MMA Top 10 Middleweights: Respect for Chael Sonnen

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Sengoku, Rankings, MiddleweightsI didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all…

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I didn’t think Chael Sonnen was a serious threat to Anderson Silva, didn’t think their fight would get out of the first round and didn’t think Sonnen could even come close to backing up all that ridiculous trash talk he spewed in the run-up to their UFC 117 fight on Saturday night.

But while Silva did manage to pull off a fifth-round submission victory, I now believe Sonnen has to be considered the No. 2 middleweight in the world, and I also believe the next middleweight title fight should be Silva-Sonnen 2. No one had ever even come close to beating Silva in the UFC, and Sonnen had victory within his grasp on Saturday night. He deserves another chance.

You know Silva and Sonnen are the top two middleweights in the world. Find out about the rest of the Top 10 below.

Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and the Art of Cage Politics and Promotion

Filed under: UFCIt has been suggested over the last 24-36 hours that Chael Sonnen laid the blueprint for beating Anderson Silva. That is a bit of simplistic thinking, as there are few middleweights on the earth with Sonnen’s wrestling skills. It’s a li…

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It has been suggested over the last 24-36 hours that Chael Sonnen laid the blueprint for beating Anderson Silva. That is a bit of simplistic thinking, as there are few middleweights on the earth with Sonnen’s wrestling skills. It’s a little like saying Mariano Rivera has laid the blueprint for closing baseball games. Acquire a singular talent over a lifetime of hard work, and apply liberally. Simple, right?

Of course, there is one man who can still follow the blueprint, and that is Sonnen himself, as the UFC mulls over the possibility of an immediate rematch.

It puts the UFC in an interesting quandary. Do they immediately bring back Sonnen, who despite four-plus rounds of dominance, was legitimately defeated, or do they move on to Vitor Belfort, as originally promised? Taking no chances, both men have already begun their campaigns at getting the next shot at the belt.

Anderson Silva Is Getting Old

Filed under: UFCAging always feels like a difficult subject to broach: We all know we’re getting older, but it feels rude to point it out about anyone else. But you can’t follow sports and not be acutely aware of how athletes change as they age, and on…

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Anderson SilvaAging always feels like a difficult subject to broach: We all know we’re getting older, but it feels rude to point it out about anyone else. But you can’t follow sports and not be acutely aware of how athletes change as they age, and on Saturday night at UFC 117, we were reminded of a simple fact that it had so far been easy to overlook: Anderson Silva is getting old.

Although he managed to pull out a submission victory in the fifth round of his fight with Chael Sonnen, Saturday night’s fight was by far the worst of Silva’s UFC career. When an athlete Silva’s age offers up a sub-par performance, it’s hard not to conclude that age was a factor.

Silva’s Trainer Says Anderson Won’t be Back in the Octagon this Year

("Should I wear my pink sweater to my victory party or my….HOLY SHIT!!")
photo courtesy UFC.com
According to one of Anderson Silva’s jiu-jitsu coaches, Ramon Lemos, the UFC middleweight champion likely won’t fight again until March of…

("Should I wear my pink sweater to my victory party or my….HOLY SHIT!!")
photo courtesy UFC.com

According to one of Anderson Silva’s jiu-jitsu coaches, Ramon Lemos, the UFC middleweight champion likely won’t fight again until March of 2011 as he will need time to heal from a "fractured rib" he sustained in the first round of his seventh title defense saturday night against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in Oakland, CA.

Ramos revealed the news to Fighters Only today.

"After the first round he said he broke his ribs. He said told me he could not breathe because of the rib. I told him to forget the rib and work the movement of legs and he would get the triangle… After the fight he went to the hospital and did an x-ray and the doctor said he did not break it, it was just a crack," Lemos recalled. "Anderson is expected to return in February or March." 

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Soares Not 100% Set on Sonnen vs. Silva II

Okay, not long after speculating that the discussion about Saturday’s ‘where were you when?’ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen tilt could quite possibly stretch into September, here’s another report to throw in the mix. Immediately following the memorable fight we jumped right on the rematch bandwagon, and by the looks of the internet, that thing […]

anderson-silva ed soares

Okay, not long after speculating that the discussion about Saturday’s ‘where were you when?’ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen tilt could quite possibly stretch into September, here’s another report to throw in the mix. Immediately following the memorable fight we jumped right on the rematch bandwagon, and by the looks of the internet, that thing is picking up more ‘hop-ons’ by the second. So let’s do it up right?

Well in an interesting report today from MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes, Silva’s manager Ed Soares doesn’t exactly sound like he’s 100% sold on doing Silva vs. Sonnen II right away. While appearing on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Soares was reportedly quoted saying:

“The way I look at it is, Chael fought his fight. And Chael had Anderson on his back for twenty-two minutes of that fight. …The way I feel is that Chael had Anderson in the position he wanted him, and if he wasn’t able to finish Anderson in twenty-two minutes in the position you said you wanted him in, then, hey man, you had your shot. No offense, not saying you can’t get another shot, but you know what I mean?”

Now Soares did concede that “part” of him thinks it would “”make a lot of sense” to do a rematch; yes, one would think so (cue cash register dinging). In terms of Chael failing to finish Silva, and thus he’s had his “shot,” yeah (as in Bill Lumbergh from Office Space style), don’t think that’s going to fly with most people.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 117

Filed under: UFCAs Anderson Silva made his way to the Octagon in Oakland on Saturday night, Chael Sonnen paced around inside the cage, staring Silva down and beckoning for him to come on inside and get a piece. It was classic pro wrestling-style stuff,…

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As Anderson Silva made his way to the Octagon in Oakland on Saturday night, Chael Sonnen paced around inside the cage, staring Silva down and beckoning for him to come on inside and get a piece. It was classic pro wrestling-style stuff, and it perfectly complimented Sonnen’s entire pre-fight schtick.

That was something I expected from Sonnen on fight night. It was what happened after that really surprised me.

As Silva reminded us several times, talking is easy. Doing it as well and in as consistently entertaining a fashion as Sonnen is a little harder, but it’s still nothing compared to going toe-to-toe with the pound-for-pound best in the sport. Sonnen’s pre-fight routine seemed like an act, but his performance in the fight proved that even if no one else believed he could back up those words, he never doubted it for a second.