Tag: Chael Sonnen

UFC Rio: Breakdown of Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Anderson Silva, love him or hate him, is one of the best fighters to ever set foot in the Octagon.To some, he is in the top two pound-for-pound best. To others, he is the best fighter in the sport today.  It seems like ancient history when trying …

Anderson Silva, love him or hate him, is one of the best fighters to ever set foot in the Octagon.

To some, he is in the top two pound-for-pound best. To others, he is the best fighter in the sport today. 

It seems like ancient history when trying to remember the last time Anderson Silva was standing in the BLUE corner. He has dominated the UFC Middleweight division like none other has in any weight class. With each win, Silva sets records and builds his legacy of being one of the greatest of all time. 

One glance at him, and you do not see a fighter. You see a skinny Brazilian man, with little to no scar tissue, who does not have the typical cauliflower ears many BJJ and wrestling fighters tend to have. But once in a cage, he turns into a phenomenal combatant.

His championship reign, winning streak, and record setting will be on the line once again come UFC RIO. He will be facing the strong contender, Yushin Okami. Okami is the last man to have a win over “The Spider”, but came at the disqualification of Silva when he knocked out Okami with an illegal upkick. 

This is redemption time for Silva, and the stage is set for him. He will be fighting in his home country of Brazil, looking to avenge the blemish that his fight with Okami has left. But one must look at factors that affect a fighter’s situation during the fight. 

By being in front of his home country, the pressure may be on Silva to perform. This may very well get him out of his element and cause openings for Okami to capitalize on. Also, his records are on the line, not to mention his belt. 

Silva wants to build his legacy and remain undefeated, but each fight he wins is also an addition to the risk and what he can lose. A fighter who wins the belt after two fights and then loses it right after, does not hurt their legacy too significantly. If Silva loses to Okami, he will take a dramatic hit to his reputation. 

Anderson is at a point where fans want to see him lose just because he is doing so well. It may be out of jealously, the fact he dominated well-liked fighters like Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin, or because they have given in to Chael Sonnen’s jokes.

Whatever reason, the greater he becomes, the more people hate him. Yushin will look to shock the Middleweight division and be the one to end Silva’s reign. 

The pressure is on Yushin Okami as well. He is on a three-fight winning streak, and it is finally his shot at the belt. He was in title contention against Rich Franklin in 2007, riding on a six-fight winning streak, but lost the decision. He followed with three wins before being stopped by Sonnen, and then gained three more wins. He has been clamoring for his shot, and due to Sonnen and Vitor Belfort, his shot has been pushed and postponed. 

With the pressure of his first UFC title shot, he will try to prove to the world that he is the best Japanese fighter, as Dana White has stated. He will also be on Silva’s home turf, which can psychologically hinder a fighter.

His advantage will be his wrestling and the fact he has been training with Chael Sonnen, the only man to give a beating to the Champion and come the closest to taking his title. 

The question is, will Yushin be fast enough to get Silva on the ground? Every fight starts standing, and this is where Silva is the most dangerous. If Yushin pushes the pace, he could eliminate the time Silva takes to figure out his opponent, setting himself up for a takedown. But once on the ground, will Yushin stay busy like Sonnen? Or will he take more risks in going for submissions?

Yushin is not one to recently go for submissions, but rather get TKOs or decision wins. This could be the problem for Okami since his normal striking will not work the same way. 

Silva is only human, and makes mistakes, but one cannot deny that you cannot fully understand fighting Silva until you actually do. Okami has faced Silva before, but not the Silva we know today. The situational advantage that Okami has is that most of the pressure is on Anderson.

Also, if Okami loses, it just makes Silva look better, whereas if Anderson loses, he looks worse, and Okami looks incredible. The situation will be similar to when Fabricio Werdum fought Fedor Emelianenko.

One other factor is that Anderson is getting older. He may not show it a lot, but at 36, his MMA career is starting to come to an end. He may or may not be at his peak, or he may be on the down slope. But for a fighter like Silva, his descent will be more gradual. 

Dana White said it well that Silva is fighting for his legacy, and Okami is fighting for respect. Okami, like the rest of the Middleweights, are fantastic fighters. The problem is that Anderson has been so dominant for so long, the rest of the division looks weak. If you were to remove Silva from the division tomorrow, the Middleweights would all look a lot better. 

This is Silva’s legacy. By shutting down Yushin Okami, he will continue his march toward greatness, and stay on top of the rankings. If he loses and Georges St.Pierre wins his fight against Diaz, he may very well be bumped to second place. Whether this is justified or not, it will inevitably happen. 

