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UFC 147: Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva Looking Forward to Rematch in Brazil

The first time Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva met inside the Octagon was October 16, 1998 at UFC Ultimate Brazil. That fight did not last long—Belfort stopped Silva in 44 seconds with a flurry of strikes. Now, nearly 14 years later, the two ar…

Now, nearly 14 years later, the two are set to meet at UFC 147, which will take place on June 23 at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janeiro, a stadium that can hold more than 47,000 fans for soccer games.

When the two entered the Octagon in 1998, they sported identical 5-1 records. Now, Belfort—a former UFC light heavyweight champion is 21-9. Silva, a former PRIDE middleweight champion, is 34-11-1-1.

Silva has had a rough go since rejoining the UFC in 2007, putting together a record of 3-4. For his part, Belfort has gone 3-1 since returning to the UFC in 2009. The two fighters are currently coaching opposing teams of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.

Time has been a bit kinder to Belfort.

It was not long ago that UFC president Dana White stood at the UFC 132 post fight press conference and spoke of possibly having to “Chuck Liddell” Silva into retirement. Silva was brutally knocked out in that July 2011 fight by Chris Leben.

Following the loss to Leben, Silva seemed reluctant to go quietly into retirement, and when he defeated Cung Le via TKO at UFC 139, he temporarily staved off talk of his career coming to an end.

Belfort’s last loss took place at UFC 126 when a front kick from UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva felled him in the first round. Since then, he has put together two stoppage wins, defeating Yoshihiro Akiyama in a fight that won him “Knockout of the Night” honors. He defeated Anthony Johnson with a rear naked choke, which earned him “Submission of the Night.”

Both fighters are eagerly looking forward to their rematch, with Wanderlei Silva telling Ariel Helwani on a recent edition of The MMA Hour: “I’ve waited all my career for this fight. I’ve waited for (14) years for this fight. He is one of the guys I really, really want to fight before I (retire). This fight is the fight of my dreams.”

For his part, Belfort spoke to Portal Do Vale Tudo via Fighters Only, saying: “The important thing is to wait and see the result – when we fight, I will run over him and show what a true competitor is.”

No matter who wins this fight, the odds of it going the distance are slim, as both fighters will surely be looking to show that they are the more ferocious striker.

Belfort currently sits as a -350 favorite over Silva, who is a +280 underdog.

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UFC 147: Brian Stann Says Chael Sonnen Will Beat Anderson Silva

Brian Stann is no stranger to Chael Sonnen’s fighting skills. The Marine and American hero was thoroughly dismantled by Sonnen at UFC 136 in one of the best performances of Sonnen’s career.So when Stann makes a prediction for Sonnen’s second crack at m…

Brian Stann is no stranger to Chael Sonnen’s fighting skills. The Marine and American hero was thoroughly dismantled by Sonnen at UFC 136 in one of the best performances of Sonnen’s career.

So when Stann makes a prediction for Sonnen’s second crack at middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva—a bout that headlines a soccer stadium show in Rio de Janeiro this summer—we should probably sit back and listen. Stann appeared on UFC Tonight last night to give his thoughts on the bout:

I think that Chael Sonnen takes it. There are a lot of factors that are going to play into that. Just similar to when I fought Chael, I think he’s particularly a very, very difficult match up for Anderson Silva. Just due to the years and years of difference in grappling and how physical Chael is when he’s on top. We’re going to have to see some new techniques from Anderson that he wasn’t able to showcase in his first fight. But, if Chael performs the way he did against Bisping, he could be in for a long night against Anderson.

There are many people in the industry who feel the same way Stann does, including my colleague Jonathan Snowden.

Me? I’m not sure what I think.

I do believe that Sonnen has the best chance of any middleweight in the world to beat Silva. He has the tools and the mindset to go in and take the fight to Silva. He’s not afraid of Silva’s mystique like so many opponents “The Spider” has faced during his UFC tenure. He’s proven that he can go in the cage and take the fight to Silva for well over 20 minutes. That’s a special thing.

