Saturday night was quite possibly the last time we will ever see Chael Sonnen compete in MMA.
After he was soundly beaten at UFC 159, Chael's rhetoric was transformed. He was now somber and reflective. Gone was the showman. All that remained was the man behind all the hyperbole. The real Chael. The Chael we saw on the Ultimate Fighter. During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Chael stated that "I'm not going to be one of the guys to hang around, if there isn't a road to the title then this sport isn't for me. I believe that was probably my last opportunity". In my book, those are some retiring words.
As is always the case when there is a high profile retirement, we instantly begin the process of dissecting their career. Usually through rose-tinted glasses. So how will we remember Chael Sonnen the fighter? If we are to ignore the persona and simply concentrate on his fighting accolades, then Chael may be remembered as MMA's nearly man.
Chael's failure to capture the light heavyweight belt against Jon Jones meant that he has come up short in all three of his UFC title fights.
His time in the WEC yielded a similar story. In 2007, Chael fought Paulo Filho for the title and was submitted in the second round. Then, the following year he got another chance to challenge Filho. Despite winning the fight, he did not capture the title because Filho missed weight, deeming it a non-title fight. In case you aren't keeping count, that is five chances to win a world championship and five times Chael has gone home empty handed.
Unfortunately for Chael, he seems to possess that annoying knack of just falling short in all of his endeavors. That could be due to a mental fragility or maybe his talent is just not at a championship level. We can speculate all we want but ultimately it is irrelevant, he came second every time and that is all that counts.
So assuming Chael does indeed decide to retire, his career will be one of a world class fighter who narrowly failed at the final hurdle.
The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday night will be the scene of a one-sided beat down according to a large proportion of the MMA world.
Many, including the odds makers, believe that Chael Sonnen has little to no chance of dethroning Jon Jones at UFC 159.
That opinion is perfectly valid and the controversy of this fight announcement is somewhat understandable. The light heavyweight bout will be Sonnen's first since his UFC debut against Renato Sobral at UFC 55 in 2005. Which, of course, means that he is 0-1 at light heavyweight in the UFC. He is also coming off a loss in a completely different division. Chael, certainly, does not 'deserve' this fight in any conventional sense.
However, all that is now irrelevant. The fact is they will both step into the octagon and only one of them will leave as the UFC light heavyweight champion. The only real pertinent discussion now is, can he actually pull it off?
Well Jones is about as unbeatable as it gets in MMA. Ignoring the disqualification loss to Matt Hamill, he has never been beaten. Not only that, but baring a briefly deep armbar courtesy of Vitor Belfort, his MMA career has pretty much been smooth sailing. His extraordinary reach and unpredictable fighting style causes his opponents to resemble a deer caught in the headlights. He possesses that rare ability to mesmerize and remove his opposition from their game plans. It is in this area of the contest that Chael may complicate things.
One of the funnest aspects about Chael as a fighter is his go go go attitude whilst in the cage. There are no Greg Jackson-esque game plans, he simply tucks his chin in and moves forward. This, such a simple rudimentary technique, could potentially be his most useful asset.
Scared is a strong term, especially in the testosterone fueled world of MMA, so instead lets use wary. Many, if not all, of Jones's title defenses have been against challengers who seem very wary to engage. They fight prudently. Very rarely do we see the fight being taken to Jones. Yet, this is precisely what we are likely to see at UFC 159.
Chael only comes with one mode and that is attack mode. He will not stand in awe while Jones uses his length to dictate the distance at which the fight will fought. Instead, he will be constantly aggressive and will plow forward to a fault in an attempt to get inside, grab a hold of and hopefully take down the champion. After all, gangsters from Oregon have no concern for oblique kicks.
