Tag: UFC 148

Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen: How Sonnen’s Run at the Title Will Be Remembered

West Linn, Oregon native Chael Sonnen came from virtual obscurity four years ago to blaze a trail in MMA which will see his name remembered for years to come. He took part in what many are calling the biggest UFC event in the promotion’s history …

West Linn, Oregon native Chael Sonnen came from virtual obscurity four years ago to blaze a trail in MMA which will see his name remembered for years to come.

He took part in what many are calling the biggest UFC event in the promotion’s history and came closer to capturing the middleweight crown from Anderson Silva than any fighter ever has.

But it was a run full of controversy from the start.

No one can deny that it was Sonnen’s mouth that landed him his first title shot. After his victory over Damian Maia, there were few immediate candidates for Silva’s next title defence. Sonnen, on the other hand, had just won his third fight in a row against Nate Marquardt and immediately started his campaign.

He began insulting the fighter in a way that no MMA athlete had ever done. He openly and comically made fun of his skills, his training partners and his country.

He banged his drum loud and got the title shot.

Up until that point, Sonnen had been little more than a journeyman fighter, with early losses to Maia and Paulo Filho. He had not faced anyone of the caliber of Silva in the cage, but during their encounter in 2010, he backed up all his talk.

Despite losing the fight, he was victorious in the eyes of many. He had humbled the champion and was only seconds away from wearing the belt himself. This had never been done to Silva.

Perhaps the expectations were too high for their second encounter. Despite starting so strongly in the first round, it was clear that Sonnen was facing a much tougher Silva in the second. The Brazilian refused to fall despite all of Sonnen’s most heroic efforts, and the “gangster” from West Linn was broken.

Sonnen had come second again.

It’s been the story of his athletic career. Coming second in the 2000 Greco-Roman World University Championships, failing to make the US Olympic team at the last hurdle, losing his first UFC title challenge and now he’s lost his second match against Silva.

This one will be the hardest to recover from, and he can all but forget a third chance at the Brazilian.

What’s more, Silva’s victory was so decisive that Sonnen’s first performance will quickly be forgotten. It was already tainted with steroids, as well as Silva’s claimed rib injury. But now, we saw what a fired-up motivated Silva can do, and there is no question over his “greatest of all time” epithets.

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Silva vs Sonnen 2: 5 Reasons We Need Silva vs Sonnen 3

Let’s face it. Silva/Sonnen 3 is unlikely to happen. With all the fighters clamouring for a title shot and Dana White saying that Sonnen is at the back of the line in any championship hunt—not to mention the dominant way in which Silva fini…

Let’s face it. Silva/Sonnen 3 is unlikely to happen. With all the fighters clamouring for a title shot and Dana White saying that Sonnen is at the back of the line in any championship hunt—not to mention the dominant way in which Silva finished his opponent—we’re more likely to see a Silva/Jones matchup than a Silva/Sonnen trilogy.

Silva has now won both encounters and can successfully claim that injury-free and focused and against a drug-free Sonnen, he would win any encounter between the two emphatically.

But those who want to see a third installment can also build a solid case. Here’s one way of doing that.

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Anderson Silva Has Problems in Nevada for Chin Checking Chael Sonnen at UFC 148

The Executive Director of the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) Keith Kizer has categorically stated Anderson Silva is close to being a persona non grata in the State of Nevada for chin checking Chael Sonnen at the UFC 148 weigh-in. From Kizer, o…

The Executive Director of the NSAC (Nevada State Athletic Commission) Keith Kizer has categorically stated Anderson Silva is close to being a persona non grata in the State of Nevada for chin checking Chael Sonnen at the UFC 148 weigh-in.

From Kizer, originally reported by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com (h/t MMAMania.com):

“I told him if you ever do anything like that again you will not be invited to fight in Nevada again.”

Furthermore, Kizer was none too pleased with Silva’s alleged greasing prior to the opening stanza. Apparently, the middleweight titlist rubbed the customary Vaseline from his face onto his chest. However, Yvez Lavigne, the officiating referee, wiped him down before proceedings got underway.

On the whole, Kizer felt Silva’s antics before and during the UFC 148 event were wholly unacceptable, and as a consequence the Brazilian was given a severe verbal warning regarding his future conduct.

“If the next few Anderson Silva fights don’t happen in Nevada, it won’t bother me in the least,” Kizer said.

That said, MMA’s most eagerly awaited bagarre ended with “The Spider” retaining his title via second-round TKO.

Albeit Sonnen controlled the fight from the outset, his demise came as a result of an ill-advised spun backfist which landed him on the seat of his pants, thus giving Silva the opening to execute his coup de grâce—a knee to the chest followed by some vicious ground-and-pound.

