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UFC 148: Chael Sonnen Says No Touching of Gloves with Anderson Silva

Chael Sonnen says the customary touching of gloves will not take place when he challenges Anderson Silva for his 185-pound crown at UFC 148. Matt Erickson of MMAjunkie.com first reported the story. However, Sonnen was quick to point out that once…

Chael Sonnen says the customary touching of gloves will not take place when he challenges Anderson Silva for his 185-pound crown at UFC 148.

Matt Erickson of MMAjunkie.com first reported the story.

However, Sonnen was quick to point out that once the fight was over, he’d be willing to shake hands with Silva. Furthermore, he intimated that he harbored no ill will towards his Brazilian counterpart.

“I will always shake hands, win or lose, after a competition,” Sonnen said. “Since I was 9 years old, that’s always been the rule. A lot of guys’ fathers told them, ‘You wait till he throws the first punch.’ What my dad taught me was as soon as he squares up, it’s starting. This guy has squared up.”

“Hate’s too strong of a word,” Sonnen said. “I want to beat Anderson up. I’m going to beat Anderson up. He’s a phony, he’s a fraud and he’s got what I want. But I don’t wish him a bad life. We’ll take care of business in the octagon, we’ll shake hands either way, we’ll walk out and that will be the end of it.”

Sonnen and Silva’s feud has been going on for a while now, with the Oregon native assuming the role of the consummate anti-hero.

In contrast, Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) has more or less been the perfect gentleman and model professional, that is until he threatened Sonnen with grievous bodily harm in a recent 148 conference media call.

The last time these two met was back at UFC 117 when Sonnen was minutes away from toppling Silva from his lofty perch. However, within a twinkle of an eye, “The Spider” locked Sonnen in a triangle-armbar to secure the victory and his seventh successful defense of his title.

After nearly two years of intense animosity, the most eagerly awaited clash in the history of the Zuffa-based promotion is about to come to a shuddering crescendo—scores will be settled once and for all.

That said, depending on the outcome, a third encounter could be in the offing.

However, Sonnen made it clear that that would never happen. He believes he was the victor in their last outing and is convinced that Silva wouldn’t oblige him due to what transpired back then.

“I will gladly fight him. But under what illusions are we that he would ever ask for a third match? He got destroyed the first time, did everything he could to get out of this fight (and) he’s going to get destroyed again. This isn’t going to be close. I already know how this is going to go: He gets stomped, and then, ‘He wasn’t ready’ and ‘My rib’ – I already know how it goes. … This will not be a competitive fight. I have no equal in this division. I have no equal in this sport. I’m the greatest fighter of all time, and I will walk through this guy like I have walked through everybody else.”

Moreover, Sonnen (27-11 MMA, 6-4 UFC) is of the mindset that their rematch is his for the taking.

“I would fight that guy every day,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “I love easy fights. I’ve had the hard fights. I had to fight Stann. I had to fight Bisping. I had to fight (Yushin) Okami. I had to fight (Nate) Marquardt. I had the hard fights. I want some easy fights now.”

Of the aforementioned quartet, the latter two suffered knockout losses to Silva, whilst Sonnen’s victories all came by way of decision.

UFC 148 is scheduled for July 7, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

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UFC 148 MMAFix Staff Picks: Part I

Anderson Silva (-280) vs. Chael Sonnen (+240) Ryan Poli: I have to go with Silva on this one. He has the striking and jiu-jitsu advantage, plus plenty of time to work on his takedown defense..

Anderson Silva (-280) vs. Chael Sonnen (+240)
Ryan Poli: I have to go with Silva on this one. He has the striking and jiu-jitsu advantage, plus plenty of time to work on his takedown defense. I don’t see Sonnen being able to change his strategy and that will be his downfall. Although the odds were much less generous for all of Silva’s other opponents, I am somewhat surprised that the odds are as high as they are in Silva’s favor just based on the how their first fight played out. Winner: Silva

John Rivera: Anderson Silva wins by KO/TKO in the 2nd Round. “The Spider” will publicly execute Chael Sonnen….we know this because he is the greatest fighter in the history of the sport. Winner: Silva

Emily Kapala: I personally think that Chael Sonnen is being undervalued in the eyes of the oddsmakers. Not only would I pick Sonnen as the winner, but I think he is the highest value bet. While the odds are against him, I think he will be able to pull through with the victory this time around when he faces Silva in the octagon. Winner: Sonnen

