Cageside Quote: Chael Sonnen Comments on Anderson Silva's Win Over Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 7, 2011 12:43 PM EST
Email
Print
Paul Lazenby got a hold of former middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen, immediately after the main event of UFC 126, where Anderson Silva retained his middleweight title via devastating knock out against Vitor Belfort:
"Thank you, Anderson, for revealing yet another weakness for me to exploit in our rematch. Beating that poor punching bag doesn't impress Uncle Chael, guy. You tipped your hand like a chump poker player at a $5 table in Atlantic City. You may have beaten Vitor, but in the process, you LOST your edge. By beating that husk, you gave me the last page of your playbook. Revel in your time, [because] it ENDS the night you face me. I will mow you down like autumn wheat, AGAIN."
We were minutes away from Sonnen becoming middleweight champion the first time around, before his lack of submission defense cost him dearly, submitting to a triangle armbar in the fifth round. He's still angling for that rematch, but he's got to win at least once upon his return, and I don't suspect it will be an easy fight. Actually, I imagine there's a certain Brazilian who Chael mentioned in the above quote that isn't Anderson Silva, by the name of Vitor Belfort (or "that poor punching bag"), who would gladly welcome him back to the UFC after his extended layoff.
24 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I'm all honestly
I’m bored to shit by Chael. He had his shot, lost, got popped for illegally using a performance enhancer and then tried to concoct some story about why he used it.
Every other thing out of the guy’s mouth is a lie.
by TMadeBurner on Feb 7, 2011 1:22 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
Jeez I must have been hazy earlier this morning
In all honesty is what that should have said.
Anderson's rib injury was no lie
Seeing how Anderson dodged Belfort’s initial flurry versus how he looked in the opening round against Chael, i’m convinced he fought injured.
The difference in movement was noticeable and showed what he is capable of when healthy. A healthy Anderson will put a pink clown suit on Sonnen.
If Anderson doesn't learn to stuff a takedown, the fight will look remarkably similar to the first one.
Chael’s got a good enough chin to blitz through the initial mid/long-range striking, and he won’t back off just because he’s hurt. A standard wrestler’s approach to being stunned is to go for the takedown, and Anderson has shown absolutely zero ability to stop such attacks. So, he ends up on his back quickly after stunning Chael, and Chael gets to recover.
All of that said, Anderson’s the far better fighter. But Chael has his number, barring some really out-of-character changes to Anderson’s training and preparation.
Chael’s got a good enough chin to blitz through the initial mid/long-range striking
So did Leben and Henderson. Chin is irrelevant when it comes to Silva.
Leben and Henderson decided to strike with Silva. Big mistake.
Chael decided to attack Silva wherever he found an opening. His boxing technique and combinations were good enough to create a couple of those on the feet, and his wrestling is world-class, so naturally the fight ended up there whenever he wanted it to do so (or when he was in trouble).
I do generally agree that Silva is unique. He doesn’t have the most power (although it’s certainly up there), or even the most handspeed of anyone in the sport, but what he does have is ridiculous accuracy. I mean ridiculous, ludicrous and unparalleled accuracy. With everything. Hands, knees, elbows, kicks. It doesn’t matter. He fires and it’s nearly an automatic hit.
Sonnen also knows the amount of money Vitor made in that bout. I heard they are in negotiations on buying a house in Oregon.
The University of Utah is off to the Pac-12 Conference and will be in the South Division. Hopefully we will get to the first ever Pac-12 Championship Game. Jon " Bones " Jones gets his chance for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title when he faces off against Shogun Rua.
by wolfmanshowlforever on Feb 8, 2011 12:16 PM EST up reply actions
Chael
should fight Maia again so I can watch him get embarrassed.
Well
I was hoping Maia could go ahead and submit Chael in approximately two minutes again so that Chael would stop talking so much.
I was just being an ass.
Besides, I think karma is in balance after the whole ‘Nogueira Brothers Black Belt" backfire. But that’s just, like, my opinion..man.
Chael well and truly dominated Silva, but ended up losing the contest, which is ultimately what matters most. I think he’s still got some room for mouthing off about it.
To me
he lost every right he had to pop off at the mouth after he pissed hot.
I will never say that a roided up or testosterone’d up Sonnen didn’t give Silva everything he could handle because he did but the fact of the matter remains that he had to cheat to do so and he pretty much lies with every statement he makes.
