Going into today’s UFC 148 conference call, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Anderson Silva. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I should expect Silva to participate in the call at all.I heard a rumor over the weekend that Silva would not be doing any more publ…
Going into today’s UFC 148 conference call, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Anderson Silva. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I should expect Silva to participate in the call at all.
I heard a rumor over the weekend that Silva would not be doing any more public relations work for this fight and, as such, would not be involved in the call today at all.
Instead, what we got was a fired-up Anderson Silva unlike any we’ve ever seen before.
A few choice quotes from Silva’s conference call:
I’m going to break every bone in his face and all of the teeth in his mouth.
He’s a criminal that doesn’t even deserve to be in the UFC. I am going to beat his ass out of the UFC. He will never want to fight again once I’m done with him.
What I’m going to do to Chael will change the image of the sport. I’m going to break his arms, his legs and every one of his teeth.
I’m going to beat him the way his parents should have beaten him.
As you can see, Silva wasn’t mincing words. Sonnen, the wordsmith who has done so much to hype this fight (largely on his own, while Silva remained a passive bystander) was overshadowed completely on the call.
And you know what? I suspect Sonnen is incredibly happy about that right now. He finally has a dance partner on the promotional side.
But from the tone of Silva’s voice, he’s not promoting a fight—he’s pissed off, and he finally decided to lay it on the line and say exactly how he feels. He’s out for blood, bones and humiliation.
UFC 148 will be one of the biggest events of the year. The show will play host to one of the most anticipated rematches in MMA history when Anderson Silva defends his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen. Also on the card is Tito Ortiz’s last outing…
UFC 148 will be one of the biggest events of the year. The show will play host to one of the most anticipated rematches in MMA history when Anderson Silva defends his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen. Also on the card is Tito Ortiz’s last outing in the UFC as he prepares for retirement with a third fight against Forrest Griffin.
To prepare for the fights, the UFC has scheduled a conference call for the media to speak with the four headlining fighters. As an added bonus, UFC President Dana White will also be on the call to answer questions.
Bleacher Report will be on that call and for the first time ever, will be live blogging the experience. The call kicks off at 2:00 p.m. ET.
UFC 148 will see Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen lock horns in the most anticipated fight since the Zuffa-based promotion opened its doors—a pay-per-view must-see at all costs—but when all is said and done, which of these two enigmas is the…
UFC 148 will see Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen lock horns in the most anticipated fight since the Zuffa-based promotion opened its doors—a pay-per-view must-see at all costs—but when all is said and done, which of these two enigmas is the bigger draw?
That encomium falls solely on the shoulders of one self-proclaimed “American Gangster”—the inimitable character that is “Uncle Chael.”
Anderson Silva
“The Spider” has held sway over the 185-pound assemblage for six years.
In addition, the 37-year-old São Paulo native is the longest reigning champion in the promotions history. He also holds the distinction of most consecutive wins (14) and has amassed a record nine successful title defenses.
Furthermore, he is widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the MMA stratosphere, and has been heralded by the UFC as the greatest of all time.
To some, the resident Black House-trained fighter comes across as the model professional. To others, he’s arrogant and doesn’t do enough to endear himself to the American fanzine.
Rightly or wrongly, and regardless of all his accomplishments, Silva hasn’t fared so well when it comes to drawing in the big crowds and the pay-per-view buys.
Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) currently resides at No. 5 in the top 10 PPV draws (UFC 33-146), behind the likes of Quinton Jackson at No. 4 and Rashad Evans at No. 2.
Chael Sonnen
Sonnen doesn’t make the cut in the PPV stakes, but his celebrity has gradually been gathering pace ever since he almost usurped Silva’s coveted crown at UFC 117.
Most MMA purists know that Sonnen (27-11- MMA, 6-4 UFC) was a mixed martial arts nonentity prior to the aforementioned event.
Apropos skill set, he ain’t got nothing on The Spider. Moreover, what has the Oregon native accomplished? Nada, and yet he’s the most talked-about fighter on the MMA circuit.
However, what he lacks in overall fighting ability, he more than makes up for with his proficiency in the vocal department—eloquent, rhetoric, vociferous and abrasive are just a few of the phrases synonymous with MMA’s own king of smack talk.
Talented or talentless, loathed or loved, the former NCAA Division-l standout is everything that Silva is not. But of more importance is his gift of the gab—that bit of ingenuity is and has been the ace up his sleeve and the catalyst in enthralling both the fans and media in equal measure.
Sonnen is and will be the bigger draw at UFC 148 for several reasons:
Firstly, some sections of the fans believe he can or will re-enact the same one-sided beatdown he meted out to Silva the first time around, only this time he’ll leave the Octagon as the new champ.
Secondly, they want to witness Silva’s demise.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, his penchant for overt oratory emissions—entertainment personified.
The bottom line is this: Chael. P Sonnen is all about the hard sell—UFC/MMA promoter extraordinaire—and does it with such adroitness.
Something to whet the appetite of the Sonnen faithful:
Does anyone here know there is a fistfight going on in the United Center on Saturday night, at 8 p.m. in the East and 5 in the West, and yours truly will be headlining it? Is anybody here aware of that? Do you know that Chael Sonnen Promotions, in conjunction with Zuffa, is putting on UFC on Fox 2 this Saturday? Have we talked about that yet?Does anybody know that yet?
We only had one and that was Chandella [Powell]. The other was the IQ card girl. Arianny [Celeste] kind of walks around and holds up her latest test score. One time when there was a title fight, she got all the way up to five and we were very proud of her.
