Tag: Chael Sonnen

Matt Lindland Says Anderson Silva Will Try to Weasel His Way Out of Fight with Sonnen

(Lindland, weaseling his way out of a fight with the Grim Reaper)

UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen may believe he can talk his way into another battle with Anderson Silva, but he has no illusions that he’s already secured the rematch. While “The American Gangster” continues to call out the champion as often as possible, fellow Team Quest member Matt Lindland is piling the pressure on Silva.

Black House manager Ed Soares has made it clear in recent interviews that Chael has already had his shot at the belt and that it would be a shame to squander any of Anderson’s few remaining bouts. According to “The Law”, not only is Sonnen the number one contender, but it may take a contractual mandate to force Silva into that fight.

(Lindland, weaseling his way out of a fight with the Grim Reaper)

UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen may believe he can talk his way into another battle with Anderson Silva, but he has no illusions that he’s already secured the rematch. While “The American Gangster” continues to call out the champion as often as possible, fellow Team Quest member Matt Lindland is piling the pressure on Silva.

Black House manager Ed Soares has made it clear in recent interviews that Chael has already had his shot at the belt and that it would be a shame to squander any of Anderson’s few remaining bouts. According to “The Law”, not only is Sonnen the number one contender, but it may take a contractual mandate to force Silva into that fight.

In an interview with MMAHQ.com, Lindland had this to say:

“Anderson will to find a way to weasel out of that fight. I don’t know what his contractual obligations are as far as who he has to fight as a champion but they’re already laying the ground work; I mean look at the article that came out this morning on Bloody Elbow.

His manager Ed Soares is already making excuses for Anderson to not take that fight so yeah I think they’re going to try to weasel out of it. I don’t know what his obligations are contractually to the UFC but his obligations to the fans are that he needs to take that fight.

Everyone of the fans know that Chael’s the number one contender and the guy that has a chance of beating him, can beat him and exposed his weaknesses in that fight. The fans want to see that fight and Anderson owes the fans that fight.”

While eliminating Sonnen and Belfort from the “The Spider’s” list of potential challengers, Soares doesn’t offer much in terms of opponents he deems worthy. He mentions the names GSP and Henderson, but GSP has challenges ahead of him in his own division and seems hesitant about the jump up in weight, and even if Henderson gets past Shogun he hasn’t exactly been active at Middleweight lately.

Is there any challenger that makes more sense than Sonnen at this point?

 

Chael Sonnen: Why UFC’s Best Wrestler Can Beat Anderson Silva for the Title

At UFC 136, Chael Sonnen fought Brian Stann for the next UFC middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva. Sonnen absolutely annihilated Stann, proving he’s the best wrestler in the UFC, and also the best contender for the middleweight title.Brian St…

At UFC 136, Chael Sonnen fought Brian Stann for the next UFC middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva. Sonnen absolutely annihilated Stann, proving he’s the best wrestler in the UFC, and also the best contender for the middleweight title.

Brian Stann was an up-and-coming fighter who was rising through the ranks and being groomed for a title shot. He had just beat Jorge Santiago and Chris Leben and was the fans’ choice to take on “The Spider” next.

Chael Sonnen killed any title hopes for a long time for Brian Stann. Stann is a good wrestler himself, but he couldn’t stop any takedowns, let alone land a shot of his own.

Sonnen isn’t great at mixing strikes and landing perfectly timed shots. Everyone knows what he’s going to do, but they still can’t stop him. That’s a mark of true greatness.

If Sonnen gets inside on you and manages to get hooks, you’re going to the ground. That’s a fact.

In the first fight with Silva, Sonnen showed that he could take down the champ with ease. Silva was injured, but I don’t imagine it would have made a difference. Sonnen dominated the entire fight, but he got caught late with a triangle choke.

Sonnen won’t make the same mistake twice. This time he’ll be ready for the submission.

