “The Winnebago Man” due to one of the more infamous viral videos of all time. …

It cannot be denied that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney is a driven man.

After all, he’s the son of one of the most legendary salesmen of all time—Jack Rebney, also known as “The Winnebago Man” due to one of the more infamous viral videos of all time. In the video, the elder Rebney can be seen in outtakes from a product shoot for the Winnebago line of luxury motorhomes, sweating and swearing his way through five or more hilarious minutes of video. It’s what I imagine Dana White would be like, if only he sold motorhomes instead of promoted fights.

You’ll never hear Bjorn swear. He’s the opposite of his father in that regard. But the fact that he was able to build Bellator Fighting Championship into a legitimate No. 2 fighting promotion in the world is a testament to his determination and his ability to sell a unique product.

Mike Chiapetta over at MMAFighting.com recently spent a complete fight day with Rebney and wrote a story that offers a fascinating look at a promoter going about his daily business:

By 1 p.m., he’s moving through various seating sections, listening to the sound on the fighter promos as though he was a paying fan. Is the music drowning out the voices? Is Karl Amoussou understandable through his French accent? Suddenly, something catches his eye.

“Why does Zoila have a line across her face?” he suddenly asks, confounding the audio engineer standing in front of him.

Everyone glances up to where Rebney’s looking. Every Bellator champion is represented with a banner hanging from a truss, and sure enough, there is a crease crossing the banner of women’s champion Zoila Gurgel, moving diagonally across her face. It’s something you would probably look right at without seeing, but to Rebney, it’s plain as day.

Rebney has an eye for details, and he’s a control freak. Dana White is the same way. Both men control every aspect of the arena and television production for their promotions. Nothing happens without Rebney personally giving it his stamp of approval.

Rebney will no doubt be heavily involved in the production of Spike TV’s new Bellator reality show. It’s set to debut in 2013 and will be produced by the same guy who created The Amazing Race. That’s quite the pedigree for a reality show, but you can bet Rebney will be there every step of the way.

It’s what good promoters do. Just look at Dana White.

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