(In Germany, male MMA fans wearing TapouT gear are commonly known as “douchebaggenbrös.”)
Potato Nation, the New UFC World Order is upon us: For the first time in the promotion’s history, the UFC will hold two events on the same night in two different continents.
UFC officials announced today that a Fight Night event will take place May 31st in Berlin, Germany, at the O2 World Berlin. That’s the same scheduled date as the The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale, which will be headlined by Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (assuming Sonnen is physically capable of competing without TRT, which might be in question at this point). The city and venue for the TUF Brazil 3 Finale card are still TBA.
If you’re an old-school MMA fan, you probably still remember when two UFC events in the same month was a big deal. (That first happened in April2005, by the way.) UFC president Dana White has been suggesting the “two events, one night” plan as a possibility since 2011, and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta also mentioned it in November.
The Berlin Fight Night marks the UFC’s first visit to Germany since the underwhelming “Marquardt vs. Okami” card in November 2010, and will reportedly be headlined by a high-level featherweight contest. (Start warming up, Dennis Siver.) Broadcast plans for the May 31st events haven’t been confirmed, but you can safely assume that at least one of these cards will be on Fight Pass. We’ll keep you posted…
(In Germany, male MMA fans wearing TapouT gear are commonly known as “douchebaggenbrös.”)
Potato Nation, the New UFC World Order is upon us: For the first time in the promotion’s history, the UFC will hold two events on the same night in two different continents.
UFC officials announced today that a Fight Night event will take place May 31st in Berlin, Germany, at the O2 World Berlin. That’s the same scheduled date as the The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale, which will be headlined by Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (assuming Sonnen is physically capable of competing without TRT, which might be in question at this point). The city and venue for the TUF Brazil 3 Finale card are still TBA.
If you’re an old-school MMA fan, you probably still remember when two UFC events in the same month was a big deal. (That first happened in April2005, by the way.) UFC president Dana White has been suggesting the “two events, one night” plan as a possibility since 2011, and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta also mentioned it in November.
The Berlin Fight Night marks the UFC’s first visit to Germany since the underwhelming “Marquardt vs. Okami” card in November 2010, and will reportedly be headlined by a high-level featherweight contest. (Start warming up, Dennis Siver.) Broadcast plans for the May 31st events haven’t been confirmed, but you can safely assume that at least one of these cards will be on Fight Pass. We’ll keep you posted…
According to second-hand accounts, the fight started when Silva — perhaps enraged by a recent tweet — took a swing at Sonnen, who then shot in and took Wandy down. As they scuffled on the floor, a member of Team Wanderlei clocked Sonnen in the head. That last detail was confirmed by Dana himself:
“While they were fighting, one of Wanderlei’s guys sucker punched Chael. It went on for a while.”
Of course, this might be the best publicity possible for TUF Brazil 3, which you probably won’t watch because it’ll air on Fight Pass. As White put it:
“It’s on a reality show; it’s good and it’s bad,” said White. “A fight didn’t need to break out between these two for people to be excited about this fight (after the show), because these two have been at each other’s throats.”
Though Sonnen or Silva haven’t released any public statements about the incident yet, Sonnen recently shot a promo for TUF Brazil 3 where he described the unique experience of shooting a reality show with the Axe Murderer:
(Yep. True professionals limit their smashing to reality-show sets. )
According to second-hand accounts, the fight started when Silva — perhaps enraged by a recent tweet — took a swing at Sonnen, who then shot in and took Wandy down. As they scuffled on the floor, a member of Team Wanderlei clocked Sonnen in the head. That last detail was confirmed by Dana himself:
“While they were fighting, one of Wanderlei’s guys sucker punched Chael. It went on for a while.”
Of course, this might be the best publicity possible for TUF Brazil 3, which you probably won’t watch because it’ll air on Fight Pass. As White put it:
“It’s on a reality show; it’s good and it’s bad,” said White. “A fight didn’t need to break out between these two for people to be excited about this fight (after the show), because these two have been at each other’s throats.”
Though Sonnen or Silva haven’t released any public statements about the incident yet, Sonnen recently shot a promo for TUF Brazil 3 where he described the unique experience of shooting a reality show with the Axe Murderer:
“Wanderlei has been an experience, to say the least. I compare him to an onion – you peel him back, and there [are] layers. You know the cartoon where the guy gets super angry and runs out of ideas and then smoke starts coming out of his ears? That’s happened with Wanderlei a couple of times out of nowhere.