Silva has top-quality jiu-jitsu, but it doesn’t compare to the wrestling ability and control that Chael has. His relentless pace, and grinding style is tough for any fighter to stop.

This fight will once again be decided on the mat. Everyone knows how good of a striker Anderson Silva is, but it won’t matter.

Anderson Silva got beat up by Chael Sonnen once already, but managed to win the fight late. Silva won’t be as lucky this time, and will have to improve his wrestling by leaps and bounds if he wants to go home with a belt around his waist.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Matt Lindland: "Silva Will Try to Find a Way to Weasel out of Sonnen Fight"

Is Anderson Silva ducking Chael Sonnen?Former Olympic Silver medalist Matt Lindland believes so.MMAHQ caught up with the former UFC middleweight title contender to get his take on the proposed Super Bowl weekend bout.”Haha. Anderson will try to find a …

Is Anderson Silva ducking Chael Sonnen?

Former Olympic Silver medalist Matt Lindland believes so.

MMAHQ caught up with the former UFC middleweight title contender to get his take on the proposed Super Bowl weekend bout.

“Haha. Anderson will try to find a way to weasel out of that fight. I don’t know what his contractual obligations are as far as who he has to fight as a champion, but they’re already laying the ground work,” said Lindland.

“His manager Ed Soares is already making excuses for Anderson to not take that fight, so yeah, I think they’re going to try to weasel out of it. I don’t know what his obligations are contractually with the UFC, but his obligations to the fans are that he needs to take that fight.”

Sonnen took Silva to hell and back at UFC 117. The proposed “People’s champ” dominated “The Spider” for four-and-a-half rounds before giving up a triangle in the winding minutes of the fifth round.

Since the loss, Sonnen has been champing at the bit for a rematch. Unfortunately, he was sidelined for over a year with medical suspensions and legal problems.

He returned at UFC 136, where he dominated rising middleweight contender Brian Stann.

Immediately after the win, Sonnen challenged Silva to a rematch for the UFC title. There hasn’t been any word from Silva’s side as far as accepting the challenge.

“Everyone of the fans know that Chael’s the number one contender and the guy that has a chance of beating him, can beat him and exposed his weaknesses in [the UFC 117 fight]. The fans want to see that fight, and Anderson owes the fans that fight,” Lindland said.

People may not like what Sonnen has to say, but he proved that he matches up extremely well with Silva. He isn’t afraid to get after the champion and test his takedown defense.

UFC President Dana White has already hinted at the Silva and Sonnen rematch being on deck. The only thing hampering the fight is an injured shoulder Silva has been nursing since his UFC 134 win over Yushin Okami.

In the mean time, Sonnen left Silva with an ultimatum via Twitter on Saturday.

“Anderson, you’ve got 24 hours to accept my offer. I suggest you take it, my next one won’t be quite so nice,” tweeted Sonnen.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chael Sonnen Gives Anderson Silva 24 Hours to Accept Super Bowl Card Challenge

Anderson Silva is on the clock.The UFC middleweight champion has been given 24 hours to accept Chael Sonnen’s proposal for a rematch on Super Bowl weekend with much more than UFC gold at stake.”Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck,” Sonnen told Joe Roga…

Anderson Silva is on the clock.

The UFC middleweight champion has been given 24 hours to accept Chael Sonnen’s proposal for a rematch on Super Bowl weekend with much more than UFC gold at stake.

“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck,” Sonnen told Joe Rogan after defeating Brian Stann at UFC 136. “Super Bowl weekend…the biggest rematch in the history of the sport. I’m calling you out, Silva. It’s time to up the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. I lose, I will leave the UFC forever.”

Since the challenge, Silva has remained relatively quiet. His manager, Ed Soares, has gone on record to call Sonnen “delusional” and suggested that he “take a number and get to the back of the line.”

At the UFC post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White stated that Sonnen was likely Silva’s next opponent.

There have been rumblings within Silva’s camp of a shoulder injury that could keep him out of action for the early part of 2012.