However, the stoppage was initially shrouded in controversy due to the aforementioned knee strike to the chest—Sonnen’s coach is of the impression Silva had bad intentions when kneeing (video replay deemed the knee legal) his charge and as such is appealing the loss.

Nonetheless, Kizer believes the grounds for appeal are near enough non-existent.

Kizer gave four reasons for appealing an outcome:

1) Failed drug test.
2) Miscalculation of a scorecard.
3) Collusion (official paid off).
4) Referee misinterprets a rule (for example: allows soccer kick when soccer is illegal).

 

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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UFC 148 Results: Projecting Anderson Silva’s Next Foe After Controversial TKO

Anderson Silva’s 10th consecutive title defense was shrouded in controversy Saturday night. Did he really attempt to knee Chael Sonnen in the head while he was down?It sure looked liked he did, and Sonnen believes that much is true. His coach, Scott Mc…

Anderson Silva‘s 10th consecutive title defense was shrouded in controversy Saturday night. Did he really attempt to knee Chael Sonnen in the head while he was down?

It sure looked liked he did, and Sonnen believes that much is true. His coach, Scott McQuarry, plans to appeal the match’s result. He told MMAJunkie.com this:

“Obviously, there were minor infractions of grabbing shorts and greasing himself up,” McQuarry said. “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.”

If Sonnen’s party gets their wish then maybe we will see Silva versus Sonnen for a third time in the coming future, but that’s highly doubtful. There aren’t any concrete grounds for the appeal to go through, despite the obvious direction of Silva’s knee.

Silva is still the UFC middleweight champion. Whether people enjoyed the decision or not, he is going to be defending his title again.

Assuming the next opponent isn’t Sonnen, let’s take a look at two possibilities for “The Spider’s” next title defense.

 

Rashad Evans

Former light heavyweight champion Evans sent out a tweet Saturday night stating his willingness to fight Silva:

Evans just lost to Jon Jones in April, but he’d won four straight decisions before that. He defeated Thiago Silva, Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz in succession before defeating Phil Davis in January.

Prior to that he lost the UFC Light Heavyweight championship to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98.

Evans has had mixed results lately, but he’s a talented fighter. He would give Silva a marquee opponent and an elite wrestler to face in the Octagon.

UFC fans wold be excited to see that, and each competitor would be challenged by the other. That’s a perfect matchup to me.

 

Mark Munoz

Munoz doesn’t bring Evans’ popularity to the fold, but he’s an exciting fighter in his own right. He’s only been active since 2007, and he’s racked up a 12-and-2 record with six knockouts so far in his career.

He will fight Chris Weidman on July 11. The fight on Fuel TV’s UFC showcase has major bearing on the idea behind a Silva versus Munoz match in the future. If Munoz wins, he deserves a shot at the middleweight crown.

Munoz hasn’t lost since losing a decision to Yushin Okami in 2010. Since then, he’s ripped off four straight wins including a devastating knockout victory over C.B. Dollaway on March 3, 2011. He’s enjoyed a solid run, and the best part of his career is still in front of him.

Giving Munoz a chance to knock off the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time would be a wonderful opportunity for this 34-year-old Filipino fighter.

It wouldn’t create the buzz of an Evans matchup, but Munoz may be more qualified right now. He just has to beat Weidman first.

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Silva vs Sonnen: UFC Must Build Momentum from Success of High-Profile Main Event

Anderson Silva defeated Chael Sonnen to retain his UFC middleweight championship in one of the most hyped fights in MMA history. It resulted in record-breaking numbers, and now the company must figure out a way to capitalize on that success. UFC has be…

Anderson Silva defeated Chael Sonnen to retain his UFC middleweight championship in one of the most hyped fights in MMA history. It resulted in record-breaking numbers, and now the company must figure out a way to capitalize on that success.

UFC has been making up ground quickly in recent years. It has picked up plenty of disgruntled boxing fans along the way and has steadily grown into a sport that mainstream sports fans care about. That wasn’t the case a decade ago.

The progress was evident in the gate numbers. The event drew a crowd of more than 15,000 people in Las Vegas, which adds up to about $7 million in revenue, according to Yahoo Sports. While unconfirmed by the company, it would shatter the previous mark of nearly $5.4 million.

A strong undercard certainly helped. Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz faced off in another rematch after Griffin earned a split-decision victory in 2009 to level the series at one apiece. He left far less doubt this time around, controlling the fight en route to a triumph by unanimous decision.

Cung Le, Demian Maia and Chad Mendes were among the other big winners at UFC 148. Adding depth to the card certainly helped.

