Tag: UFC 148

UFC 148: Why the Rematch Won’t Be as Good as the First Meeting

UFC 148 is right around the corner, which means the long-awaited rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is in clear sight. This much-anticipated bout is one of the biggest rematches in UFC history, if not the biggest.The fight has much trash t…

UFC 148 is right around the corner, which means the long-awaited rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is in clear sight. This much-anticipated bout is one of the biggest rematches in UFC history, if not the biggest.

The fight has much trash talk and plenty of fighting words to go around, which is greatly pumping this match up for fans. You know this fight is personal when Silva has snapped on conference calls, saying he is going to cause serious injury to Sonnen.

Although the rematch promises to be a great fight, I feel there is no way it can be as good as the original. 

Don’t get me wrong, the fight is going to have excitement and breathtaking moments, but it cannot beat the original for several reasons. 

The first reason is that the surprise factor of Sonnen will be gone. If he does in fact dominate the match with his takedowns and aggressive wrestling attack, we will not have the surprise we had at UFC 117. Not many gave Sonnen a chance at UFC 117, making the match crazier, as the brash American dominated for 20-plus minutes.

Now, people may say that if Silva finishes Sonnen early and dominates, that would be a surprise. On the contrary, in my view, as Silva has dominated everybody put in front of him. If he manhandled Sonnen, it wouldn’t be a shocker, thus again taking away from the surprise factor.

Also, the ending of the fight in the first meeting was a Hail Mary that shocked the world. The triangle choke-armbar combo that put Sonnen away came with Silva’s title retention dwindling away and was one of the craziest ways to end one of the craziest matches in UFC history.

No matter how the rematch ends, unless Sonnen brutally knocks out or submits Silva, the finish cannot match the first fight’s finish. 

Now, I’m not trying to sound like a pessimist. I am absolutely pumped for this fight and will enjoy it however it goes (unless it turns into a Clay Guida versus Gray Maynard main event). This is just some food for thought and an observation.

I really hope the fight proves me wrong in turns into an all-time classic. Nevertheless, the electricity will be in the air come fight night, emotions will be running high and millions of MMA and non-MMA fans will watch in awe as two warriors of the Octagon will put their bodies on the line for our entertainment.

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UFC 148: Will Anderson "The Spider" Silva Beat Chael Sonnen by KO or Submission?

Anderson Silva heads into the main event of UFC 148 with the baddest of intentions, and that doesn’t bode well for his nemesis, the garrulous Chael Sonnen. So with that in mind, a victory via submission is out of the question as only a brutal KO …

Anderson Silva heads into the main event of UFC 148 with the baddest of intentions, and that doesn’t bode well for his nemesis, the garrulous Chael Sonnen. So with that in mind, a victory via submission is out of the question as only a brutal KO will suffice for “The Spider” thus bringing a halt to the night’s proceedings and the “Uncle Chael” hype train.

Back at UFC 117, the reigning 185-pound titlist’s main and sole objective was to submit Sonnen by any means necessary (KOs not allowed), something which he successfully accomplished by way of triangle armbar in the dying minutes of the final frame.

Sonnen’s incessant verbal attacks on the Brazilian have been well-documented.

However, the self-proclaimed “American Gangster” upped the ante a notch and then some when he took a potshot a Dayane, Silva’s wife and mother of his progeny, as Silva alluded to in a recent UFC 148 media conference call, via Brian Oswald of Bleacher Report.

For the family insults especially, but also for his other transgressions, Sonnen, the Oregon native is in for the rudest of awakenings.  

In that conference call, Silva put the MMA world on high alert when he outlined his plans for Sonnen’s decimation.

Albeit not privy to what the No. 1 pound-for-pound king actually has in store for his arch rival, expect one of two stratagems: He systematically breaks him down bit by bit and then executes the perfect coup de grâce; or he goes all out and wrecks shop from the outset.

That being said, a Chris Leben, Rich Franklin and Forrest Griffin-type stoppage comes to mind. Or better yet, one for the highlight reel—Vitor Belfort and/or Tony Fryklund-esque knockout.

Still, whichever KO route Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) elects to take, you can rest assured it’ll be poetry in motion.

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

 

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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Chael Sonnen Responds to the ‘Real’ Anderson Silva: ‘The Guy Is a Dirtbag’

The rivalry between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen continues to grow heading into the UFC 148 main event which will feature the two 185-pounders competing for the UFC middleweight championship. Silva made waves earlier this week when he finally respo…

The rivalry between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen continues to grow heading into the UFC 148 main event which will feature the two 185-pounders competing for the UFC middleweight championship.

Silva made waves earlier this week when he finally responded to the seemingly endless trash talk from the man who came closest to beating him in the UFC.

“I’m going to make sure that every one of his teeth are broken, his arms are broken, his legs are broken,” Silva told reporters on the UFC 148 conference call. “He’s not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself.”

Never short on words, we knew it wouldn’t take Sonnen long to respond. The No. 1 contender joined the UFC Tonight broadcast on FUEL TV via phone and let the world know that this is the Anderson Silva he has always seen.

“It was nice to see the real Anderson come through. The guy is a dirtbag, as I’ve told you for years,” Sonnen said. “I’ve fought forty-nine men before, it’s not as though I’ve never been to the orthodontist before. It’s not like I’ve never had my jaw reset. It’s not like I haven’t had to have my scalp stapled shut in the E.R.”

Sonnen added that he expects Silva to say that he’s going to beat him. But Sonnen also noted some things that were missing in the champion’s speech.