I don’t like the guy and I think he’s a scumbag. I don’t think he deserves an immediate shot at Silva and I think he should have to go through a few tough guys before getting there again.
That's a perfectly understandable position.
There’s nothing wrong with placing severe sanctions on fighters for testing positive for banned substances. I guess I just don’t care as much about that particular issue as some people. Not that I don’t care at all, but it drops way down the priorities list for me, personally.
Nothing wrong with making him go through a few tough guys, but it does remove one of the few guys in that weight class under the Zuffa banner who has the skillset to challenge Silva, at least in the immediate future. That’s worth considering.
I’d like to see Silva either fix the wrestling chink in his armor, or get beaten by someone with that skillset who uses it to maximum effect. GSP probably fits that description, but he’s a weight class down.
Good to see Sonnen back in top form, the guy is always good for a quote no matter the subject. People can make all the excuses and justifications but it’s become even more clear after Anderson’s destruction of Vitor that he’s the only guy at MW that can beat Silva. Hopefully the UFC won’t wait too long to make the real superfight at MW happen, because neither GSP nor Okami have much of a shot at beating Anderson right now.
So wait, you think Chael Sonnen can beat him, but GSP doesn’t have much of a shot? Dude, the size difference is hardly enough to stop the quality take downs of St. Pierre, and he can actually defend submissions.
If anything, GSP is like Chael Sonnen on steroids!…wait… ;)
Twitter me @kkelchner621
Read me at WatchKalibRun
by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 8, 2011 10:30 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Franklin vs Forrest showed just what a difference size makes in a fight, the difference between Silva and GSP would be even more evident and make the fight a one sided joke.
Sonnen is a guy who has fought at LWH and can handle a guy like Silva and toss him around that’s what you need against Silva. A guy who isn’t scared to bully him when they tie up, who can get inside and bring the fight to him the entire time. GSP is the best fighter in the planet I believe that but he’s way too small and would end up getting outclassed so badly it would ruin him.
See, this is where I see technique overcoming size. GSP is just so good with wrestling in MMA, I don’t think size matters. I’ve heard he schools Rashad Evans when they wrestle, and he’s a LHW. I just think Silva’s poor take down defense paired with GSP’s technique is what seals the deal.
That’s what makes the fight so fun though, we don’t know what would happen…and I’d like to find out.
Twitter me @kkelchner621
Read me at Cageside Seats
by Kaleb Kelchner on Feb 9, 2011 12:41 PM EST up reply actions
Now watch, we'll get treated to another round of face-busting jabs by GSP.
We’ll all scratch our heads as Silva gets outstruck by the smaller man.
Not saying I predict that to happen, but I don’t put it out of the realm of possibility.
You can have all the technique in the world but there is a reason why there are weight classes. GSP isn’t even the biggest WW, he’s small next to guys like Alves and even Shields to beat Anderson for 5 rounds you need to not just get a takedown but keep him there and overpower/overwhelm him the entire fight.
GSP is too small to do that, i’m not sure he would get past the clinch and end up like Franklin kneed to oblivion or even worse Silva would just pick him apart long distance like he did Maia. I really just don’t see it being that interesting of compelling at this point, Okami has a better chance to beat Silva than GSP does he needs to stay at WW and continue to be great there.
Welterweight is 170lbs for MMA. Middleweight is 185lbs.
Anderson is a huge middleweight, no question about it. When he fought at 205, he looked identical to how he looks at 185. And he’s supposed to walk around at 230 off-cycle.
GSP, on the other hand, is never off-cycle and he walks around just below 200lbs right now. So he’d look just fine at middleweight, and would be similar size to most of Anderson’s opponents to date.
Generally, I agree with the premise that size makes too much difference, but in this case I just don’t see it. Travis Lutter was able to handle Silva pretty easily in the transitions department, for crying out loud, and literally nothing has changed in Silva’s wrestling skills since that fight. GSP is a truly massive welter, and would fit right in at middleweight. If Silva had two ounces of wrestling ability, he’d be able to use it in the transition game, but he doesn’t have that much. So his size doesn’t matter, because he’ll be on his back.
Except that Lutter is a pretty big MW himself and also is more closer to Sonnen than he is GSP as far as fighting and wrestling style. Just looking at how he looked small compared to Shields who was never a big MW himself, just tells me the size difference could be even greater than I already thought it was.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Cageside Seats
Related FanShots on Cageside Seats
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