But at the end of the day, it usually comes down to star power. Silva and Sonnen provided it. The American nearly upset the dominant champion when they met two years ago, fueling interest in a rematch for the belt.

Even though he was the underdog once again, Sonnen wasn’t afraid to talk some trash leading up to the clash, adding to the hype. When people are given reason to believe there’s genuine tension between two fighters, the interest level skyrockets.

Slowly, but surely, Dana White and his top-tier draws are starting to figure out how to generate massive interest in top-tier fights. That also leads to more pressure to have more big events. Before Silva and Sonnen, there wasn’t a must-see fight since Jon Jones beat Rashad Evans in April.

The frequency of that level of fight will need to increase if UFC wants to keep growing. Silva’s big victory gives them momentum heading into the rest of summer and the fall, where there are usually several major cards.

What the UFC does with that momentum will decide if the pace of its rise continues or starts to level off. As with all secondary sports, it comes down to hype. Other fighters can learn a lot from Silva and Sonnen on how to make it explode.

All told, the next five months are crucial for UFC.

 

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UFC 148: Could Chael Sonnen Win a Potential Athletic Commission Appeal?

Chael Sonnen’s coach Scott McQuarry shocked the MMA world when he announced that he intended to file an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission on Sonnen’s behalf.McQuarry believes that a bout-changing Anderson Silva knee, a blow that struck a …

Chael Sonnen‘s coach Scott McQuarry shocked the MMA world when he announced that he intended to file an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission on Sonnen’s behalf.

McQuarry believes that a bout-changing Anderson Silva knee, a blow that struck a seated Sonnen and took the fight out of him, was in violation of Nevada rules.

The coach has since decided to focus his attention on a public relations campaign to get Sonnen a third fight with the long-time champion, contending Silva violated several rules and that Sonnen didn’t get a chance to compete in a fair contest. 

But, had he continued forward, could Sonnen or his team have won a potential appeal. I reached out to Nevada Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer who believes there wasn’t a case for Sonnen.

“(There are a) very limited grounds for appeal,” Kizer wrote. “I do not see where this would fit.”

Kizer pointed me toward the Nevada regulations, which stipulate three reasons a decision might be overturned. Let’s analyze each and see if Sonnen has a case. 

 

1.  The Commission determines that there was collusion affecting the result of the contest or exhibition.

This would be an explosive allegation if true, but no one is making this claim. Although boxing bouts were commonly fixed into the 1950s, when the mafia ran the sport, we’ve never seen any accusations of fight fixing in modern mixed martial arts. 

In the era before Zuffa’s reign, however, accusations of fight fixing were not unknown. The most famous example is Oleg Taktarov’s 12-second submission win over stablemate Anthony Macias. Both were managed by Buddy Albin, who allegedly asked Macias to take the fall. I recounted the story in my book Total MMA:

I was in on the conversation with Anthony Macias, Oleg, and Buddy, former UFC fighter Andy Anderson said. Everyone knew that Oleg was going to need every ounce of strength he had to beat the Tank.

Chance of a Sonnen appeal winning on these grounds? None.


2. The compilation of the scorecards of the judges discloses an error which shows that the decision was given to the wrong unarmed combatant

This has actually happened in the UFC this year. Demetrious Johnson was awarded a decision over Ian McCall, only to find out backstage that a judge’s scorecard had been incorrectly reported. The fight was then ruled a draw. The two had a rematch later in the year that Johnson won without further incident.

Chance of a Sonnen appeal winning on these grounds? None.


3. As the result of an error in interpreting a provision of this chapter, the referee has rendered an incorrect decision.

Kizer told McQuarry that this was the provision he might possibly use in an appeal. He could make a case that referee Yves Lavigne misunderstood a provision in the rules that disallows a knee strike or a kick to the head of a downed opponent. McQuarry or Sonnen could argue that the thigh is part of the leg, making Silva’s collision with Chael after his knee to the sternum an illegal blow.

The problem here is that there’s significant debate about whether or not Silva’s leg struck Sonnen and whether or not the contact was incidental. If it’s unclear after watching numerous replays and extreme slow motion clips, it will be difficult for the commission to decide that the referee was in error. He made a call that was reasonable at the time and remains so in retrospect.

Chance of a Sonnen appeal winning on these grounds? Slim.

The only other way for a decision to be over turned would be for Silva to fail a post-fight urinalysis. That, based on Silva’s career and character, seems unlikely. 

 

 

All things considered, I agree with Sonnen’s former coach Matt Lindland, who says Chael would be wise not to appeal this loss. While McQuarry has valid points, the best place to present them is either privately to the UFC or in the court of public opinion. Just keep it far, far away from a court of law.

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