“A couple things he didn’t say he was gonna do, starting with beating me, starting with breaking my spirit and leaving with a victory, because he’s not,” Sonnen said. “I think he was one-off from saying like, ‘I’m gonna’ give you a knuckle sandwich’ and I’m kind of sitting there going, ‘Well, duh, we’re in the middle of a cage fight, dummy.’ “

The confident challenger will get a chance to make his case on July 7th.

“There’s a venue where we can figure this out,” Sonnen continued. “And on 7/7 at 7pm and 10pm in the East and only on pay-per-view, I will be in that Octagon. If he wants to meet my demands, fine, but if he doesn’t, I’m going to spear double and run him into that cage, put him on his priss little ass and run my fists into his head for 25 minutes or until he gives up.”

With only a few days remaining before the fight itself, most fighters would be stopping the trash talk and preparing for the fight itself. If anything, they’d be hyping their opponent up to make themselves look better—win, lose or draw. Sonnen just doesn’t see that as an option for him in this fight.

“The last thing you want to do is insult a guy you’re about to fight. You really want to build him up,” he said. “It’s just very hard to hide the fact that he sucks.”

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Silva vs Sonnen: Watch the Full UFC 117 Fight Video

I would not be surprised if there were MMA fans out there that the first thing they did every morning upon waking was reach onto their nightstand, grab a marker and cross another day off a calendar that has July 7 circled in bright red ink. For on…

I would not be surprised if there were MMA fans out there that the first thing they did every morning upon waking was reach onto their nightstand, grab a marker and cross another day off a calendar that has July 7 circled in bright red ink. 

For on that day, July 7, the most anticipated fight of 2012 will take place, the rematch between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and the man that has come the closest to defeating him in the UFC, Chael Sonnen.

That’s right, to borrow from Sonnen, on 7/7 at 7:00 p.m. in the west, 10:00 p.m. in the east, the UFC 148 pay-per-view card will begin and in the final fight of that card two men with an extreme dislike for each other will settle their differences in the Octagon. At stake will be the UFC middleweight crown.

The build up to the bout has been intense, we all know that Sonnen can throw down trash talk with the best of them, but when Silva unleashed a torrent of vitriol during the recent UFC 148 media call, things got even more interesting.

No one had ever heard such bile spewed from the mouth of the champ before and the words thrown around let it be known that, at least for him, the fight on July 7 was going to be very personal.

If the non-stop trash talk from Sonnen and the recent return volley from Silva was not enough to get you psyched for a rematch, perhaps the full video from when the two met at UFC 117 will whet your whistle, and if after watching the initial meeting of these two and listening to the UFC 148 media call doesn’t get you ready for this fight, you may need to rethink what it means to be a fan of mixed martial arts.

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UFC 148 Primetime: Silva vs. Sonnen Debuts Saturday Night on FUEL TV and UFC.com

If you’re an MMA fan, you’re probably sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation of the UFC 148 main event between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. If not quite there yet, prepare to change your tune.“UFC 148 Primetime&rdqu…

If you’re an MMA fan, you’re probably sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation of the UFC 148 main event between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. 

If not quite there yet, prepare to change your tune.

“UFC 148 Primetime” debuts on Saturday night on FUEL TV and will feature never-before-seen footage from both Silva and Sonnen in preparation for the middleweight title fight.

The half-hour special will begin at 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT. It will then be available to be streamed from UFC.com immediately thereafter for those whose television providers do not carry FUEL TV.

Replays of the episode will air on FX, FUEL TV, selected regional channels of FOX Sports Network and on-demand through Blockbuster Studio and DISH Network.

Silva and Sonnen are the focus of the episode and their heated rivalry will only get more intense following the Primetime episode. 

UFC 148 will take place July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The main card will air on pay-per-view with preliminary bouts on Facebook and FX. The main card is subject to change but currently features the following matchups:

UFC Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva (c) vs. Chael Sonnen

Light Heavyweight bout: Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin

Middleweight bout: Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote 

Welterweight bout: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia

Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie

Bantamweight bout: Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton

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Tito Ortiz: Maybe It’s Time for Forrest to Retire as Well

Tito Ortiz doesn’t believe he’s the only fighter who should be considering retirement.At UFC 148, the former light heavyweight champion has made it clear that it will be the final time he steps foot to compete inside the Octagon.He’ll be looking to end…

Tito Ortiz doesn’t believe he’s the only fighter who should be considering retirement.

At UFC 148, the former light heavyweight champion has made it clear that it will be the final time he steps foot to compete inside the Octagon.

He’ll be looking to end his legendary career on a high note as he takes on Forrest Griffin in an anticipated rubber match.

“I’m excited for the fight. Forrest is a tough guy and I know he’s training really hard,” Ortiz told MMAWeekly Radio. “I just heard a little thing saying that if he loses to me he’s going to retire. Well, it looks like he better put on his retirement shoes cause it’s going to be an exciting fight and I plan on having my hand raised.”

Ortiz and Griffin have a win a piece over one another in a pair of bouts that both ended in split decision.

Griffin is coming off a first round knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but his recent hiccups pale in comparison to Ortiz, who is 1-6-1 in his last eight bouts.

In an interview with UFC.com, Griffin admitted that Ortiz was still a tough opponent, but he isn’t the fighter he used to be.

If he loses at UFC 148, Griffin says he won’t only retire from the sport, but he’ll “retire from life.”

Ortiz weighs in on those comments:

“Maybe it’s time for Forrest to retire; maybe he wants to retire. Maybe he’s just letting everybody know that he’s going to retire. For me, I know I’m retiring, but it’s an idea. I’m going out, and I’m winning the fight.”

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