Regardless, you will see history be made at UFC RIO. Either Silva will once again expand his reign, or Okami will dethrone him and make “The Spider” keep his hand at his side.  

 

Give us your thoughts on the UFC Rio card below! Predict Main and Co-Main (Winner, Method, Round). Winner(s) will be mentioned in a future article. 

Follow the @FightersCreed on Twitter! 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Shock of the Day: Chael Sonnen Practicing BJJ, Demonstrates the Omoplata

Even the biggest believers in the Mayan calendar may agree that the world is ending a lot sooner than anyone could have predicted. Why is that? Cage Potato has come across video footage of UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen practicing Jiu-Jitsu. It’s unbeli…

Even the biggest believers in the Mayan calendar may agree that the world is ending a lot sooner than anyone could have predicted.

Why is that? Cage Potato has come across video footage of UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen practicing Jiu-Jitsu.

It’s unbelievable considering that Sonnen has a long-standing feud with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and has taken this grudge to include any Black House MMA or Brazilian fighter. 

While YouTube no longer has the video available, most fans recall that Sonnen called Jiu-Jitsu “gay” long before he ever fought Anderson Silva. 

One quote from Sonnen that could be found reads as follows:

“Even if I could get a submission, I’m not laying under a grown man with my legs spread on worldwide TV. There are some guys who subscribe to that theory, but I’m a Republican. We don’t do that.”

Yet, low and behold, here is a video of Sonnen demonstrating an omoplata. It is rarely seen in MMA, but a move that is fairly often attempted in Jiu-Jitsu circles. 

To put things into perspective, last December, Sonnen filmed a series of move tutorials when he was on the cover of, believe it or not, Black Belt magazine. 

For those readers familiar with BJJ, do you think Sonnen did a good job of explaining the move? 

Let everyone know your opinion in the comments section. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chael Sonnen Accepts a Gift from a Brazilian Interviewer: Video

Mention the name Chael Sonnen to any mixed martial arts fan and you will get a strong reaction. Some will offer strong praise for the middleweight contender, while others will practically spit in disdain. Sonnen is a rare breed, he’s one of those…

Mention the name Chael Sonnen to any mixed martial arts fan and you will get a strong reaction. Some will offer strong praise for the middleweight contender, while others will practically spit in disdain. Sonnen is a rare breed, he’s one of those individuals that there is no middle ground with, it’s either love or hate.

For quite a while now Sonnen has been focused on getting under the skin of many of Brazil’s best MMA fighters. Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Antonio Silva and the Nogueira brothers have all faced a verbal attack from Sonnen at one point or another.

Well, Sonnen is at it again. In an interview with a Brazilian reporter, Sonnen starts things off by stating that his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117 was devastating. He then follows that up by claiming he would gladly take “Mr. Maia” up on his offer to train him in triangle defense.

We are then greeted by the Sonnen we all love or hate as he goes off on a tirade while “attempting to pick a fight with some Brazilian fighters.”

After the rant, Sonnen is presented with a gift from the reporter, a Brazilian flag, a gift that Sonnen says he will treat with “great respect.” However, he does stop short of saying that the gift will stop the war of words between Sonnen and the Brazilian fighters.

Make sure you stick around for the end of the video.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bizarro World Technique Video of the Day: Omoplata from Guard by Chael Sonnen

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW? VidProps: BlackBeltMagazine/YouTube

Some things you just never expect to see. You never expect to see a picture of Brock Lesnar with spectacles, or BJ Penn and Matt Hughes broing it up. We will probably never see Cheick Kongo hit a flower sweep to triangle choke, or Jared Shaw look like anything but a giant bag o’ douche, or Dana White say anything nice about MMA websites. I have seen some things in my time, Nation, but this … this is a whole ‘nother thing.

What we have here is some truly unexpected video evidence of Chael Sonnen on his back. Doing jiu jitsu. Explaining jiu jitsu. Attempting, if you can believe it, a submission maneuver.

Mind is asplode.

As if that were not enough, after the jump you’ll find more video of this alternate-universe Sonnen being interviewed by a Brazilian reporter for RedeTV and saying nice, respectful things about Brazil and its flag. Lest you start to believe that one of Sonnen’s other personalities has completely taken over, relax — he’s still full of piss and vinegar whenever he talks about Anderson Silva.

WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?   VidProps: BlackBeltMagazine/YouTube

Some things you just never expect to see.  You never expect to see a picture of Brock Lesnar with spectacles, or BJ Penn and Matt Hughes broing it up.  We will probably never see Cheick Kongo hit a flower sweep to triangle choke, or Jared Shaw look like anything but a giant bag o’ douche, or Dana White say anything nice about MMA websites.  I have seen some things in my time, Nation, but this … this is a whole ‘nother thing.

What we have here is some truly unexpected video evidence of Chael Sonnen on his back.  Doing jiu jitsu.  Explaining jiu jitsu.  Attempting, if you can believe it, a submission maneuver.

Mind is asplode.

As if that were not enough, after the jump you’ll find more video of this alternate-universe Sonnen being interviewed by a Brazilian reporter for RedeTV and saying nice, respectful things about Brazil and its flag.  Lest you start to believe that one of Sonnen’s other personalities has completely taken over, relax — he’s still full of piss and vinegar whenever he talks about Anderson Silva.

 

I’m not sure what all this means, Nation, but i’m scared.

Someone hold me.

{XR}

Krzysztof Soszynski Says at Least 85 Percent of Fighters ‘Definitely Using’ PEDs

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The use of performance-enhancing drugs in MMA is far more widespread than most people realize, according to UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski, who told Ariel Helwani on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour that there are far more elite fighters using steroids, testosterone, and other PEDs than there are fighters who compete totally clean.

“I would definitely say somewhere in the percentage of 85 percent of guys are definitely using, especially the guys who can afford it are definitely using,” said Soszynski. “I would even go as high as 95 to 96 percent of the top level athletes that are definitely using it. You can clearly see it.”

Soszynski has been out of action with a knee injury since his decision victory over Mike Massenzio at UFC 131 in June, but the rehab process opened his eyes to the easy availability of performance-enhancers in MMA, he said.

“I even had someone talk to me about stem cell injections. You’re looking at stuff like EPO, and at least five or six different counterfeit drugs out there that people are using and they’re not even detectable in the body. It’s just amazing to me how far athletes are willing to go to make their mark in this sport.”

At the same time, Soszynski expressed a degree of empathy for PED users in MMA, and expressed doubt that the problem could ever be fully eradicated.

“If there’s a substance you can take out there that’s going to make you bigger, stronger, more explosive, going to help you train harder, going to help you train longer, and it’s going to help with your recovery as well, and you know if you take it the right way and follow the right instructions, you’ll never get caught for it, wouldn’t you take it?”

Soszynski said the current system that most athletic commissions use of testing fighters just prior to fight night is completely ineffective, since that’s when “you’re only going to catch the dumb guys, who have no idea what they’re doing.”

Instead, he said, MMA needs random, out-of-competition drug-testing.

“I totally agree [with random testing]. Ten weeks out, eight weeks out, six weeks out — that’s when all the training happens. That’s when you’re training at your hardest, at your peak. Every athlete who knows how to train properly knows they’re going to have to taper off two weeks, two and a half weeks out from their fight so they’ll be in perfect condition for their fight. All the hard training happens eight, ten weeks [from the fight]. That’s the time when everybody’s doing their drug abuse and that’s when they’re taking their testosterone and their steroids. That’s when I think fighters should be tested.”

As for fighters like Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen, who have recently argued that they have a legitimate medical reason to undergo testosterone replacement therapy, Soszynski said that it creates an uneven playing field to allow some fighters to inject themselves with hormones but not others.

“My thought on that is very simple: either everybody does it, or nobody does it. If guys are doing it and the commissions are allowing these guys to do it as long as they get to a certain level within their bodies, then we all should be allowed to take it as long as we get our levels to a certain number. That’s what I believe.”

Soszynski, who’s no stranger to a pro sports drug culture after experiences with pro wrestling and competitive bodybuilding, added that while most fighters might be on PEDs, he’s among the small percentage that isn’t.
My thought on this is very simple: either everybody does it, or nobody does it.
— Krzysztof Soszynski
“I haven’t used [PEDs] for mixed martial arts,” he said. “Back in the days when I was a bodybuilder, obviously it was a little different. But for mixed martial arts, I don’t. I don’t believe in it.”

As for whether that puts him at a disadvantage, Soszynski said he knows of “a bunch of guys in the sport who don’t [use PEDs] and who are very successful,” but at the same time, “I feel like we should be on an even playing field.”

Then again, just because Soszynski might want it that way — and might fear for MMA’s reputation in the long run if it doesn’t address the PED issue — that doesn’t mean he’s terribly optimistic about the chances of weeding it out completely.

“It’s just part of guys trying to become the best,” said Soszynski. “You want to become the best, you’re going to do anything and everything you can to become the best, and this is one of those things.”