“Anderson, you’ve got 24 hours to accept my offer. I suggest you take it; my next one won’t be quite so nice,” Sonnen tweeted on Saturday.

Sonnen has already taken verbal jabs at Silva, his wife and the entire country of Brazil. What could possibly be next?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva’s Manager Calls Chael Sonnen "Delusional," Says "He Quit"

Chael Sonnen’s routine of taunting Anderson Silva and calling himself the “People’s Champ” is growing old with Ed Soares.Since being submitted by Silva in August 2010 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Sonnen has thrown countless verbal jabs at the UFC middleweigh…

Chael Sonnen’s routine of taunting Anderson Silva and calling himself the “People’s Champ” is growing old with Ed Soares.

Since being submitted by Silva in August 2010 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Sonnen has thrown countless verbal jabs at the UFC middleweight champion.

For the most part, Silva has remained quiet in an attempt to avoid useless back and forth banter. He feels there’s nothing left to prove. Sonnen’s name is already in his win column—why is he still talking?

While Silva may have walked away with the victory, Sonnen feels like Silva didn’t actually win the fight, which is understandable considering the Oregon native dominated the proposed pound-for-pound king for four-and-a-half rounds.

“In some parallel universe, you can hit a man 300 times, he wraps his legs around your head for eight seconds, and they call him the winner,” Sonnen said in the post-fight press conference at UFC 136.

“On the streets of Westland, Ore., that is not the rules. I am the middleweight champion. I defended my championship tonight for the first time, and I am willing to give Anderson a shot at the true belt, the linear belt, the people’s belt from the best damn middleweight there’s ever been.”

After over a year hiatus, Sonnen was successful in his UFC return against rising contender Brian Stann. He put on a wrestling clinic and submitted the former U.S. Marine in the second round with an arm-triangle choke.

Immediately after the fight, Sonnen called out Silva for a rematch for the middleweight title.

“Well, I think Chael’s delusional man,” Silva’s manager Soares stated in an appearance on InsideMMA. “What is he talking about? At the end of the day, he tapped, he quit, he gave up. Take a number and get to the back of the line man. You had your opportunity.”

It doesn’t look like Sonnen will have to wait long for another opportunity. UFC president Dana White has already stated that Sonnen will likely be Silva’s next opponent on an undecided date.

Will the proposed “People’s Champ” enter the Octagon with a foam replica of the middleweight title?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Technique Video of the Day: Gracie Breakdown-UFC 135 and 136

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryron and Rener Gracie break down the action from a UFC card, so we decided to give you guys a double dose of knowledge to kick-start your weekend. Above, we have their take on Chael Sonnen’s ever improving Jiu-Jitsu game, which capped off with a second round arm triangle submission of Brian Stann at UFC 136.

Now, moving past how “gentle” Chael was in his victory, the Gracie’s demonstrate and analyze the transitions, guard passes, and remount techniques Sonnen used to defeat Stann with their usual competency, breaking down both the first and second rounds of their middleweight fight. Being a guy trained primarily in the ground game, I can’t say enough how valuable these break downs are.

Check out the Gracie’s breakdown of Jon Jones’ 4th round rear-naked choke over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 135 after the jump.

-Danga 

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryron and Rener Gracie break down the action from a UFC card, so we decided to give you guys a double dose of knowledge to kick-start your weekend. Above, we have their take on Chael Sonnen’s ever improving Jiu-Jitsu game, which capped off with a second round arm triangle submission of Brian Stann at UFC 136.

Now, moving past how “gentle” Chael was in his victory, the Gracie’s demonstrate and analyze the transitions, guard passes, and remount techniques Sonnen used to defeat Stann with their usual competency, breaking down both the first and second rounds of their middleweight fight. Being a guy trained primarily in the ground game, I can’t say enough how valuable these break downs are.

-Danga 

Gracie Breakdown – UFC 135