Jones doesn't possess one punch knockout power, instead he breaks you down gradually with a wide ranging assault round after round until he seizes his opportunity to finish the fight. This could be encouraging for Chael. He may be willing to eat the odd shot on the way in if it means he can complete a take down. Then what? We have never really seen Jones on the back foot or even how he reacts to adversity. There is no telling how he will respond if he cannot dictate the pace or range of the fight. He may crumble, he may rally and find a way to win.
Jones's take down defense has been impregnable, however the same was said about Anderson Silva and Chael took him down and beat him up for the majority of their seven rounds with one another. He will be hoping for similar success against Jones, minus the triangle chokes and failed spinning back fists.
The journey towards UFC 159 started back in August of last year, when the fight was announced. It has been long and it has been controversial. Eight months and one reality TV show later we are about to find out if Chael Sonnen can finally back up his rampant mouth and become a world champion.
So can a blown up middleweight who has lost on three separate occasions to Jeremy Horn beat the greatest light heavyweight of all time? Maybe. To paraphrase Chael P., he may go down, but if he does he will go down like a gangster.
Super fight is a term that gets thrown around a lot in combat sports. It is also a term that is tricky to define.
In my last post, I discussed super fights in the UFC. I, personally, used the term 'super fights' to describe potential bouts involving the top three pound for pound fighters in the sport. However, a lot of the time it is simply used as a promotional tool to hype up fights that are not really deserving of the label.
Maybe the term has been bastardized over time. Words are often overused to the point where they lose their true meaning. Love, hate and literally hit their saturation points a long time ago, the significance behind them has been diminished greatly. One could argue that this is what is happening with the term 'super fight'.
The truth is there is no real definition. We just need to decide how we are going to use it.
So which fights do we brand as a super fight? Is it simply champion vs. champion or is it more complicated than that? Maybe legend vs. legend is deserving of the title? What about pound for pound great vs. pound for pound great?
I think the answer is much more subjective.
A true super fight is, in part, determined by the fans. The desire to see those two particular individuals face off must be intense. It is the kind of fight that your mum will know is happening. The kind of fight the mainstream media take notice of. Usually, these fights seem destined not to take place. And that’s why we are fascinated by them, if shooting stars were witnessed every night they wouldn't be as special. A true super fight is generally years in the making, it's the teasing and anticipation that makes it that much more enticing.
On that basis, I would determine that there are only two true super fights to be made in the UFC, George St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva and Anderson Silva vs. Jon Jones.
There, does however, seem to be an awkward no man’s land when it comes to super fights. They occupy the area between a run of the mill title fight and a contest that decides who is the pound for pound king. The fights that operate in this space are fights I like to call the ‘not quite’ super fights.
A recent example of what I’m talking about was the Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar fight. This was even talked about as a super fight, but almost half-heartedly. The anticipation and excitement for this fight was higher than that of Aldo’s previous title defenses yet was distinctly lower than what could be expected if GSP was to fight Silva. Maybe this was because Edgar was no longer a champion and was riding a two-fight losing streak. Nevertheless, these were two of the top ten pound for pound fighters in the world doing battle, the featherweight king versus the former lightweight king. There was just a certain something missing, they were not fighting for the right to be known as the greatest fighter on Earth.
There are more of these ‘not quite’ super fights to be made in the UFC. As my previous post discussed, they are plenty of obstacles to overcome in order for a true super fight to go down. The fun part about the ‘not quite’ super fights is that they are much more likely to take place.
Working from bottom to top let’s start with Jose Aldo vs. Benson Henderson. Earlier this year, it was revealed that if Aldo beats Anthony Pettis in August he will move up and face Henderson for the lightweight title.
Next up there is Henderson vs. GSP. In February, Henderson called out the long-time welterweight champ. This was days after Pettis decided to move down to featherweight and fight Aldo instead of fighting Henderson for the lightweight title, for which he was the number one contender. They have previous and Henderson was upset Pettis moved down so maybe his call out of GSP was just a bit posturing. Nonetheless, if Henderson continues winning there could be big paydays for him down the line.