UFC 148 is scheduled for July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Chael Sonnen is a name that seems to be on the tip of every MMA fans’ tongues these days. Whether you’re online or watching UFC televised programming, Sonnen’s name and face are everywhere. It’s a result of creating an alter ego, “Chael P. Sonnen”. Cha…
Chael Sonnen is a name that seems to be on the tip of every MMA fans’ tongues these days. Whether you’re online or watching UFC televised programming, Sonnen’s name and face are everywhere. It’s a result of creating an alter ego, “Chael P. Sonnen”.
Chael P. Sonnen has listed off so many quotes that they could literally fill a dictionary-sized book from beginning to end. One man has become the sole obsession of Sonnen: UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The two men first met back in Aug. of 2010 where Sonnen dominated the champion until being tapped out by a triangle choke. It has become the defining moment of Sonnen’s career thus far, but it isn’t the only moment that’s defined Sonnen’s career.
He’s had a lot of moments, both with his actions and words, that have helped establish Sonnen as the second-best middleweight in the world.
It’s time to be honest. No one, including Rich Franklin’s parents, was looking forward to UFC 147. It was simply a lackluster card with no spice or depth. The fight card’s roster found itself filled with prospects many of us have never heard of before,…
It’s time to be honest.
No one, including Rich Franklin’s parents, was looking forward to UFC 147. It was simply a lackluster card with no spice or depth.
The fight card’s roster found itself filled with prospects many of us have never heard of before, with names such as Hacran Dias, Godofredo Pepey, Rony Bezerra, Sergio Moraes, and Cezar Ferriera.
You might ask yourself, “who are these guys?” My point has already been made.
Nonetheless, somehow, someway, UFC 147 and its roster managed to deliver in an unexpected way. While the total buys were certainly down from past events, those who tuned into Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva saw a night full of action and upsets.
UFC 147 came at just the right time despite its mediocrity. In fact, the fight card compares to UFC 139 where the world saw arguably the greatest fight in UFC history as Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua battled it out in five grueling rounds. UFC 147 is compared to UFC 139 in the sense that many were not excited for it.
In approach to UFC 139, fans looked ahead to the most anticipated bout of the year where Brock Lesnar would meet Alistair Overeem at 2011’s last event and seemingly turned a shoulder to Henderson vs. Rua.
But UFC 139 delivered, as did UFC 147 in ways we never thought it would.
While UFC 147 certainly won’t be remembered as an all time great by any stretch of the imagination, it provided a spark plug for things to come.
On July 7, the world will get to witness the most anticipated rematch in UFC history when current UFC middleweight Anderson Silva meets his heated rival, Chael Sonnen in a 185-pound showdown at UFC 148.
Tito Ortiz will also say farewell to a long-lived career when he meets Forrest Griffin for a third time.
While many of us already had our sights set on UFC 148, UFC 147 did the unexpected and gave us all an appetizer for what’s to come.
Thanks, UFC 147.
For additional information, follow Garrett Derr on Twitter.
Chael Sonnen will beat Anderson Silva in a battle at UFC 148 to hand Silva his first loss since 2006. The Oregonian wrestler is the only one to give the Brazilian Muay Thai specialist a run for his money in the past six years.When they first fought, it…
Chael Sonnen will beat Anderson Silva in a battle at UFC 148 to hand Silva his first loss since 2006. The Oregonian wrestler is the only one to give the Brazilian Muay Thai specialist a run for his money in the past six years.
When they first fought, it looked like Sonnen had Silva’s number and was going to win the fight had it gone the distance. However, the Spider wound up winning with a triangle arm bar just minutes before the fifth and final round ended to steal the victory.
Since then Sonnen has had much better submission defense in his fights versus Michael Bisping and Brian Stann. Expect the Sonnen’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be much better as well. He has been working on it much more and could very possibly submit his competition in the rematch on July 7.
There are questions about Sonnen’s doping history, but he has been permitted to fight despite undergoing testosterone replacement.
Silva has since shown no signs of declining, and the overall matchup has been excellent between the two fighters. They are both great wrestlers and submission artists, but Silva has more power in the striking game and could end up using that to draw the fight out.
However, once Sonnen gets “Spider” on his back, expect the fight to take a slower pace. There is a tendency for both fighters to utilize the guard while on their back, and as a wrestler, Sonnen won’t like being on his back. It’s ingrained into wrestlers that when the shoulders are on the mat, a loss is imminent.
So expect the self-proclaimed People’s Champ to try and turn any time he is on the mat on his back into a standing position. He will utilize the commanding position to dominate the fight and should win through judging at the very least because of an improved Brazilian Jiu Jitsu technique that has been noticed by his teammate Vinny Magalhães:
“Chael makes fun of a lot of things,” Magalhães said during a recent interview. “But he picks stuff up really fast. And the stuff that we worked on, I can guarantee you if he has the chance to use it in the fight, he will do it. If it’s a submission, if it’s a guard pass, whatever, I guarantee you he can do it. If he gets the chance, he can catch Anderson with something.”
Due to this, Sonnen will be using his top notch all-around game to win the fight against Silva. Whether it’s by a submission, knockout or even judges, Sonnen has the advantage in this fight and should give Silva a loss on July 7.
Both men will be complementary to each others styles and should look exceptional in their second battle. By the end of this fight, the only thing people will be clamoring for is a third fight. But the rubber match should have Sonnen heading into it with the belt instead of Silva.
Going into today’s UFC 148 conference call, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Anderson Silva. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I should expect Silva to participate in the call at all.