Tag: UFC 148

UFC 148: Anderson Silva and "Respect"

Anderson Silva might be a venomous spider after all. The Brazilian weaved his reputation carefully, upholding a placid, Zen-like demeanor throughout his UFC tenure. Chael Sonnen seems to have shattered that façade. Silva couldn’t resist So…

Anderson Silva might be a venomous spider after all.

The Brazilian weaved his reputation carefully, upholding a placid, Zen-like demeanor throughout his UFC tenure. Chael Sonnen seems to have shattered that façade. Silva couldn’t resist Sonnen’s baiting words forever.

The hatred was tangible at Friday’s weigh-in, culminating in a shoulder strike from Silva aimed at Sonnen’s cheeky face.    

What incited Silva’s infantile rage? At the weigh-in, after the altercation, the champ bemoaned Sonnen for failing to uphold “respect”.

For you slowpokes crawling along out there, the weigh-in can be seen here.

Is “respect” really that important to the deified arachnid? It can’t be. 

Sure, Sonnen isn’t an immaculate citizen. If “respect” begets honor, than the Oregonian is a crooked scalawag. But, as much as he spews about “respect”, Anderson isn’t an honorable soldier of Emperor Dana White either.

Silva’s track record doesn’t prove he’s a paragon of righteousness: He made a mockery of his fights with Demian Maia and Thales Leites. He adhered to the excuse that they didn’t deserve to fight him. In doing so, he robbed pay-per-view buyers of two main events.

You can say he doesn’t owe the fans anything, but as buyers of his product, he does owe us his unadulterated effort.

Moreover, he explicitly disrespects his opponents every time he drops his hands, a gambit he pulls often. I’m glad he does clown his slower foes because it’s a stunning spectacle. But to lower his defense against a man who’s been training in combat for years is the pinnacle of disrespect. 

His latest lapse in respect, that aforementioned shoulder strike on Sonnen, may garner a fine and will force fans to view him through a less peaceful scope. 

I’ll be happy if Anderson buries Sonnen on Saturday. But the champ shouldn’t tout the importance of respect, especially when he’s breached his own credo many times. His anger is understandable, but by lashing out, he’s proving to be a hypocrite.

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UFC 148: Why Patrick Cote Will Make a Successful UFC Return Against Cung Le

To say that Patrick Cote’s UFC career has been a roller-coaster ride would be an understatement. Cote started out with the promotion by dropping four straight contests—a streak interrupted by three non-UFC victories.  When Cot…

To say that Patrick Cote’s UFC career has been a roller-coaster ride would be an understatement. 

Cote started out with the promotion by dropping four straight contests—a streak interrupted by three non-UFC victories.  

When Cote finally got his first UFC win, he quickly made a habit of it, scoring three encore victories.

On the strength of that streak, Cote earned a title shot opposite Anderson Silva but lost after suffering a freak knee injury in Round 3 of that contest. The loss was followed by two more and a subsequent release from the promotion.

Since his release Cote has won four straight outside the promotion and has earned an invitation to win his way back onto the roster. But to solidify a stall in the UFC’s middleweight fighter stable, Cote will have to defeat combat legend Cung Le this Saturday at UFC 148.

Le, who debuted in the UFC with a TKO loss to Wanderlei Silva last November, is looking for his first win with the promotion and will gladly indulge Cote in the striking match the Canadian will most assuredly be seeking.

The bout should contain no shortage of fireworks given the penchant each fighter has to strike. But this is a bad matchup for Le—a terrible one in fact.

While his striking may be on par or above Cote’s, Le’s game was exposed by Wanderlei Silva. He failed to handle the pressure the Brazilian brought and ultimately wilted under the strain.

Cote’s attacks are dissimilar to Silva’s, but he is likewise aggressive. He also owns a chin that can withstand 10 times the impact Silva’s can.

Ultimately, Le-Cote may end up looking like Le-Silva, only quicker. Expect Cote to break through Le’s attacks and fire away long enough for a stoppage win.

Cote’s weakness has always been submission defense, but that isn’t something he need be overly concerned with on Saturday night.

The fight will take place on the feet, and Cote will return to the UFC winning and in an impressive fashion.

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Dana White Says Anderson Silva Is Best in the World, and Doesn’t Use TRT

UFC President Dana White went on record to say Anderson Silva doesn’t require the use of TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) to perform at the highest level. He also stated that the middleweight champion was the No. 1 fighter in the world. In …

UFC President Dana White went on record to say Anderson Silva doesn’t require the use of TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy) to perform at the highest level. He also stated that the middleweight champion was the No. 1 fighter in the world.

In addition, White gave a candid evaluation of TRT and its users.

From White, originally reported by ESPN.co.uk:

“The way TRT works is, as you get older, your testosterone level drops. This replaces it. But the problem is you get guys going ‘this much [gestures small amount] is good, so this much [gestures bigger amount] must be great.’

“You will find guys who will cheat even with the stuff that’s legal.

“Anderson Silva, the best in the world, has broken every record in the UFC, he’s 38 years old and he is not doing TRT. He’s 100 per cent [sic] natural and he beats everybody.

“The bottom line is you don’t need that junk. If you don’t use stuff earlier in your career, you don’t end up needing that junk.”

The debate as to whether TRT enhances an athlete’s performance has been raging on for a while now.

However, there are advantages to taking TRT, such as an increase in energy levels, bone density and muscle mass.

Following his title tilt against Silva at UFC 117, it was revealed that Sonnen had elevated levels of T/E (Testosterone/Epitestosterone) in his urine sample, and as a consequence, he was suspended for 12 months (later reduced to six on appeal).