But like Stann said in the quote above, it’s going to depend on which version of Chael shows up. If the Sonnen from the first Silva fight and the Stann massacre shows up, Silva could very well lose his title this summer. But if Sonnen performs the way he did against Bisping? I’d wager even Sonnen himself wouldn’t give himself much of a chance of winning the belt.

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Chael Sonnen Exposes Liars in the UFC

One of the best qualities of a fighter is that they are usually honest, and former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen is back with some advice on what it means to tell the truth in the latest “Chael’s Corner” segment from Fuel TV’…

“Fighters have recently seen it as their quasi-job to continually put out misinformation,” Sonnen said. “They just refuse to answer a question head on. There is a tremendous difference with what fighters say versus what fighters mean.”

“For example, ‘I don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges’ means I didn’t train for three rounds,” he continued. “I’m surrounded by a new team and camp’ means all my old friends abandoned me. ‘I need to go to training camp to be in seclusion’ means my wife and kids are driving me nuts.”

Sonnen is the first to admit that his fights are tough once they are over, and after his last fight versus Michael Bisping at UFC on Fox 2, he was quick to point out that Bisping punched really hard and hurt him on a few occasions, which came to many fans’ surprise.

“I don’t understand why fighters don’t just talk plainly,” Sonnen said. “In my last fight, I took on a gentleman named Michael Bisping. He hit me very hard, and it hurt, a lot. People were shocked that I would come out and admit that because they are all just use to lying. Guess what? If a guy hits you hard and it hurts, is your ego so small that you can’t pay him a compliment? Is your ego so fragile that you can’t say, ‘look, I had my bell rung in the middle of a fist fight?”

Sonnen’s next bout will come against his biggest rival in UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The fight is set to take place in front of a massive crowd in Brazil at UFC 147.

When they first met in August of 2010, Sonnen dominated “The Spider” for four-and-a-half rounds before getting caught in a triangle choke that forced him to tap. Since that fight, the 35-year-old has gone on to defeat Bisping and Brian Stann.

Silva came back and defeated Yushin Okami and Vitor Belfort, knocking both out in highlight-reel fashion.

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3 Things the UFC Can Learn from Wrestlemania 28 for UFC 147

This summer, the UFC heads back to Brazil in an attempt to set their all-time attendance record for Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen II. Scheduled to take place in June at the beautiful Estádio Olímpico João Havelange in Rio de Janei…

As one of the most important events in the promotion’s history, they can draw several aspects from the WWE’s production of Wrestlemania to ensure that UFC 147 is one of the most memorable cards ever.

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Fabricio Werdum vs. Mike Russow: Head to Toe Breakdown

While UFC 146 will feature a main card full of heavyweights, two highly regarded big men will has to wait until UFC 147 to throw down.
Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow are set to square off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this June.
The bout features tw…

While UFC 146 will feature a main card full of heavyweights, two highly regarded big men will has to wait until UFC 147 to throw down.

Fabricio Werdum and Mike Russow are set to square off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this June.

The bout features two fighters currently making waves in the UFC’s heaviest division. Russow holds an unblemished UFC record of 4-0 and is riding an impressive 11 fight win streak, while Werdum is coming off an impressive win over Roy Nelson.

This is an early breakdown of the fight. We will examine the various elements of combat that will determine who comes out on top, including striking, wrestling, grappling and intangibles.

For each category one fighter will earn an extreme, significant, moderate or slight edge over his opponent. If the matchup is deemed too close to call, it will be termed “even.”

Let’s get cracking.

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Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: 10 Reasons Silva Will Beat Sonnen at UFC 147

Anderson Silva will face Chael Sonnen in a rematch of their epic UFC 117 middleweight bout this June at UFC 147, set to place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.I won’t waste time regurgitating what took place, because just about everyone already knows. The fol…

Anderson Silva will face Chael Sonnen in a rematch of their epic UFC 117 middleweight bout this June at UFC 147, set to place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I won’t waste time regurgitating what took place, because just about everyone already knows. The following is a list of 10 reasons why Anderson Silva will beat Chael Sonnen.

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