“I feel like if all the teams get together, and all the coaches get together, we can get him through this. He reminds me of that feisty grandpa you see at the holidays. Even though he’s old and a little bit broken down, he’s still got some spirit. He’s still got that spunk in him that you would miss. And I think that’s what Wanderlei brings to this whole thing. If we can all just help him and get him through this and to our fight, I’ll be like the bridge that gets him from that point to retirement — which is where he’s headed.”
I’m starting to think that Sonnen probably shouldn’t have taken this gig. “Feisty grandpa” or not, you never want to mess with a dude who wants to smell your blood.
(Well, I found this on the Internet so it has to be true. Props: @sonnench)
With all the crap they’ve hurled at each other lately, it’s no surprise that Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva would eventually have to get into the Octagon and back up their slam poetry. But we definitely didn’t see this coming: As confirmed by UFC president Dana White on yesterday’s edition of FOX Sports Live, Sonnen and Silva will appear as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3, which begins filming early next year. The American Gangster and the Axe Murderer will then face off at a 2014 event to be named later.
The reality-show booking is so unexpected because White previously said it wouldn’t happen — for Chael’s own safety. As White explained during a press-conference in Brazil last month:
“People keep asking me if they’re going to be the coaches (for TUF Brazil 3). I can’t have a Brazilian within 10 feet of Chael Sonnen in America. Imagine bringing Chael Sonnen here for six weeks. I don’t think he’d make it…I mean there’s situations in the United States where we had an event where a Brazilian fan started swinging at Chael Sonnen trying to hit him…Brazilians do not like Chael Sonnen.”
So, was White fooling us on purpose? Or did he have a change of heart and realize that, hey, Sonnen’s life isn’t that important anyway. And would any of the show’s Brazilian prospects want to be on Chael’s team? This has the potential to be all kinds of uncomfortable. For the first time in TUF history, a coach may be savagely soap-whipped by his own team. I’m telling you, these Brazilians do not respond well to motivational speaking.
(Well, I found this on the Internet so it has to be true. Props: @sonnench)
With all the crap they’ve hurled at each other lately, it’s no surprise that Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva would eventually have to get into the Octagon and back up their slam poetry. But we definitely didn’t see this coming: As confirmed by UFC president Dana White on yesterday’s edition of FOX Sports Live, Sonnen and Silva will appear as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3, which begins filming early next year. The American Gangster and the Axe Murderer will then face off at a 2014 event to be named later.
The reality-show booking is so unexpected because White previously said it wouldn’t happen — for Chael’s own safety. As White explained during a press-conference in Brazil last month:
“People keep asking me if they’re going to be the coaches (for TUF Brazil 3). I can’t have a Brazilian within 10 feet of Chael Sonnen in America. Imagine bringing Chael Sonnen here for six weeks. I don’t think he’d make it…I mean there’s situations in the United States where we had an event where a Brazilian fan started swinging at Chael Sonnen trying to hit him…Brazilians do not like Chael Sonnen.”
So, was White fooling us on purpose? Or did he have a change of heart and realize that, hey, Sonnen’s life isn’t that important anyway. And would any of the show’s Brazilian prospects want to be on Chael’s team? This has the potential to be all kinds of uncomfortable. For the first time in TUF history, a coach may be savagely soap-whipped by his own team. I’m telling you, these Brazilians do not respond well to motivational speaking.
Tryouts for TB3 will be held on Nov. 11 in Rio de Janeiro, and will be open to middleweights, light heavyweights, and heavyweights. This will be the second Ultimate Fighter coaching stint for both men; Sonnen previously appeared opposite Jon Jones on TUF 17, which aired in the beginning of this year, while Silva coached on the first installment of TUF Brazil alongside Vitor Belfort in 2012. And in case you forgot, Sonnen already has a fight against Rashad Evans scheduled for next month at UFC 167. Must be nice to have job security.
Update: There are reports indicating that TUF Brazil 3 will feature a Brazil vs. U.S.A. theme, which makes a lot more sense. We’ll let you know when the UFC officially confirms this.
