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Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and the Art of Cage Politics and Promotion

Filed under: UFCIt has been suggested over the last 24-36 hours that Chael Sonnen laid the blueprint for beating Anderson Silva. That is a bit of simplistic thinking, as there are few middleweights on the earth with Sonnen’s wrestling skills. It’s a li…

Filed under: UFC

It has been suggested over the last 24-36 hours that Chael Sonnen laid the blueprint for beating Anderson Silva. That is a bit of simplistic thinking, as there are few middleweights on the earth with Sonnen’s wrestling skills. It’s a little like saying Mariano Rivera has laid the blueprint for closing baseball games. Acquire a singular talent over a lifetime of hard work, and apply liberally. Simple, right?

Of course, there is one man who can still follow the blueprint, and that is Sonnen himself, as the UFC mulls over the possibility of an immediate rematch.

It puts the UFC in an interesting quandary. Do they immediately bring back Sonnen, who despite four-plus rounds of dominance, was legitimately defeated, or do they move on to Vitor Belfort, as originally promised? Taking no chances, both men have already begun their campaigns at getting the next shot at the belt.

Silva’s Trainer Says Anderson Won’t be Back in the Octagon this Year

("Should I wear my pink sweater to my victory party or my….HOLY SHIT!!")
photo courtesy UFC.com
According to one of Anderson Silva’s jiu-jitsu coaches, Ramon Lemos, the UFC middleweight champion likely won’t fight again until March of…

("Should I wear my pink sweater to my victory party or my….HOLY SHIT!!")

photo courtesy UFC.com

According to one of Anderson Silva’s jiu-jitsu coaches, Ramon Lemos, the UFC middleweight champion likely won’t fight again until March of 2011 as he will need time to heal from a "fractured rib" he sustained in the first round of his seventh title defense saturday night against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in Oakland, CA.

Ramos revealed the news to Fighters Only today.

"After the first round he said he broke his ribs. He said told me he could not breathe because of the rib. I told him to forget the rib and work the movement of legs and he would get the triangle… After the fight he went to the hospital and did an x-ray and the doctor said he did not break it, it was just a crack," Lemos recalled. "Anderson is expected to return in February or March."

Vitor Belfort’s Camp Not Sweating Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Filed under: Affliction, UFCIt’s been more than a year since UFC President Dana White first identified Vitor Belfort as the man who could dethrone middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That was in June of 2009, when Belfort was preparing to fight on an…

Filed under: Affliction, UFC

It’s been more than a year since UFC President Dana White first identified Vitor Belfort as the man who could dethrone middleweight champion Anderson Silva. That was in June of 2009, when Belfort was preparing to fight on an Affliction card that never happened, and Silva was preparing to fight Forrest Griffin after sleepwalking through a win over Thales Leites.

Now Silva is preparing to fight Chael Sonnen after sleepwalking through a win over Demian Maia, and Belfort is recovering from a shoulder injury that prevented him from fighting Silva and allowed both Maia and Sonnen to leapfrog him in the UFC’s middleweight hierarchy. But Belfort is back to training after shoulder surgery, and in his training camp, the focus is on fighting Silva.

Vitor Belfort And Shawn Tompkins Are Also Rooting Against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117

(“So then the older bull says, ‘Hell son, let’s *walk* down there and screw *all* of them cows!’ Seriously Vitor, I’ve got a million of ’em. Hey, you ever hear the one about the rabbi and the Indian chief … &r…

It’s amazing that after nearly two decades of mixed martial arts in this country, reporters are still asking fighters who they want to face next. Really, has any one of these guys ever answered that question with anything other than some variation of “It doesn’t matter/Whoever the UFC wants me to fight next”? Take Vitor Belfort, who is now fully recovered from shoulder surgery and training in Las Vegas for a future bout with the winner of Anderson Silva’s UFC 117 title defense against Chael Sonnen on Aug. 7. You think Belfort is going to admit to Las Vegas Sun Reporter Brett Okamoto that he cares who emerges from that event with the middleweight belt? Fat chance.

Friday Link Dump

(Video courtesy YouTube/MMAFighting)
– Part 2 of "Backstage with Joe Rogan" (YouTube)
– Sure-fire UFC hall-of-famers (Heavy)
– Shine Fights hasn’t paid Chuteboxe fighters yet for cancelled May show (MMAJunkie)
– Death in the Cage: Th…

(Video courtesy YouTube/MMAFighting)

– Part 2 of "Backstage with Joe Rogan" (YouTube)

– Sure-fire UFC hall-of-famers (Heavy)

– Shine Fights hasn’t paid Chuteboxe fighters yet for cancelled May show (MMAJunkie)

– Death in the Cage: The story of fighter Michael Kirkham (MMAFighting)

– 5 reasons why Apple sucks (AskMen)

– Where to take private Ninja lessons in NY (MadeMan)

– DREAM and its new business partner declare war on the world (MiddleEasy)

– 5 of the world’s largest and most worrisome toy collections (Asylum)

– Danzig appeals controversial UFC 115 loss to Matt Wiman (MMAWeekly)

– Seth Meyers’ ESPY monologue (ScoresReport)

– 25 Women wrestling in Jello photos (HolyTaco)

– The Glades actress Kiele Sanchez photos (ScreenJunkies)

– Belfort wants the winner of Sonnen-Silva (TATAME)

Vitor Belfort Finally Healthy, Awaiting UFC 117 Winner

Filed under: UFCIf not for his decision to have shoulder surgery last spring, Vitor Belfort would have already had his crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Instead he chose to take care of a lingering injury, and now finds himself awaiting t…

Filed under: UFC

If not for his decision to have shoulder surgery last spring, Vitor Belfort would have already had his crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Instead he chose to take care of a lingering injury, and now finds himself awaiting the winner of Silva’s title fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, though he doesn’t sound like he regrets the decision one bit.

As the Las Vegas Sun reports, the surgery on Belfort’s labrum has allowed him to get off painkillers for “the first time in more than 18 months.” If you do the math on that, it means Belfort was fighting through injuries against both Matt Lindland and Rich Franklin. Good thing he ended both those fights early with first-round knockouts.

According to the 33 year-old Belfort, the decision to finally break down and have the surgery came not so much as a result of the pain, but rather a concern over career longevity.