Issue 104

August 2013

The long-brewing feud between these two UFC mainstays looks to finally come to a head this summer

Never one to let others guide his career or willing, in the words of dozens of crushingly unimaginative UFC fighters to fight “whoever Joe Silva/Dana White/Lorenzo Fertitta put in front of me,” West Linn, Oregon’s most famous pizza restaurant-owning ‘gangsta’ Chael P Sonnen essentially made this match himself, in public.

Backtracking on his retirement talk after being TKO’d by Jon Jones in April, Sonnen (27-13-1) was making noises about a fight with Silva (35-12-1-1) within days. Building on a longstanding ‘disagreement’ – ‘The Axe Murderer’ was publicly aggrieved by Sonnen’s anti-Brazilian rantings and his open disrespect for the Nogueira brothers back in 2010 – Sonnen and Silva’s expected, upcoming match is surely a natural one to make at this late stage in each man’s fighting career.

With 90 professional fights between them and careers stretching back to 1996, the 36-year-old Silva and Sonnen (same age, made his debut in ‘97) are two of the most experienced fighters on the UFC roster. Neither man has ever won a UFC title, though Silva was the Pride FC middleweight (205lb) champion for five years. And now, neither is likely to.  

Sonnen has come desperately close to title glory in the WEC, but was foiled by champion Paulo Filho’s inability to make weight, turning their November 2008 fight into a farcical non-title affair that Sonnen easily won by decision. Almost two years later, he was less than two minutes away from a stunning upset win over Anderson Silva until mentally lapsing his way into a beautifully set up triangle choke. But even then, he’d have been stripped of the title for his chemically inflated testosterone levels.

Whether by virtue of his talent in the cage, or more likely by his ability to talk and hype a fight outside it, Sonnen has been in either title matches or official title eliminators in five of his last six outings. In his elimination fights he’s dominated Nate Marquardt and squeaked past Michael Bisping on the judges’ cards.  

In title fights, he’s been tapped out by Silva, hammered in the second round in their long-awaited rematch almost two years later, and been squashed by Jones. He looked superb in 2011, on his return from suspension, beating Brian Stann with a second-round arm triangle, his only inside-the-distance win since October 2007. But, realistically, Sonnen is out of title shots.

The ever-popular Silva is close to a decade removed from his prime and looks similarly unlikely to challenge for a UFC title in the future. Since the beginning of 2006, he’s gone 5-7 in the ring and cage, being knocked out four times. As a UFC fighter, he’s never managed two wins in a row and has an overall 4-5 record.  

Along the way, he’s been in some superb fights, largely when his opponent has willingly played along with the idea of standing and trading for the enjoyment of the fans. His punch resistance has been questioned for years, but the way Chris Leben starched him in 27 seconds was alarming. Yet since then, he’s gone 2-1, dropping a decision to Rich Franklin but finishing Cung Le and Brian Stann.  

All three matches earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors whilst his epic brawl with Stann in March will almost certainly be a top contender for 2013’s ‘Fight of the Year’ at the Fighters Only World MMA Awards. Floored three times in the monumentally exciting first round, Silva also dropped Stann twice and in the second session finished the American with a massive left hook.

This fight makes perfect sense for both men. Two big-name veterans squaring off in what will be a major, high-profile fight and one that’s almost guaranteed to be entertaining: Sonnen may not be much of a finisher, but he’s an all-action fighter who always gives value for money. There should also be genuine doubt about the outcome.  

Everything points to a compelling scrap with a great atmosphere that either man could win, and win in style. Sonnen, with his trademark grinding ground ‘n’ pound style, will likely start as favorite against the now seemingly one-dimensional veteran war machine. But the main thing about this fight isn’t the overall outcome; it’s simply enjoying them both while you can. Retirement can’t be too far away for the broadcast booth-bound Sonnen, or for the heavy-handed, wild-swinging legendary Brazilian.