SONNAN ISN’T AFRAID OF THE SPIDER!
Oakland, CA– Anybody who has ever paid any attention to Chael Sonnen’s (24-10-1, 7 KOs, 3 SUBs) career knows he is a fighter with a lot to say about a lot of things. Sonnen has made it clear in the months leading up to his title shot against seemingly invincible middleweight champ (185 lbs) Anderson Silva (26-4, 15 KOs, 4 SUBs) that he plans on taking the fight to the Brazilian phenom. Although still a considerable betting underdog, the bookies appear to be giving Sonnen more of a shot than most of the latest string of title challengers that have fallen to Silva-and rightfully so.
CHAEL CAN WRESTLE WITH THE BEST
To determine if Sonnen really does have a chance, one must first look at what he brings to the cage. He is a fantastic wrestler, rivaling Georges St. Pierre (20-2, 8 KOs, 5 SUBs) in his takedown follow through, and he possesses fierce tenacity and desire. He seems more than focused on capturing the title Saturday, and has been on a destructive path as of late dominating the likes of Yushin Okami (25-5, 9 KOs, 4 SUBs) and Nate Marquardt (29-9-2, 7 KOs, 15 SUBs). In some ways, it seems when Sonnen is focused, he can be just as unbeatable as Silva.
ANDERSON WON’T HAVE TO LOOK FOR CHAEL
On the other hand Sonnen has been susceptible to submissions in the past, something that the lanky Silva is surely aware of. That being said, I really feel that Sonnen has the style to dominate Silva with superior position; constantly taking the Spider to the ground. For his part, Silva’s best bet is to look for a submission from the bottom as I don’t think he will be given the breathing room and respect on the feet he has enjoyed in the past.
THE UNPREDICTABLE WORLD OF MMA
It wasn’t long ago that I penned an article on how the UFC divisions could possibly be locked down by dominate champions. Since then, two have already fallen; those being light heavyweight (205) champ Lyoto Machida (16-1, 5 KOs, 2 SUBs) to Shogun Rua (19-4, 16 KOs, 1 SUB) and lightweight (155) titlist B.J. Penn (15-6-1, 6 KOs, 6 SUBs) to Frankie Edgar (12-1, 2 KOs, 3 SUBs). On top of that, heavyweight (265) champ Brock Lesnar (5-1, 2 KOs, 2 SUBs) was nearly dethroned in the first round of his bout with then undefeated Shane Carwin (12-1, 7 KOs, 5 SUBs). Come Saturday night will we see a third title reign come to an end or will the Spider keep his perfect UFC record?
UNDERCARD LOOKS AS SOLID AS THEY COME!
The rest of the card for UFC 117 is stacked with premium bouts including Jon Fitch (22-3, 4 KOs, 5 SUBs) battling Thiago Alves (16-6, 10 KOs, 1 SUB) in a welterweight (170) rematch of their 2006 bout in which Fitch won via TKO, and the continuing comeback of Matt Hughes (44-7, 16 KOs, 18 SUBs) as he takes on Ricardo Almeida (12-3, 5 SUBs). Also on the card, the always exciting Clay Guida (26-11, 4 KOs, 13 SUBs) will square off against Rafael dos Anjos (14-4, 1 KO, 7 SUBs) and The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson (15-4, 8 KOs, 4 SUBs) may have bitten off more than even he can chew as he battles Junior dos Santos (11-1, 8 KOs, 3 SUBs) in a heavyweight clash. Don’t miss all the action LIVE this Saturday night on Pay-Per-View!
Matt “All Meat” Grizzle