Former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and current UFC resident Alistair Overeem is another fighter whose T/E ratio was way over the allowed ratio of 6:1. For his transgressions, the Nevada State Athletic Commissions revoked his license.

Sonnen is scheduled to lock horns with Silva once again in the main event of UFC 148.

 

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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UFC 148 Interview: Ronda Rousey ‘A Pissed off Anderson Destroys Chael’

Ronda Rousey burst onto the MMA scene as the brash judoka with a propensity for snapping limbs with the most vicious arm bar since Rickson Gracie. Then someone decided to put a microphone in front of her and what happened next could only be called pure…

Ronda Rousey burst onto the MMA scene as the brash judoka with a propensity for snapping limbs with the most vicious arm bar since Rickson Gracie. Then someone decided to put a microphone in front of her and what happened next could only be called pure gold. 

Here was this attractive female who had an ability to not only speak eloquently but also could verbally destroy her opponents. She saw a need in women’s MMA for a female to not approach pre-fight hype with politeness:

“Before I came along it seemed like a Miss America pageant to me. Like ‘oh yes, I want world peace and this girl is very nice and the other day we sat down and brushed each other’s hair. We were going to watch the Fifth Element but Ronda took the DVD so we were forced to watch not a good movie.’ It was just so boring,” Rousey told Bleacher Report today.

Naturally, fans started to draw the comparison to Chael Sonnen, who may be the best promo man in MMA. Both have an innate ability in front of the microphone and media that could make even the best MC jealous:

“So I looked at what all the guys were doing and what was working. Chael’s a good example. The way that he fights is not the most exciting ever so he found a way to supplement that. If I can be an exciting fighter and do all these other things then everything is going to take off. 

“I think it’s a similar idea. Chael has more of this character that’s very opposite from who he is behind the camera. When you have the camera on him and you have the camera off him, it’s very very different,” Rousey said. “If there’s a camera on me or off me, it’s roughly the same just a lot less energy. I think he has an different personality he created for MMA.”

Though there are similarities on the microphone, don’t expect for Ronda to be rooting for Sonnen on Saturday night. As a fan of Anderson Silva, Rousey sees Sonnen’s trash talk as incredibly stupid when trying to get under the “Spider’s” skin. 

“I think that Anderson Silva pissed off and healthy is going to destroy Chael…I think a lot of questions will be answered in this fight. I’m excited and so is everyone else.”

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UFC 148 Fight Card: Why the Smart Money Is on Anderson Silva

At UFC 117, Chael Sonnen put on a spectacular display of ground-and-pound against a fighter who’s widely considered to be the best to ever step foot into a cage.For 23 minutes, champion Anderson Silva was pummeled into a beaten, broken and scarred mess…

At UFC 117, Chael Sonnen put on a spectacular display of ground-and-pound against a fighter who’s widely considered to be the best to ever step foot into a cage.

For 23 minutes, champion Anderson Silva was pummeled into a beaten, broken and scarred mess. And when the two fight again tomorrow night, you should bet against him.

How can we suggest that Anderson Silva is the betting favorite even though he was outstruck 320 to 64 in the first encounter?

Let’s think about the facts.

 

Fact No. 1: Chael Sonnen entered the fight with a T/E ratio nearly three times the allowable limits (and nearly 18 times those of a normal human being).

Fact No. 2: Anderson Silva entered the fight with a rib injury that made utilizing proper footwork painful and stuffing takedowns impossible.

 

Despite these fight-altering issues, Chael Sonnen was unable to come out victorious over a weakened Spider. For roughly 20 minutes of the fight, Sonnen was able to maintain his most dominant position on Silva, yet somehow, was unable to pull off the win.

Now that Sonnen’s levels are being closely monitored and Silva’s injury has healed, why should we expect a Chael-friendly outcome when these advantages are removed?

By no means am I suggesting that Silva is going to remain standing the entire fight. In fact, I expect him to go down a few times throughout the fight if it goes multiple rounds. I am suggesting, however, that Chael Sonnen does not have what it takes to finish Anderson Silva.

Tomorrow night, when the cage door shuts, it will be time to put up or shut up, and unless Sonnen has added some impressive new tricks to his arsenal, Silva has already seen everything that the Oregonian bad boy has to offer. On top of that, he has had two years to think about those mistakes and how he can correct them.

No offense to Chael P. Sonnen, but should we really expect that the greatest fighter in the history of MMA will come in unprepared?

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UFC 148 Results: Live Reaction for Every Fight

The most anticipated rematch in recent memory will finally happen on July 7 as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will again put his belt on the line against his toughest foe to date, Chael Sonnen.The pair headline the promotion’s annual Fourth o…

The most anticipated rematch in recent memory will finally happen on July 7 as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will again put his belt on the line against his toughest foe to date, Chael Sonnen.

The pair headline the promotion’s annual Fourth of July weekend event, UFC 148, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In the night’s co-main event, former light heavyweight champions Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz will settle their trilogy in what will be Ortiz’s final Octagon appearance.

UFC 148 will air live on pay-per-view starting at 8 p.m. ET. A two-hour preliminary card special airs on FX at 6 p.m. ET, while a single bout streams live on Facebook at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Check back for full results and reaction to each of the 11 bouts on the card.

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz

Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote

Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton

Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes

Gleison Tibau vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Constantinos Philippou vs. Riki Fukuda

John Alessio vs. Shane Roller

Rafaello Oliveira vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo

Photo: Anderson Silva (L) faces off with Chael Sonnen (Josh Hedges/Zuffa, LLC)

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