Elise Kapala: In almost every fight with Silva, the opposing fighter is the underdog. However, the last matchup with Sonnen and Silva was so intense and draining on Silva, there truly is no underdog here. If I had to choose a winner, I would say Sonnen via knockout in the 3rd or 4th round. Winner: Sonnen

Alan Wells: If I’m picking a winner, I’m going with Silva but if I’m betting the money line, I’m going with Sonnen. I’m not interested in -280 odds and after Sonnen’s performance in the first fight, I’m willing to take a flyer on him. I’m not expecting to win but if I need action on this fight, I’m going with Sonnen. Winner: Silva

MMAFix Staff Pick: Silva (3-2)

Tito Ortiz (+255) vs. Forrest Griffin (-310)
Ryan Poli: I’m going with the favorite to win. Although I wasn’t impressed by either of them in their last fight, Shogun is a more dangerous opponent than Lil’ Nog. Plus I would say with the exception of wrestling, Forrest has every advantage (age, cardio, reach, striking, jiu- jitsu). Winner: Griffin

John Rivera: I think Forrest takes a unanimous decision this time around. As much as I love Tito, I think as a fighter, his best days are behind him. Rashad ravaged him, and Lil’ Nog took the rest…. Winner: Griffin

Alan Wells: I hate this line. I don’t understand why Griffin is such a significant favorite. I like him to win but -310 makes him a waste of money. Once again, if I feel the need to wet my beak for this fight, I’m going with the underdog but I don’t feel great about my chances of getting that money back. Winner: Griffin

MMAFix Staff Pick: Griffin (3-0)

Cung Le (+180) vs. Patrick Cote (-220)
Ryan Poli: Cung Le all the way. His striking is more diverse and Cote has been fighting against much lower level competition for quite some time. He just isn’t at Cung Le’s level. Winner: Le

John Rivera: The headline will read: ‘Cote KO’s ex Strikeforce Champ, Cung Le in the 2nd round due to the former’s punching power and the latter’s lack of cardio.’ Winner: Cote

Alan Wells: I think the oddsmakers are just screwing with me at this point. If MMA was a more popular sport, this line would be a lot closer because the public would be moving it toward Le. But the betting pool for MMA isn’t nearly as big as other sports so the line is right where it should be. I like Cote to win and that’s where my money is going if I have to bet. The odds aren’t great but at least they’re better than the two headliners. Winner: Cote

MMAFix Staff Pick: Cote (2-1)

UFC 148 MMAFix Staff Picks: Part II

Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135) Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I.

Dong Hyun Kim (-155) vs. Demien Maia (+135)
Ryan Poli: Despite a poor performance in his last fight, I’m picking Demian Maia to win. Stun Gun is at his best on the ground, which I feel plays right in to Maia’s hand. Plus as long as Maia can showcase his improved stand up (like he did against Mark Munoz), he will also have the advantage on the feet. I disagree with the odds. It may be because of his last fight, but I still disagree. Winner: Maia

John Rivera: This fight can go one of two ways: Kim, uses a moderate kickboxing advantage and solid judo skills to keep the fight upright for a unanimous decision victory…. OR…Demian Maia submits the motherf*cker with his insane jiu-jitsu skills inside of round one. Even though I want the badass Brazilian to win via flying omaplata to reverse spinning heel hook, I got Kim with the decision this time. Winner: Kim

Alan Wells: I expect DHK to take a decision victory here. This will probably be another mediocre striking match right in line with Maia’s recent fights and Kim has the slight advantage in the striking. At -155, this is the first fight that feels worth a bet. Winner: Kim

MMAFix Staff Pick: Kim (2-1)

Chad Mendes (-640) vs. Cody McKenzie (+470)
Ryan Poli: Chad Mendes is too strong and too skilled for McKenzie. His only chance to win is with his signature guillotine choke which Mendes can easily avoid. Winner: Mendes

John Rivera: I got Chad Mendes via boring decision victory. Mendes is a good enough wrestler to keep McKenzie on his back for most of the fight but the latter is good enough on the ground to avoid any submissions from the Team Alpha Male product. As sick as he is with the guillotine (Dude has 12 submission victories all by guillotine) I don’t see McKenzie tapping out the NCAA All-American Wrestler. Winner: Mendes

Alan Wells: This fight is a joke. The only reason to bet here is to either take a flyer on McKenzie because of the ridiculous odds or to use Mendes as a parlay to get better odds on either Silva or Griffin. Parlaying is normally a sucker bet but I really can’t imagine Mendes losing this fight. Winner: Mendes

