The MMA legend of Steven Seagal continues. It still seems crazy to most fans that a world-class fighter like Anderson Silva would actually keep Seagal around, but the UFC middleweight champion seems content with having the action movie star take partia…
It still seems crazy to most fans that a world-class fighter like Anderson Silva would actually keep Seagal around, but the UFC middleweight champion seems content with having the action movie star take partial credit for all of his victories.
Seagal has made major headlines in the MMA world over the last few years, most notably for saying that he taught both Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida how to use the spectacular front kick to the face that the two Black House teammates used to take out Vitor Belfort and Randy Couture.
Since that time, Seagal has been seen with Silva at nearly every single fight the champion has taken part in, and he is always sure to grab an interview or two before leaving the building after the bout.
Last night after UFC 148, Seagal once again stepped up and offered his thoughts after a Silva fight, and this time he went as far as saying that losing the first round to Chael Sonnen was all a part of “The Spider’s” master plan.
In the video above, Seagal makes it seem that the champion allowed Sonnen to take him down, stating that they knew Sonnen would wear himself down and it would make things easier for Silva in the next round.
Even if this comment came from Silva himself, it would likely be largely debunked by fans, but after hearing all of the ridiculous things Seagal has said over the last few years, this should be taken with a major grain of salt.
So what do we think?
Did Silva actually allow Sonnen to take him down and burn some energy to make it easier on himself later in the fight, or is Seagal just spewing more nonsense?
Tito Ortiz ended a historic UFC career at UFC 148 by losing a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin during the co-main event. Ortiz’s 15-year professional MMA career came to a close with the Huntington Beach Bad Boy losing for the sixth time in s…
Tito Ortiz ended a historic UFC career at UFC 148 by losing a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin during the co-main event.
Ortiz’s 15-year professional MMA career came to a close with the Huntington Beach Bad Boy losing for the sixth time in seven fights—a fact that is overlooked as the UFC Hall of Famer helped develop MMA and build the UFC brand.
Ortiz confirmed during the post-fight UFC 148 press conference that he’s doing, saying the following when asked by a reporter: “I think I did what I wanted to do in the sport. I have no regrets. I’m done” (via MMAJunkie.com).
Now, it’s time to figure out what the 37-year-old will do with his extra free time, as he certainly won’t end up just sitting around in front of the TV all day.
A vacation and time with his family is in the immediate future, but there are numerous options available for the UFC Hall of Famer.
In addition to his Punishment Athletics clothing line and Punishment Nutrition product catalog, the most likely option would be an MMA analyst position on cable TV.
During a press conference prior to UFC 148, Ortiz said he hopes he can find a position within the UFC, but already has an offer on the table from ESPN.
The former light heavyweight champion would serve as a good brand ambassador for the UFC, or serve as an analyst for ESPN or Fox.
If he doesn’t want a cushy office job with the UFC, or needs something besides being an analyst, taking acting classes and heading to Hollywood seems likely. He’s no stranger to the big screen, with appearances in Zombie Strippers!, a CSI: NY episode, Numb3rs episode, Valley of the Wolves: Iraq movie and so on—improving his acting skills and taking on larger acting roles would help him earn a paycheck and seek success.
Oh, and let’s not forget—he could still remain active by helping fighters train for their upcoming MMA camps. I don’t know if he’s going to be motivated to get into the cage and train frequently, but a strong worth ethic and solid coaching skill set could clearly help him generate additional revenue—and keep him busy.
Just because Ortiz won’t step into the cage again as a fighter, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s done with the sport yet.
The smoke has cleared, the feud is over and Anderson Silva has finally put Chael Sonnen in his place.After arguably the biggest event in UFC history, MMA fans all over the world are left with one question.What’s next?Outside of a rematch with Vitor Bel…
The smoke has cleared, the feud is over and Anderson Silva has finally put Chael Sonnen in his place.
After arguably the biggest event in UFC history, MMA fans all over the world are left with one question.
What’s next?
Outside of a rematch with Vitor Belfort, there aren’t any marquee fights left for Silva in the middleweight division and super fights with Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones are highly unlikely at this point.
Seeing the hype surrounding UFC 148, it’s a bit disappointing a third bout won’t be needed. There has never been anything like the Silva-Sonnen rivalry in MMA history and the anticipation surrounding their rematch proved it.
The atmosphere at the weigh-ins alone resembled a pay-per-view event. According to UFC President Dana White (via MMAjunkie.com) at the post-fight press conference, the event drew an attendance of 15,016 and raked in a live gate of $7 million, which is a new UFC record in the United States.
For some, the conclusion of the Silva-Sonnen feud brought about a sigh of relief. It meant the end of Sonnen bashing the UFC champ and the country of Brazil.
Looking at things strictly from a business perspective, Sonnen’s mouth was one of the best things to ever happen to the UFC. There has never been such a vast amount of coverage surrounding one UFC event.
UFC 148 felt like the UFC’s version of WrestleMania. There are plenty of other big fights on the horizon for the UFC, but it could be a long time before fans ever see anything even close to the level of Silva vs. Sonnen.
Until then, fans will always wonder about the trilogy that could’ve been.
Anderson Silva’s time as the UFC’s middleweight king is coming to an end.At first glance, that statement might seem a little odd, especially considering his huge second-round finish of nemesis Chael Sonnen at last night’s UFC 148.But with that momentou…
Anderson Silva’s time as the UFC’s middleweight king is coming to an end.
