At UFC 134, MMA fans around the world were treated to an amazing event as the UFC returned to Brazil for the first time since 1998. At the event, fans got to see two highly anticipated rematches, Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua II…
At UFC 134, MMA fans around the world were treated to an amazing event as the UFC returned to Brazil for the first time since 1998.
At the event, fans got to see two highly anticipated rematches, Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua II and Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami II.
Neither fight disappointed and sent home those in the Brazilian crowd especially happy.
When the demand for it is right, and certain factors are taken into place, a rematch can be just as exciting if not more exciting than the first match.
Here are some fights that fans would love to see again.
Last Saturday at UFC 134 in Brazil, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was able to do what many expected he would do and defeated Forrest Griffin in devastating Shogun-fashion—via first round knockout—thus redeeming his upset loss to Griffin back in 200…
Last Saturday at UFC 134 in Brazil, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was able to do what many expected he would do and defeated Forrest Griffin in devastating Shogun-fashion—via first round knockout—thus redeeming his upset loss to Griffin back in 2007 at UFC 76.
This marks the third time Shogun has been able to avenge a loss and do so by KO. With only five losses on his record, three of which while in the UFC, this former UFC light-heavyweight champion is that much more impressive and dangerous.
His first rematch came against Mark Coleman in 2009 at UFC 93. Coleman had handed Shogun his second career loss back in 2006 at Pride 31 by breaking his arm during a takedown. As astonishing as the arm break was, the post-fight brawl was the most surprising part of the night involving not only Coleman, but Wanderlei Silva, Shogun’s brother Murilo and Coleman cornerman Phil Baroni.
Next up was Lyoto Machida last year at UFC 113. This was one of the most anticipated rematches in MMA history, as Shogun lost a very close and controversial decision to Machida in each fighter’s previous outing at UFC 104. Shogun delivered on his promise and ended the fight by KO in the first round, thus dethroning The Dragon.
After he captured the title, Shogun was on the sidelines for a year. Upon his return, he met the young star that is Jon “Bones Jones.” While some believed Jones was not yet ready to fight for the title, he proved the critics wrong and gave Shogun his fifth career loss.
No one was calling for an immediate rematch this time around, but that should not be reason enough for their not to be one in the future. As Shogun has demonstrated on numerous occasions, he not only has what it takes to come back and get revenge, but he does so in knockout fashion.
The truest mark of any champion isn’t the ability to become an unstoppable force, but the ability to pick yourself up when you’re knocked down and recover to achieve victory. It is clear which kind of fighter Shogun is, and for that reason alone he will one day defeat Jon Jones and win UFC gold again.
The UFC returns to Brazil this weekend for one of the biggest fight cards the promotion has ever put on, UFC 134, which is also being dubbed “UFC Rio.” 11 of the 12 scheduled fights will include at least one Brazilian fighter, including th…
The UFC returns to Brazil this weekend for one of the biggest fight cards the promotion has ever put on, UFC 134, which is also being dubbed “UFC Rio.”
11 of the 12 scheduled fights will include at least one Brazilian fighter, including three fights in which both competitors are from the host country. The nationality of the fighters alone doesn’t guarantee that these fights are going to be great, but the fans will certainly be loving the way that the UFC has set-up this event for their viewing enjoyment.
But not everyone was invited to entertain at the party. In fact, there are a few top-level fighters and legends who will not be competing at this very important event.
Certainly timing, and the total number of fighters that can be on a card, has to be taken into account, but these five fighters are ones who many would agree should have been included in the UFC 134 festivities.
After some recent controversy, all signs pointed to UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen being in Yushin Okami’s corner when he had his title shot against Anderson Silva at UFC 134. However, it looks like Sonnen’s plane ticket to Rio will go to wa…
The source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that if Sonnen attended, the Praetorian would discontinue its sponsorship of Okami.
“There’s a line of people that want to kick his ass,” the source said, when explaining the rationalization behind the decision.
While that piece of news is not all that shocking, many will agree that the next piece of information is.
According to MMA Junkie, friends of Sonnen over in Brazil brought the Team Quest standout’s attention to a local media report.
“A police chief threatened to arrest him on sight if he showed. The official cited a law that makes disparaging the national identity a crime,” MMA Junkie reported.
Sonnen retaliated by saying “You don’t have freedom of speech in Brazil; put it like that.”
Brazil based MMA manager Alex Davis refuted the police chief’s claim, stating that:
“Brazilian authorities would not arrest Sonnen for anything he said. They would defend him. But he is talking about people that a whole generation of fighters worship.”
Sonnen has reserved his verbal war of words against Brazilian fighters, for the most part, to team Black House members including Lyoto Machida, the Nogueira brothers, featherweight champ Jose Aldo and of course reigning middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
Despite not being able to support his friend and training partner in person, Sonnen has shown no problem backing away from the situation given the circumstances.
“I only want to be there to help him,” Sonnen said.
“I don’t need to see the show. I can watch the show on TV. I was going exclusively in support of Yushin, and frankly, it’s been headed this way for a long time. It’s been headed the direction of, ‘Hey, this is becoming a distraction.”
Sonnen then acknowledged that August 27 is Okami’s time to shine, not his.
