Chael Sonnen has a rather unique relationship with the people of Brazil. He brutally mocks them for being uncivilized savages, and they get so angry that they just want to make his sweet little ass pay, you know? This bizarre dynamic reared its ugly head again at UFC 147 on Saturday night, as a local fan unrolled a photoshopped poster that seemed to imply that…well, I don’t think this really needs any further description. Thank God for that UFC belt, or Shane Diesel would be suing for trademark infringement right now.
As Joe Rogan explained on the UG, “Someone from the crew looked up at that one, and said ‘Did you see that poster? Anderson is holding Sonnen like a baby!’ I looked up at it, and I was like, ‘What the fuck do you do with babies that makes you think that’s a baby?’”
Good question. So can any of you make an even more insulting photoshopped poster for UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2? If so, send it to [email protected] and God help us, we might post the best ones next week.
Chael Sonnen has a rather unique relationship with the people of Brazil. He brutally mocks them for being uncivilized savages, and they get so angry that they just want to make his sweet little ass pay, you know? This bizarre dynamic reared its ugly head again at UFC 147 on Saturday night, as a local fan unrolled a photoshopped poster that seemed to imply that…well, I don’t think this really needs any further description. Thank God for that UFC belt, or Shane Diesel would be suing for trademark infringement right now.
As Joe Rogan explained on the UG, “Someone from the crew looked up at that one, and said ‘Did you see that poster? Anderson is holding Sonnen like a baby!’ I looked up at it, and I was like, ‘What the fuck do you do with babies that makes you think that’s a baby?’”
Good question. So can any of you make an even more insulting photoshopped poster for UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2? If so, send it to [email protected] and God help us, we might post the best ones next week.
Father Time is knocking.In UFC 147, Wanderlei Silva lost to Rich Franklin by unanimous decision. Despite fighting in his home country of Brazil and Franklin being a fill-in, Silva couldn’t pull off a victory in the grudge match. Yet another letdo…
Father Time is knocking.
In UFC 147, Wanderlei Silva lost to Rich Franklin by unanimous decision. Despite fighting in his home country of Brazil and Franklin being a fill-in, Silva couldn’t pull off a victory in the grudge match. Yet another letdown proves that his hourglass is rapidly running out of sand.
While Franklin controlled most of the match, Silva missed a golden knockout opportunity. In the second round, he nearly ended Franklin’s night, but Ace stayed upright and kept competing.
Franklin McNeil of ESPN reported after the fight that Silva thought he had the KO in the bag. He said:
“At the end of the second round, I thought I was going to knock him out but I wasn’t able to. I pushed it a bit too much. I wanted to knock him out.”
Silva is now 3-7 in his last 10 matches. Before his slump began, he boasted 31 wins compared to just five losses. He simply hit the wall that is the age of 30.
The Axe Murderer will turn 36 years old on July 3rd. He began fighting professionally in 1996. The wear and tear from all those years of competing has reduced Silva to a nearly unrecognizable fighter from his former dominant self.
Josh Gross of ESPN gave Silva a C- grade for his performance against Franklin and wrote of his deteriorating ability:
He had one legitimate burst in the fight, which he claimed afterward was enough to wear him out. Silva always left himself open when he punched. Now he does so as a slow, predictable, weak-chinned man in his mid-30s who’s suffered too many bad knockouts.
Silva has led a legendary MMA career. But his best bet would to be to set up one last matchup that would allow him to leave the fight game on a high note.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
With a Round 1 TKO of Mike Russow on Saturday night, Fabricio Werdum was the biggest and most impressive winner of UFC 147.Ranked No. 5 in the world by MMA Weekly in early June, Werdum has quickly revived his career in 2012. To that end, let’s che…
With a Round 1 TKO of Mike Russow on Saturday night, Fabricio Werdum was the biggest and most impressive winner of UFC 147.
Ranked No. 5 in the world by MMA Weekly in early June, Werdum has quickly revived his career in 2012. To that end, let’s check out why he was the ultimate victor this past weekend.
Recent Results
The victory over Russow was not only extremely impressive, but Werdum has now won five times in his last six fights after going just 5-4 from October of 2005 through June of 2011.
Also, the knockout of Russow was the quickest match of the night. Werdum, in other words, is back in full force mode and hitting a rhythm of confidence that will be tough for anyone to equal. For his career Werdum is only 16-5-1, so tacking on some more wins is needed to better his title shot odds.
That being said, time is also of the essence with Werdum because he’ll be 35 years old in July. Although we’ve seen more than a few fighters last until their late-30s, prime form is a rarity at that stage. Werdum, however, has proven to defy his age with impressive recent success.
Defying Age
If there’s anything we’ve learned from Werdum’s quick win over Russow, it’s that age is just a number.
Then again, Werdum also only fought four times between 2009 and 2011 so he’s not nearly as worn down as others his age either. To some extent, that brief time lapse where he didn’t fight has rejuvenated Werdum’s career.
He had won both fights in 2009 and the one in 2010, but the 2011 loss to Alistair Overeem was a reality check. Werdum then had a strong performance against Roy Nelson earlier in 2012 and began to build momentum.
Too many times have we see athletes (of any sport) retire too soon or too late. Fortunately for Werdum, he’s currently not in that boat despite turning 35 next month. Werdum is 7-2 in his last nine fights and does not appear to be slowing down.
Future Opportunities
One major motivating factor that we can see from Werdum’s recent fights is his drive to compete. And not just to compete as a fighter, but compete for the heavyweight title.