At first glance, that statement might seem a little odd, especially considering his huge second-round finish of nemesis ChaelSonnen at last night’s UFC 148.
But with that momentous victory, the longest reigning UFC champ has basically cleared out the middleweight division. Silva has dispatched each and every challenger put in his way and will likely retire with the belt still strapped around his waist.
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of worthy 185ers who could contend with the champ. Rising contenders Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman are two young guns who could give Silva trouble.
And let’s not forget the newly signed former Bellator champ Hector Lombard, whose set of skills is an interesting combination that would be an intriguing test for “The Spider.”
But Silva has already shown his continued dominance over the division, so while these middleweights would make for solid opponents, they just don’t add much to the pound-for-pound MMA king’s legacy.
At this stage in his career, Silva should be looking to prove that he is the all-time greatest by defeating other well-established champions.
For years, fans have been calling for a superfight with welterweight king Georges St-Pierre, but at this stage of the game, it just doesn’t make sense any more.
St-Pierre has a ton of challengers left at 170 and has expressed his disinterest in moving up in weight.
That only leaves one other option—light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
Silva has made the move to 205 before, and would finally have an opponent who can match his talent and skills. Jones is basically a win away from clearing out his own division, so this fantasy matchup is more than feasible.
Realistically, however, this fight may happen later rather than sooner—if it happens at all—so “The Spider” may be forced to take on more middleweight challengers.
Regardless of who his next opponent is, Silva has proven that he owns the 185-pound division.
When it comes to discussing who is the best fighter in MMA history up to this point, there are only two fighters who enter into the equation. Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. However, there should not even be that much debate. Between these two fi…
When it comes to discussing who is the best fighter in MMA history up to this point, there are only two fighters who enter into the equation. Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. However, there should not even be that much debate.
Between these two fighters, only one of them consistently fought top competition at the highest levels of the sport their entire career. Only one of them consistently finished others, who people wrongly assumed to stand a chance. Only one of them has left no question about who would have won if they fought X.
Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter in mixed martial arts history so far.
This writer is not a Fedor Emelianenko naysayer. Fedor Emelianenko was the best heavyweight in MMA for a very long time, and there is no getting around that. However, as the linked article points out, mixed martial artists have gotten progressively better over the past 10 years, and continue getting better even now.
The best fighters from today are better than the best fighters from 2002. This is true in any weight class. Hell, it is true of any sport. Again, there is no question about this.
Just think about Tim Sylvia and Ricco Rodriguez compared to Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Fighters simply were not as athletic then as they are today. For a long time, Emelianenko kept squaring off with previous generation fighters like Tim Sylvia and Mark Coleman.
During his heyday, “The Last Emperor” spent far too much time opening cans like Kazuyuki Fujita and Yuji Nagata, and participating in Japanese “circus fights” against the likes of Hong-Man Choi.
When Emelianenko finally did start battling great athletes with great technique—something the heavyweight division lacked for a long while—the results were disastrous for him. He lost to Fabricio Werdum via a first-round triangle choke. While some brushed it off as a fluke, that talk was completely silenced when Emelianenko got bullied by Antonio Silva, who beat him badly enough to have the fight doctor call it off between the second and third rounds.
From there, he went back to his days of fighting light heavyweights who did not want to cut weight anymore. First losing to Dan Henderson, then fighting overseas against former B-list fighters (current D-list) before calling it a career.
All of this came at the expense of Fedor Emelianenko fighting top fighters. That, no matter what anybody claims, was a plain and simple disappointment.
Anderson Silva, meanwhile, has about as many fights as Emelianenko over roughly the same length of time. The difference between the two is that, upon entering the UFC, Silva has fought nothing but the best the promotion had to offer in the middleweight division. He started by beating Chris Leben, who was on a four-fight winning streak at the time. Then he beat Rich Franklin to become champion and, from there, the rest is history.
There is no debate that the vast majority of the best middleweights reside in the UFC. There is also no denying that Silva has beaten each and every top contender that has been thrown at him.
For the last six years, in his division, Anderson Silva has fought nothing but the best. Emelianenko could not have made this claim at any point in his career. Yes, Emelianenko beat many of the best heavyweights from 2003 to 2009. But Anderson Silva has beaten every potentially challenging opponent since he joined the UFC.
Emelianenko never joined the UFC and, therefore, never fought Randy Couture in his prime or pre-accident Frank Mir. Even in Strikeforce, he never fought Alistair Overeem or Josh Barnett, who most assumed to be the best heavyweights in the promotion.
Had he consistently fought top fighters in his division, Emelianenko would get the nod here. But he did not. Because of this, Silva ends up being the only real choice for the greatest mixed martial artist to this point.
The UFC 148 main event of Anderson Silva versus Chael Sonnen was a tale of two rounds.After a dominant first round where Sonnen spent nearly all five minutes atop Silva, “The Spider” came out in round two and put an end once again to Sonnen’s champions…
After a dominant first round where Sonnen spent nearly all five minutes atop Silva, “The Spider” came out in round two and put an end once again to Sonnen’s championship dreams.
For the second time, Sonnen has fallen in a match-up that easily could have been his for the taking.
Rest assured, Sonnen won’t stop until he gets another chance at Anderson Silva in the octagon.
Here’s three reasons why Chael Sonnen will finally hoist Silva’s middleweight belt the next time these two meet.
Tito Ortiz ended a historic UFC career at