“This fight isn’t about me. I’m not involved. I’m here to lend you support. But I don’t want things thrown at what will unintentionally be him while he’s in the ring or we’re going to the ring. This is serious business. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s not my place to disturb it or shift any type of attention to me. This is his moment, his night, his time to be the world champ.”
The only man who has given Anderson Silva a run for his money in years, Sonnen has a chance to earn another title shot with a win over Brian Stann at UFC 136.
However, a recent report indicates that Sonnen could be pulled from UFC 136 in favor of a rematch with Silva on November 12, the UFC’s first event on Fox.
Since Chael Sonnen’s California fighter’s license expired on June 29, 2011, it basically gave him the green light to compete in the Octagon again. The always outspoken 185-pounder has given a plethora of interviews since then, and one poin…
Since Chael Sonnen’s California fighter’s license expired on June 29, 2011, it basically gave him the green light to compete in the Octagon again.
The always outspoken 185-pounder has given a plethora of interviews since then, and one point that he has emphasized again and again is that he will be in friend and training partner Yushin Okami’s corner when he takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 134.
This is a bit surprising, given Sonnen more or less declaring war against Brazil due to his feuds with Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, the reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and to a lesser extent, even Jose Aldo.
Nevertheless, the self proclaimed “American Gangster” told interviewer after interviewer that “they love me in Brazil,” and that nothing would prevent him from watching his friend defeat Anderson Silva up close and personal.
In the past few days, this situation has gotten very interesting.
The event description, translated to English by Bloody Elbow, states, “Guys, everyone is aware of what this insect has been spewing about Brazil, the fighters, of the people of this country, of our culture.”
“I think we should give him a ‘warm welcome’ when he comes to attend UFC Rio on the 27th, since Brazilians carries the fame of being sympathetic, hospitable, warm people, how about a big party for our friend Chael Sonnen?”
As of this writing, 5,066 people are attending and 12,169 invitees are awaiting reply.
While there is no reason to believe that Sonnen will actually be lynched if he attends UFC 134, it seems that he has been inaccurate in his assessment that he’s a fan favorite in Brazil.
As to be expected at this point, Sonnen took to Twitter to respond to the event:
“Please, FB nerds, no group has the strength to lynch me. I’m a Republican; we run on neither blood nor oxygen.”
Normally, that would be that, but this story continues to have legs.
Apparently, SPORTV spoke with the coaches at Team Quest on Sunday, August 21, and while no direct quotes were released, a translation of the article says that Sonnen will NOT be at UFC 134.
The most telling quote, once again translated by Bloody Elbow, reads, “However, the coaches of Team Quest denied that Sonnen has or will come to Brazil.
“According to a post by the official UFC Brazil twitter, Sonnen was just ‘trolling’ and will not be in Rio for the fight. Sonnen has a fight scheduled for Oct. 8 at UFC 136 against Brian Stann, and will be focused for training for the occasion.”
Sonnen is still on probation from his money laundering case, so it is possible that he may not be allowed to leave the country.
However, on August 18, Sonnen tweeted, “Going to train in the worst conditions to make this fight even easier. Long story short, Rio on Friday! See you in the streets, turkeys.”
Then, on August 21, Sonnen addressed the report once again via Twitter. This time, he was not as forthcoming, though. “Am I going to Rio……. ‘The greatest trick the Devil ever did, was getting the world to believe he didn’t exist,’” he wrote.
So by quoting Keyser Soze, is Sonnen telling us that he will indeed be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 27?
Looks like only time will tell, but as usual, Sonnen has a significant number of fight fans heavily anticipating his next move
While he might of missed the opportunity to potentially challenge for the light heavyweight title again, Lyoto Machida had no regrets in asking for a bigger paycheck prior to his potential rematch with Rashad Evans.In an interview with Terra Esportes, …
While he might of missed the opportunity to potentially challenge for the light heavyweight title again, Lyoto Machida had no regrets in asking for a bigger paycheck prior to his potential rematch with Rashad Evans.
In an interview with Terra Esportes, via BloodyElbow.com, Machida explained his actions in asking for “Anderson Silva money” and was not apologetic, citing no reasons to feel guilty.
“I ask forgiveness for the misunderstanding, but not for what I’ve done, because I was not wrong,” Machida said.
“The Dragon”, who rebounded from a two-fight losing skid with a knockout win over Randy Couture at UFC 129, said he did not initially accept the bout and did not have a training camp set up in order to properly prepare himself. In fact, Machida said he was only training to keep in shape.
Machida said he had negotiated compensation in case he lost because he felt there was more risk than reward to compete on such a short notice.
“I only asked for the type of money that would guarantee me tranquility for a certain time, because if I were to lose it would put me on the back of the line of candidates for the title,” he explained.
“Aside from also being potentially injured, Rashad (Evans) is not just ‘any’ type of fighter.”
Ultimately, Machida’s proposition was denied by the UFC and Tito Ortiz agreed to step in and face Evans at UFC 133.
The idea of asking for more incentive makes sense on Machida’s part, but due to major time constraints, the UFC was forced to restructure and seek a replacement immediately.
The end result worked out for both parties and UFC president Dana White has since reaffirmed his stance on Machida and will not condemn the Brazilian for his camp’s actions.
It is a common occurrence to negotiate for more money prior to a bout, especially on short notice, but the way Machida’s management handled the situation must have rubbed White the wrong way.
Regardless, the UFC found a solution and there is more closure to this story.
Last Saturday at