 

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Filed under: ,

The use of performance-enhancing drugs in MMA is far more widespread than most people realize, according to UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski, who told Ariel Helwani on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour that there are far more elite fighters using steroids, testosterone, and other PEDs than there are fighters who compete totally clean.

“I would definitely say somewhere in the percentage of 85 percent of guys are definitely using, especially the guys who can afford it are definitely using,” said Soszynski. “I would even go as high as 95 to 96 percent of the top level athletes that are definitely using it. You can clearly see it.”

Soszynski has been out of action with a knee injury since his decision victory over Mike Massenzio at UFC 131 in June, but the rehab process opened his eyes to the easy availability of performance-enhancers in MMA, he said.


“I even had someone talk to me about stem cell injections. You’re looking at stuff like EPO, and at least five or six different counterfeit drugs out there that people are using and they’re not even detectable in the body. It’s just amazing to me how far athletes are willing to go to make their mark in this sport.”

At the same time, Soszynski expressed a degree of empathy for PED users in MMA, and expressed doubt that the problem could ever be fully eradicated.

“If there’s a substance you can take out there that’s going to make you bigger, stronger, more explosive, going to help you train harder, going to help you train longer, and it’s going to help with your recovery as well, and you know if you take it the right way and follow the right instructions, you’ll never get caught for it, wouldn’t you take it?”

Soszynski said the current system that most athletic commissions use of testing fighters just prior to fight night is completely ineffective, since that’s when “you’re only going to catch the dumb guys, who have no idea what they’re doing.”

Instead, he said, MMA needs random, out-of-competition drug-testing.

“I totally agree [with random testing]. Ten weeks out, eight weeks out, six weeks out — that’s when all the training happens. That’s when you’re training at your hardest, at your peak. Every athlete who knows how to train properly knows they’re going to have to taper off two weeks, two and a half weeks out from their fight so they’ll be in perfect condition for their fight. All the hard training happens eight, ten weeks [from the fight]. That’s the time when everybody’s doing their drug abuse and that’s when they’re taking their testosterone and their steroids. That’s when I think fighters should be tested.”

As for fighters like Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen, who have recently argued that they have a legitimate medical reason to undergo testosterone replacement therapy, Soszynski said that it creates an uneven playing field to allow some fighters to inject themselves with hormones but not others.

“My thought on that is very simple: either everybody does it, or nobody does it. If guys are doing it and the commissions are allowing these guys to do it as long as they get to a certain level within their bodies, then we all should be allowed to take it as long as we get our levels to a certain number. That’s what I believe.”

Soszynski, who’s no stranger to a pro sports drug culture after experiences with pro wrestling and competitive bodybuilding, added that while most fighters might be on PEDs, he’s among the small percentage that isn’t.
My thought on this is very simple: either everybody does it, or nobody does it.
— Krzysztof Soszynski
“I haven’t used [PEDs] for mixed martial arts,” he said. “Back in the days when I was a bodybuilder, obviously it was a little different. But for mixed martial arts, I don’t. I don’t believe in it.”

As for whether that puts him at a disadvantage, Soszynski said he knows of “a bunch of guys in the sport who don’t [use PEDs] and who are very successful,” but at the same time, “I feel like we should be on an even playing field.”

Then again, just because Soszynski might want it that way — and might fear for MMA’s reputation in the long run if it doesn’t address the PED issue — that doesn’t mean he’s terribly optimistic about the chances of weeding it out completely.

“It’s just part of guys trying to become the best,” said Soszynski. “You want to become the best, you’re going to do anything and everything you can to become the best, and this is one of those things.”

 

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UFC 134: Anderson Silva and the 10 Most Entertaining MWs in MMA

When the UFC goes to Rio de Janeiro for UFC 134, it will not only be bringing the pound-for-pound king of MMA, but one of the most exciting and dynamic fighters in the world in Anderson “The Spider” Silva.Nobody knows what to expect from the …

When the UFC goes to Rio de Janeiro for UFC 134, it will not only be bringing the pound-for-pound king of MMA, but one of the most exciting and dynamic fighters in the world in Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

Nobody knows what to expect from the UFC Middleweight Champion, but they do know he is capable of ending his fight with Yushin Okami with one shot. Last time out, he knocked out Vitor Belfort with the first ever front-kick to the face in the UFC.

It’s these types of exciting moments that UFC fans tune into the fights for, and they know what to expect when the following fighters fight.

These are the 10 most exciting middleweights to watch in MMA right now.

Begin Slideshow