MMAFix Staff Pick: Mendes (3-0)

Ivan Menjivar (+105) vs. Mike Easton (-125)
Ryan Poli: I think Menjivar is overrated. He is extremely talented, but his last few fights have been against lower ranked competition that gave him a great deal of trouble and put him in some bad positions where I feel if Mike Easton had the same position, he would be able to put Menjivar away. Mike Easton brings it every fight and will get the TKO over Menjivar. Winner: Easton

John Rivera: We are in for a treat. First of all Menjivar fought GSP when he debuted at 170lbs—the guy is a monster, especially when you consider this fight is at bantamweight. Second, Mike Easton is a Lloyd Irvin black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who PREFERS to fight standing up. I have no idea what is going to happen. Mike Easton is on a tear, killing guys left and right with very dangerous muay thai, but this is definitely a step up in competition. The UFC is testing Easton with this matchup. They want to see if he can make the leap from rising prospect to legitimate contender. A fourth victory against a high profile fighter such as Menjivar could sign Easton’s ticket to the title show. I think he will rise to the occasion for a very close split decision victory. Winner: Easton

Alan Wells: This is the closest fight of the night. It started as a pick ‘em but the line has now moved slightly in favor of Easton. I consider this a stay away for betting purposes because it’s too close. But if I have to pick a winner, I’m going with Easton. I’d love to pick Menjivar because I’ve been a fan of his game for a long time but I think Easton will be a bit too strong for him. Winner: Easton

MMAFix Staff Pick: Easton (3-0)

Why is Chris Weidman the Favorite?

Although rapidly approaching , UFC on Fuel TV 4 hasn’t gotten much attention from the media due to the highly anticipated UFC 148. However, just four days after Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen square off for the second time, two other top middleweights will face off in an attempt to continue their run at the middleweight title.

Top contenders, Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman, will be headlining UFC on Fuel TV 4, which will take place July 11th. The betting odds for the main event have come out, and surprisingly, it is Weidman who is the favorite over Munoz. Now while casual MMA fans may not question this, it does raise a few eyebrows from the more enthusiastic fans. Both fighters have demonstrated their skills over talented opponents, which places both fighters among the top of the division, arguably in the top ten. However, nobody can argue with the repertoire of Munoz being more impressive.

Mark Munoz has won seven of his last eight fights, losing only a split decision to Yushin Okami, who at the time, was ranked in the top five. He has since beaten four high-level opponents, with only two of those fights seeing judges score cards. Chris Weidman hasn’t faced the number of high-level opponents that Munoz has. Although Weidman was able to finish UFC veteran, Tom Lawlor, with a guillotine choke in just over two minutes, it was his decision win over jiu-jitsu specialist, Demian Maia, that labeled him as a top middleweight contender. Coincidently, Munoz and Weidman share Demian Maia as a common opponent, and it’s the comparison of their bouts with Maia that reveal just how baffling these betting odds truly are.

Mark Munoz fought a confident, energetic Demian Maia, who came out aggressive, throwing a plethora of solid, accurate strikes. It was the first time Maia demonstrated his newly achieved striking skills and completely caught Munoz off guard with them. However, Munoz was able to come back in the last two rounds, using powerful strikes and elite wrestling to stifle the jiu-jitsu attempts of Maia, and win a unanimous decision. In Chris Weidman’s bout with Maia, eight months later, Maia’s performance was sluggish and mundane. His strikes were hesitant and predictable, while his take down attempts were feeble. Even commentators, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg, made the comment that the performance of Maia and Weidman wasn’t installing any fear to the rest of the division, and that they both looked physically exhausted. While this was understandable for Weidman, seeing he agreed to the fight with Maia on only eleven days notice, there was no explanation for Maia’s poor performance. Bottom line, Mark Munoz defeated an elite contender at the top of his game, and Chris Weidman didn’t.

By no means should anyone count Chris Weidman out of this fight. He may very well remain undefeated when it’s all over. However, there is a reason that every MMA website has Munoz ranked above Weidman. When looking at the skills, past performances, and overall resumes that both of these fighters poses, Mark Munoz has simply accomplished more. Clearly somebody was misinformed when making these betting odds, and if not, then favoring Weidman is just plain ignorant and bias.

By: Ryan “Fight Freek” Poli

UFC 148: Chael Sonnen Puts out His Funniest Video to Date

Chael Sonnen is everywhere—seriously!If there is a microphone he can speak into, regardless of the situation, he will grab it. That’s pretty much guaranteed.Some of that is because he craves attention. For the most part, though, it’s because he g…

Chael Sonnen is everywhere—seriously!

