Tag: UFC 148

Chael Sonnen: “I Broke Anderson Silva, and He Came Back and Destroyed Me”

Anderson Silva earned Chael Sonnen’s respect at UFC 148.After being dominated in the first round, Silva rallied once again in dramatic fashion to stop Sonnen and put to rest the storied feud that has captivated the MMA world for over two years.In an in…

Anderson Silva earned Chael Sonnen’s respect at UFC 148.

After being dominated in the first round, Silva rallied once again in dramatic fashion to stop Sonnen and put to rest the storied feud that has captivated the MMA world for over two years.

In an interview with Jim Rome, UFC President Dana White opened up about Sonnen’s reaction backstage after losing to Silva for a second time:

Chael Sonnen, motivated, in great shape, injury free, couldn’t have been better going, and wanted that title so bad. That first round, you look at the way that happens, and this is what Chael Sonnen said to me after the fight. He didn’t say it at the press conference, but he said it to me.

He said, ‘I have so much respect for this guy, Dana. I’ve been competing in combat sports since I was seven-years-old. In that first round, when I was on top of him, and I was hitting him with those big elbows, I felt him break. I broke him in that first round. He came back in that second round and destroyed me. I’ve never seen anybody do that ever.’

The first round of the rematch was déjà vu for Silva fans, and not in a good way.

Sonnen stormed after Silva early, secured a takedown and spent the entire round in top position landing unanswered punches and elbows.

The second round proved to be a completely different story, as Silva fought off the takedown attempts and utilized his otherworldly striking to earn the TKO stoppage.

With the win, Silva extended his UFC record for most consecutive title defenses to 10. He plans to continue fighting as long as the UFC keeps throwing worthy challengers his way.

The future is a bit more clouded for Sonnen.

Some reports indicate the possibility of the “Oregon Gangster” hanging up his gloves and retiring from fighting.

Has the MMA world seen the last of Chael Sonnen?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Silva vs. Sonnen 2: Chael Sonnen’s Camp Smart to Appeal Loss to Anderson Silva

When middleweight champion Anderson Silva TKO’d No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen at the 1:55 mark of the second round of UFC 148, he shocked the world once again and thought he shut his foe up for good.After analyzing the tape of the fight, Sonnen&rs…

When middleweight champion Anderson Silva TKO’d No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen at the 1:55 mark of the second round of UFC 148, he shocked the world once again and thought he shut his foe up for good.

After analyzing the tape of the fight, Sonnen’s camp will appeal the decision.

While there were some questions about Silva holding Sonnen’s shorts and putting extra lubricant on his skin, the major infraction being talked about was the knee to the face that ultimately led to the TKO finish.

There is no questioning that The Spider did catch the No. 1 contender in the face while he was down with his knee, but the referee deemed it as an incidental shot.

While the Sonnen camp has the right to appeal, the word of the referee is final.

Sonnen’s coach Scott McQuarry today told MMAjunkie.com about what Silva did wrong and what grounds they will be appealing:

Obviously, there were minor infractions of grabbing shorts and greasing himself up, but the knee to the face … I’ve looked at it from numerous angles. I can see where it hit his face. It did slide down to his chest. But that should be considered a no-contest. What I’m looking for is a rematch.

Sonnen’s team knows they won’t get the call reversed, so they are doing the best they can to keep their fighter at the top of the heap. The absolute worst case scenario is that the team loses the appeal.

If there is a chance that appealing this case could get Sonnen a rematch—even if it’s one percent—it’s the responsibility of his coaches and his trainers to make that happen. In this case, there may actually be valid points to the argument.

While I still see this fight as being decided the way it should have, looking at it objectively and looking for the illegal knee, there may be a case. There is no way this fight will ever be ruled a no-contest, but Sonnen’s camp owes him the effort of trying.

Nothing will come of this appeal, and Sonnen will be forced to earn his way back to the top of the middleweight division. At 35 years old, there is no doubt that the road back to glory will be tough.

Good thing Sonnen’s one of the toughest fighters in the world.

 

Check back for more on Mixed Martial Arts as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s UFC page or listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Silva vs. Sonnen 2: Were Their Two Fights the Highlight of Both Their Careers?

UFC 148, which took place in Las Vegas last Saturday, is being touted as the biggest event in UFC’s history. For the fighters at the heart of the action, Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, they are unlikely to fight a comparable match ever again. P…

UFC 148, which took place in Las Vegas last Saturday, is being touted as the biggest event in UFC’s history. For the fighters at the heart of the action, Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, they are unlikely to fight a comparable match ever again.

Part of the reason is the hype with the two years in the making that the fight generated. After Sonnen came so close to unseating the champion in their first encounter, expectations were heightened that he could pull off something equally miraculous in their second.

