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It was announced yesterday that Chael Sonnen would again take on Anderson Silva in a rematch of their UFC 117 encounter. Apparently, the UFC thinks that this is the best course of action as you have the boisterous new star Chael Sonnen against the UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Let me first say that this is seemingly a sound business decision as this match has the most buzz. However, as a fan of the SPORT of MMA, I must say this is the wrong choice to make at this time.
MMA is a pure sport or, at the very least, tries to portray itself as one. Thusly, if it wants to be taken seriously as a sport, it must conduct itself as one. A decisive finish should not lead to an immediate rematch. Period. MMA is unique in that sometimes the contests go to a decision and judges must make the call. In close decisions, an immediate rematch is warranted. This was not close. It doesn't matter how much Sonnen was on top of Silva, he lost. Sonnen, the wrestler, was in a dominant position for most of the fight and still did not win. He had Silva right where he wanted and couldn't finish. Does Shane Carwin deserve an immediate rematch for gassing out against Brock Lesnar while beating on him for most of the 1st round?
Of course he doesn't and neither does Sonnen. That match at UFC 117 was a perfect storm; a once in a lifetime occurrence. Let's be honest with ourselves, the technical fight wasn't that exciting outside of the shock of the 1st round and the drama in the 5th. Rounds 2, 3, and 4 were all the same. Takedown, unproductive ground and pound while not improving his position. Over and over. If that was GSP or Jon Fitch, fans would call it boring and lackluster. However, fans were caught up in the dominant Silva being put on his back constantly. Now we've seen that narrative and we know the result. Either Silva will knock Chael out, work on his TDD or he will submit Chael...again.
The buildup to the fight was great in that it was something unseen in MMA (or at least done to that level) as Sonnen unleashed his "Rowdy" Roddy Piper-like promos on the unsuspecting marks of the MMA community. The heat going into the match can never be duplicated even if Chael amps it up because, in the end, he had the champ where he wanted and still lost. In fact, the one thing he belittled the most was the very thing that beat him-Nogueira Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Chael's act works only once against Silva, any attempt to copy it just seems so artificial and fake (well more so than it actually was), cheapening the effect and making it more "pro wrestling" than it already was.
Furthermore, most of the issue in the buildup and tension through the fight was "Will Anderson fight?" and "What will he do win someone brings to fight to him?" Well, we know the answer to both of those. He will fight and he will pull out victory. There's no "mystique" going into this fight like there was at UFC 117. Anderson's also not going to be injured heading into this one. I'm sure even the most ardent pro-Sonnen will admit to, as Sonnen did himself, Silva's performance not being up the caliber that it normally is due to injury.
Most of the people want to see this fight to see if Silva will lose. He won't. Sonnen had his chance at an injured Silva and still wasn't able to pull it off. What has changed now? Will Chael get better at BJJ defense? His career says "Absolutely not". If you think that he can, what makes you not so sure that Anderson cannot improve his TDD? This is not "Lesnar/Mir II" or "Chuck/Tito II" or any other big rematch you can name for the title. Those other competitors won the right to face the champion again. Sonnen hasn't. He needs to earn his shot.
In sports, if you lose, then you lose. You work your way back up and then try again. You don't award championship rematches because the first one was good or got great numbers; you give them to the one that deserves it. Frankly, Chael Sonnen hasn't earned it.
MMA is a pure sport or, at the very least, tries to portray itself as one. Thusly, if it wants to be taken seriously as a sport, it must conduct itself as one. A decisive finish should not lead to an immediate rematch. Period. MMA is unique in that sometimes the contests go to a decision and judges must make the call. In close decisions, an immediate rematch is warranted. This was not close. It doesn't matter how much Sonnen was on top of Silva, he lost. Sonnen, the wrestler, was in a dominant position for most of the fight and still did not win. He had Silva right where he wanted and couldn't finish. Does Shane Carwin deserve an immediate rematch for gassing out against Brock Lesnar while beating on him for most of the 1st round?
Of course he doesn't and neither does Sonnen. That match at UFC 117 was a perfect storm; a once in a lifetime occurrence. Let's be honest with ourselves, the technical fight wasn't that exciting outside of the shock of the 1st round and the drama in the 5th. Rounds 2, 3, and 4 were all the same. Takedown, unproductive ground and pound while not improving his position. Over and over. If that was GSP or Jon Fitch, fans would call it boring and lackluster. However, fans were caught up in the dominant Silva being put on his back constantly. Now we've seen that narrative and we know the result. Either Silva will knock Chael out, work on his TDD or he will submit Chael...again.
The buildup to the fight was great in that it was something unseen in MMA (or at least done to that level) as Sonnen unleashed his "Rowdy" Roddy Piper-like promos on the unsuspecting marks of the MMA community. The heat going into the match can never be duplicated even if Chael amps it up because, in the end, he had the champ where he wanted and still lost. In fact, the one thing he belittled the most was the very thing that beat him-Nogueira Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Chael's act works only once against Silva, any attempt to copy it just seems so artificial and fake (well more so than it actually was), cheapening the effect and making it more "pro wrestling" than it already was.
Furthermore, most of the issue in the buildup and tension through the fight was "Will Anderson fight?" and "What will he do win someone brings to fight to him?" Well, we know the answer to both of those. He will fight and he will pull out victory. There's no "mystique" going into this fight like there was at UFC 117. Anderson's also not going to be injured heading into this one. I'm sure even the most ardent pro-Sonnen will admit to, as Sonnen did himself, Silva's performance not being up the caliber that it normally is due to injury.
Most of the people want to see this fight to see if Silva will lose. He won't. Sonnen had his chance at an injured Silva and still wasn't able to pull it off. What has changed now? Will Chael get better at BJJ defense? His career says "Absolutely not". If you think that he can, what makes you not so sure that Anderson cannot improve his TDD? This is not "Lesnar/Mir II" or "Chuck/Tito II" or any other big rematch you can name for the title. Those other competitors won the right to face the champion again. Sonnen hasn't. He needs to earn his shot.
In sports, if you lose, then you lose. You work your way back up and then try again. You don't award championship rematches because the first one was good or got great numbers; you give them to the one that deserves it. Frankly, Chael Sonnen hasn't earned it.
He needs to fight someone and beat them for a number 1 contender status. You don't get to keep that status just because you took anderson took the 5th...that's just dumb.
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