If there is a microphone he can speak into, regardless of the situation, he will grab it. That’s pretty much guaranteed.

Some of that is because he craves attention. For the most part, though, it’s because he gives such a fun interview.

Sonnen often references the “mean streets” of his hometown of West Linn, Oregon.

The thing is, West Linn is one of the most stereotypical suburban-type cities in the nation.

Apparently, it wasn’t all picket fences and pet beagles for “The American Gangsta,” though. Watch the video above and listen to Chael recount the horrors that surrounded him growing up.

It’s always good to hear that people can make it big after such a harsh childhood…

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UFC 148 Fight Card: Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen Drinking Game

Tomorrow’s long-awaited clash between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva at UFC 148 in Las Vegas promises to be one of the biggest events in UFC history. If Dana White is to be believed, it’s one of the biggest sporting events in this Olympic …

It all goes down at the MGM Grand at 10 p.m. ET, live on pay-per-view.

Hopefully, by the time the Silva-Sonnen main event goes down, you’ll already be pretty drunk. So to finish you off, whether you’re enjoying the proceedings over pizza at Larry’s house or your favourite downtown sports bar, here’s a drinking game that’s fun for all the family!

NB: Before we start, you will need ready access to a bottle of cachaca (or any other Brazilian rum, such as Sagatiba—you can substitute with normal rum if you have to) and a bottle of whiskey, preferably American bourbon (we’re running a Brazil vs. U.S. theme).

Rule 1

MMA is replete with personal rivalries and deep-seated animosity between combatants. But the truly personal, venomous nature of the Silva-Sonnen rivalry sets it apart from anything we’ve seen before in the Octagon.

It’s almost unthinkable that the fighters will touch gloves before the match starts.

If they do, chug your beer and follow it up with a shot of cachaca and a shot of whiskey. If Silva bows as he backs up to his corner, take another shot of cachaca.

Rule 2

All bets are that Sonnen will stick to the game plan that almost landed him the belt in their first encounter. So expect plenty of takedowns or at least takedown attempts.

For every Sonnen takedown attempt, whether it’s a shot or from the clinch, chug your beer.

Rule 3

Following on from the second rule, every time Sonnen lands a takedown, finish chugging your beer, and down a shot of whiskey.

Rule 4

Silva fans are hoping the Brazilian will be better prepared against Sonnen this time and that he won’t be rag-dolled like he was in the first encounter. They also hope for a fully functioning rib that will help in stuffing any one of Sonnen’s takedowns.

Every time Silva stuffs a takedown, finish chugging your beer as per rule 2, and take a shot of cachaca.

Rule 5

Sonnen is one of the rare wrestlers to have had success against Silva because he’s not afraid to fight in the pocket. Expect a flurry of power shots from both fighters landing on target.

Every time that happens and either Joe Rogan or Mike Goldberg shout, “He looks rocked!” or “That rocked him!”—or when they declare either fighter to be “rocked”—take a shot of cachaca if Silva lands the strike or whiskey if it’s Sonnen.

Rule 6

And following on from the fifth rule, it’s highly likely that one or both fighters will score a “knockdown” at some point in the match from a strike. This requires either fighter hitting the canvas on his ass at any point of the match.

So whether it’s a “knockdown” or a “knockout,” take two shots of cachaca for a Silva knockdown, or two shots of whiskey for a Sonnen knockdown.

Rule 7

The last fight ended with Silva’s planting a triangle arm bar on Sonnen and forcing him to tap. There’s a high chance that if the fight goes to the ground, Silva will bring out his jiu-jitsu and end Sonnen’s night exactly the same way.

But wait, Sonnen’s BJJ coach Vinny Magalhaes has said that Sonnen has all the skills to submit Silva.

So if the Brazilian gets the submission, take two shots of cachaca—or two shots of whiskey, if it’s Sonnen.

Rule 8

Their first encounter was minutes away from a decision, which would have likely gone Sonnen’s way. There’s every chance that this will happen again.

The eighth rule is that if the decision is unanimous in favour of Silva, down two shots of cachaca. If Sonnen gets the unanimous decision, take two shots of whiskey.

If it’s a split decision in Silva’s favour, that’s just one shot of the Brazilian rum. If Sonnen gets the split decision victory, down a shot of whiskey.

And that’s it, eight simple rules by which to get drunk on Saturday night.

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