Silva’s star status, particularly in his home country, coloured this fight in a way neither fighter will have experienced.

However, it’s true that both their careers are completely different and the significance of their fight will vary for each fighter.

Silva’s history, for starters, is much richer and deeper. He was there in Pride, making a name for himself in Japan while Sonnen languished in much lesser organisations. He entered the UFC and became the middleweight champion while Sonnen spent years struggling in the WEC.

The Brazilian then went on to clean out the middleweight division while Sonnen struggled to put a significant string of victories together.

But fortune and timing set Sonnen up for an encounter with Silva in which he shocked everyone by coming so close to unseating the champion. Not only was this journey-man fighter thrust into contender status, he also simultaneously became the biggest challenge Silva had faced as a champion.

For the two men then, their first encounter proved their toughest test. Sonnen had never fought a man like Silva before, and Silva had never faced a challenger as tough as Sonnen before. The media hype which followed them into their second fight made it the ultimate highlight for both of them.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen: Will This Be the High Point of the UFC’s 2012?

It was a match two years in the making and it delivered the UFC’s biggest night in its history. At least according to Dana White, the intake at the gate was the highest for a UFC event and the pay-per-view buyrate is predicted to be “UFC 10…

It was a match two years in the making and it delivered the UFC’s biggest night in its history. At least according to Dana White, the intake at the gate was the highest for a UFC event and the pay-per-view buyrate is predicted to be “UFC 100 numbers”.

White had already hyped the UFC 148 encounter between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva last Saturday as one of the biggest sporting events in this Olympic year. If the UFC president himself thinks this is a high water point, how can any of the remaining events hope to replicate its success?

Of course not all of the events have been finalized, so there is still a chance of something brewing. But of the events that we do know, few can live up to the expectations of UFC 148.

UFC 149 is being headlined by Urijah Faber against Renan Barao, and features Hector Lombard’s debut for the promotion. However, the bantamweight division is one of the less popular divisions and neither Faber nor Barao are big enough names.

UFC 150 and 151 on the other hand are both headlined by eagerly awaited championship fights. Ben Henderson defends his title in a rematch against Frankie Edgar, and Dan Henderson attempts to end Jon Jones reign.

Later in the year we’re likely to see BJ Penn’s return to the cage to take on the much hyped Rory MacDonald, and MacDonald’s mentor himself, George St. Pierre, is scheduled to fight Carlos Condit at UFC 154.

GSP at least, is arguably as big of a name as Silva and Jones and is fast closing in. However, there are many elements that came together over UFC 148 which could make its high point unassailable.

Firstly, there was the star in Anderson Silva. He is widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time and has an unprecedented fan following. This is especially true for his home country Brazil, where he has become a virtual superstar. The Brazilians have caught onto MMA fever like no other country, so much so that the UFC was confident that they could sell out a football stadium to host the event.

We also saw the devotion of the Brazilians when they packed out half the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with their supporters.

And that brings us to the second element which converged to make UFC 148 the success it was. Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen’s pro-wrestling shtick riled the Brazilian nation as well as attracted mainstream media attention in the US, enough to make UFC 148 the success it was. And he spent two years doing it.

Shortly after his loss to Silva, and despite failing a drug test—he was quickly set on a path for the title. For two years he created interest in the fight with borderline comments and outrageous gimmicks. At one point he bet with Silva to leave the UFC middleweight division if he lost a rematch.

The talk eventually worked, but that was just the beginning. As soon as the contract was signed, the Sonnen hype machine went into overdrive, with media spots and interviews across TV land promoting the fight.

Few fighters have that ability. Few fighters have the following of Silva. And even fewer fights have both of those as well as such a bitter rivalry to sell matches. In all likelihood, UFC 148 will be the UFC’s highpoint in 2012.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

[VIDEO] CM Punk Pays Tribute to Chael Sonnen’s Spinning Mindfart During ‘WWE Raw’


(Chael Sonnen, seen here learning a lesson that Judd Nelson taught the rest of us back in the 80’s. All props be to Fightlinker for the find.) 

At this point, we’ve moved past the “illegal” knee, the shorts grabbing, and the vaseline that may or may not have marred Anderson Silva’s destruction of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. We are not going to convince anyone to change their minds in regards to the gravity (or lack thereof) of Silva’s actions and whether or not they affected the outcome of the fight, and neither will you, because, as Ollie Weeks once said, “You can’t convince some people there’s a fire even when their hair is burning. Denial is a powerful thing.” And before you lash out at our use of the term “destruction” to describe the fight, first consider that that was the term used by Sonnen himself to describe Silva’s tenacity in the second round. According to Dana White, that is:

This is what Chael Sonnen said to me after the fight. He didn’t say it at the press conference, but he said it to me. He said, ‘I have so much respect for this guy, Dana. I’ve been competing in combat sports since I was seven years old. In that first round, when I was on top of him, hittin’ him with those big elbows, I felt him break. I broke him in that first round. He came back in the second round and destroyed me. I’ve never seen anybody do that, ever.