Never has Werdum been given a title shot and it’s the one thing every pro athlete wants in their respective sport. Well, it’s easy to look at Werdum now and say he deserves that opportunity. He’s fighting arguably better now than ever before and winning in convincing fashion.
Now look back at the previous sections that mention his recent results and age, and we have to expect Werdum’s title shot to happen sooner than later. And as long as he continues to rock opponents like he did Russow, that title shot feels like a foregone conclusion.
Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva’s rematch at UFC 147 was mildly entertaining, but in the grand scheme of things, it was pointless. The best thing about the UFC is that the titles actually mean something.It’s not like boxing where being the biggest na…
Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva’s rematch at UFC 147 was mildly entertaining, but in the grand scheme of things, it was pointless. The best thing about the UFC is that the titles actually mean something.
It’s not like boxing where being the biggest names is all that matters, and there’s more titles being thrown around than there are punches. That said, each main event of a pay-per-view should have some effect on the title picture.
Win or lose, spectacular or boring, the winner of Franklin-Silva II is not in any title picture. Both of these warriors are past their prime, and they wouldn’t be considered top five fighters in any practical weight class they fought in.
This was a main event that should have been on FX or Fuel TV.
It’s not to put those networks down, but the UFC has routinely had its second-tier, but intriguing bouts on those networks.
In my opinion a pay-per-view main event should land in one of two categories:
It should be for a title, for the right to fight for a title, or at least to gain significant placement in the title picture. When none of those things are in play, and it’s the final bout of the day, I’m left wondering why.
I understand the UFC keeps a steady diet of content flowing to its customers, but I don’t enjoy the one good-one bad pay-per-view schedule.
Most MMA fans are looking forward to UFC 148. It features the rematch of Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, and it’s for Silva’s title. Now that’s a main event, Franklin-Silva II is not, but it follows the predictable pattern.
I wondered what would happen if fans started buying every other event?
It’s certainly a thought.
Perhaps there should be fewer pay-per-views, or at least a significantly decreased amount for obviously inferior cards. The two legends fought their hearts out, but Franklin-Silva II would have been better if I hadn’t paid $45 bucks for it.
Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games
The UFC was in Belo Horizonte for UFC 147, and, as is always the case when the UFC visits Brazil, the support from fans was daunting.This comes as no surprise, however. Many of MMA’s greatest fighters have come from Brazil, and the nation has a rich hi…
The UFC was in Belo Horizonte for UFC 147, and, as is always the case when the UFC visits Brazil, the support from fans was daunting.
This comes as no surprise, however. Many of MMA‘s greatest fighters have come from Brazil, and the nation has a rich history in combat sports.
During the UFC 147 preliminaries, UFC president Dana White posted a video of a line three miles long outside the arena—all fans hoping to get into the event.
This was a staggering sight to see, especially given that UFC 147 was widely regarded as one of the most underwhelming cards in some years.
Not only that, but the fans were incredibly enthusiastic throughout the event, there applause at times deafening.
The highlight of the night might have been the fans chanting, “It’s time!” along with Bruce Buffer before the main event.
UFC 147 served as the finale for the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, which was a big success. The first episode of the season brought in over 12 million viewers—numbers the American version of the show only wishes it could pull.
Indeed, it seems that Brazil can’t get enough of the UFC. When the promotion came to Rio de Janeiro, they opted to play it safe and do the event in an arena, as opposed to a soccer stadium.
This resulted in the show’s selling out in 74 minutes, leaving many fans unable to get tickets. Dana White later admitted that not doing the event in a stadium was a mistake.
Does Brazil have the best MMA fans?
It’s hard to say, but you’d be hard pressed to make an argument for those of any other country.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a stand-up comedian. Check him out on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.
Mike Russow is known as a durable and willful fighter and has a reputation for persevering despite not being the most technically skilled guy around. His iron will allowed him an impressive 4-0 run in the UFC, but that momentum was brought to a screech…
Mike Russow is known as a durable and willful fighter and has a reputation for persevering despite not being the most technically skilled guy around. His iron will allowed him an impressive 4-0 run in the UFC, but that momentum was brought to a screeching halt when he met Fabricio Werdum at UFC 147.
Admittedly, the fight seemed like a bit of a rankings mismatch to begin with. Werdum was considered by many to be a top-five heavyweight and Russow, despite his winning streak, not even in the top 10.
From the moment the fight began, it was apparent that Russow had no business being in the cage with Werdum, who was able to thoroughly dominate the fight standing. Eventually, Russow got tagged with a big punch that put him in trouble and Werdum was able to follow up and finish the fight.
It was a tough loss, but given that it was a fight many believed Russow would lose, it doesn’t do much to damage his reputation. That said, Russow will still need to rebound well in order to ensure that he doesn’t lose all of his momentum.
So what’s next for the Chicago cop turned pro fighter?
Cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 10 Matt Mitrione makes a lot of sense. Mitrione is also one of the more promising prospects in the heavyweight division and is coming off his first UFC loss, a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Cheick Kongo.
Gabriel Gonzaga would be another good fight for Russow. Gonzaga was supposed to fight Roy Nelson at UFC 146, but was forced off the card with an injury and is currently without an opponent. The only issue might be that Gonzaga is coming off a win and the UFC likes to match winners with winners and losers with losers, when possible.
Pat Barry is another possibility. Barry is a popular fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division and has a suspect ground game, which makes him a great opponent for Russow.
Regardless of whom the UFC throws at him, Russow needs to look impressive in his next fight. There are a lot of contenders emerging in the heavyweight division right now and Russow doesn’t want to be left behind.
Father Time is knocking.