So now that we’ve all put aside our differences, we’d like to focus for a moment on the monumental mistake that was Sonnen’s spinning backfist, which has already begun to take on a life of its own as evident by the header gif. In fact, Sonnen’s mental error has become so popular over the past few days that his good friend and pro wrassler CM Punk decided to reenact the end of the fight on last night’s episode of WWE: Monday Night Raw. Although the result was as to be expected (a major whiff), Punk’s spinning backfist was arguably thrown with better technique.

Video after the jump. 


(Chael Sonnen, seen here learning a lesson that Judd Nelson taught the rest of us back in the 80′s. All props be to Fightlinker for the find.) 

At this point, we’ve moved past the “illegal” knee, the shorts grabbing, and the vaseline that may or may not have marred Anderson Silva’s destruction of Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. We are not going to convince anyone to change their minds in regards to the gravity (or lack thereof) of Silva’s actions and whether or not they affected the outcome of the fight, and neither will you, because, as Ollie Weeks once said, “You can’t convince some people there’s a fire even when their hair is burning. Denial is a powerful thing.” And before you lash out at our use of the term “destruction” to describe the fight, first consider that that was the term used by Sonnen himself to describe Silva’s tenacity in the second round. According to Dana White, that is:

This is what Chael Sonnen said to me after the fight. He didn’t say it at the press conference, but he said it to me. He said, ‘I have so much respect for this guy, Dana. I’ve been competing in combat sports since I was seven years old. In that first round, when I was on top of him, hittin’ him with those big elbows, I felt him break. I broke him in that first round. He came back in the second round and destroyed me. I’ve never seen anybody do that, ever.

So now that we’ve all put aside our differences, we’d like to focus for a moment on the monumental mistake that was Sonnen’s spinning backfist, which has already begun to take on a life of its own as evident by the header gif. In fact, Sonnen’s mental error has become so popular over the past few days that his good friend and pro wrassler CM Punk decided to reenact the end of the fight on last night’s episode of WWE: Monday Night Raw. Although the result was as to be expected (a major whiff), Punk’s spinning backfist was arguably thrown with better technique.

Video after the jump. 

I’m no lawyer, so I’m simply asking this out of ignorance: Can the laws of plagiarism apply when a fake sport is blatantly ripping off a real one? I know the WWE has predetermined outcomes and all, but the fact that they’re now basing those outcomes on actual fights must mean that the UFC is winning the ratings battle. Or that CM Punk just wanted to pay tribute to arguably the biggest gaff of his friend’s career. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this might be pushing it.

Sonnen/Cm Punk spinning backwhiff

–J. Jones

Silva vs Sonnen 2: Has Sonnen Really Provided a Blueprint to Defeat Silva?

Chael Sonnen came closer than any fighter in the UFC ever has to defeating longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva. But his loss at UFC 148 last Saturday was equally emphatic. Sonnen looked out-classed as Silva refused to be taken down for a seco…

Chael Sonnen came closer than any fighter in the UFC ever has to defeating longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

But his loss at UFC 148 last Saturday was equally emphatic.

Sonnen looked out-classed as Silva refused to be taken down for a second time. He ended up finishing the fight with his fists in the second round.

Striking trumps wrestling—that was the lesson of Silva/Sonnen 2. Or at least Silva’s striking coupled with his takedown defence won the day.

Sure, Sonnen outfought him in the first match, where the champion could claim to have been caught by surprise, but Silva learned from that fight and rose to the challenge. It’s hard to imagine why another fighter with a wrestling base could think he could do any better.

However, there is still a case for that. Just as Silva’s performance in the first fight could be questioned, so too can Sonnen’s in the second. He won the first round with ease but crumpled in the pressure of the second.

A better wrestler can still take him down and pummel him with vicious ground and pound. Someone like Mark Munoz, perhaps, who is arguably a better wrestler than Sonnen, would be far more lethal on top as well. His famed “Donkey Kong” punches could give Silva a beating far more brutal than Sonnen ever dished out.

Perhaps Munoz could even finish him on the ground.

It’s highly likely that Munoz will be coming in with a similar game plan to Sonnen. We’ve already known that Silva struggles with that style, and it’s a style Munoz has perfected.

We’re unlikely to see a better more lethal striker than Silva to emerge anytime soon. But we know he doesn’t deal very well with a good wrestler from his back. This is a weakness other fighters will now look to exploit.

 

Follow me on Twitter!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com