Finally, to complete our list, there is Jon Jones vs. Cain Velasquez. It was pretty much inevitable that Jones will move up to heavyweight at some point, he has even stated that it could be as early as the end of this year. Which means a bout between Jones and Velasquez could conceivably take place in 2014.
These are all big fights. They are fantasy fights. They are champion vs. champion fights. Yet they still fall within that no man’s land. They are more special than typical title fights but not quite as epic as the GSP vs. Silva or Silva vs. Jones super fights would be. They are the ‘not quite’ super fights.
Super fights, especially lately, have been a much discussed topic in the UFC. Ever since Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva embarked upon their dominant championship reigns, there has been talk of a super fight between the two. A fight to determine the pound for pound king. For the longest time though, this seemed to be a pipe dream.
The emergence of Jon Jones, however, seems to have reignited life into the subject. It has now become MMA's version of a love triangle.
Lately we have begun to be teased more and more by the UFC. Dana White, in particular, has been very vocal about making super fights between the big three.
So why does the UFC seem to be pushing the super fights with vigor lately? Maybe it is because they need to strike while the iron is hot. There appears to be a vast number of reasons why the fights won't happen. So why not try to make them as quickly as possible while all the pieces are still in place.
It looks as if we are oh so close to witnessing a combination of the top three pound-for-pound fighters in the world do battle inside the octagon. Despite it feeling like a very real possibility, there are a number of potential roadblocks.
So. What are the obstacles that could prevent a potential super fight involving Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones?
Well, for starters, Anderson Silva is the linchpin to this whole concept. As he is in the middle of the trio, any hopes of a super fight rest on him. We have three fighters and two possible fights, both of which Silva is a participant. Luckily, it seems that out of three, Silva is the one most fond of the idea.
Silva is set to defend his middleweight title against Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July. Now, if he was to lose, would the super fights fall part? The whole reason these super fights are enticing is because they are pitting three, seemingly unbeatable, world champions against each other. The allure would be somewhat lost if Silva is coming of a loss and is no longer a champion. The odds are unquestionably in Silva's favour but it would be foolish to count Weidman. He is a world class grappler who many are tipping for the upset. According to Dana White, Weidman has already apologized for ruining the super fights.
"I talked to Chris Weidman myself. Guy looks me right in the eye and says, 'I'm telling you, I apologize that I'm going to f**k up all your super-fights and I'm gonna be your next champion. What I will do for you is I'll give him (Silva) an immediate rematch in Madison Square Garden as soon as he loses."
Next up is Georges St-Pierre. Who, of the three, seems least keen to engage in a super fight. As he is at the bottom end of this trio, he can only fight one man, Anderson Silva. Now, whenever he is asked a question regarding Anderson Silva and a possible fight, his demeanor visibly changes and he avoids the question like a seasoned politician. It wouldn't be completely unjustified if one was to opine that St-Pierre doesn't want to fight Silva. Which is, ultimately, what matters.
It has been all but confirmed that St-Pierre will fight Johny Hendricks. Which many are predicting will be his toughest test to date. However, it is important to note that this isn't set in stone. Dana White has said on multiple occasions that he hopes to put on a super fight by the end of the year, ideally at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the UFC's 20th anniversary in November. Which is approximately the time that the St-Pierre-Hendricks would take place. So either Hendricks gets his title shot or we have to wait to see St-Pierre-Silva. If we do see St-Pierre-Hendricks before a super fight, which seems the most likely option, then there is the distinct possibility that he gets beat. Which would obviously dampen the desire for a St-Pierre-Silva super fight.
Another issue with St-Pierre is that it was recently announced that he will play Batroc the Leaper in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It is unclear, at this stage, how this will impact his immediate future. But it is safe to assume that he will be taking some time away from the sport. He is famous for his preparation so it is unlikely he would do it alongside a fight camp. So will St-Pierre even fight again in 2013? Who knows.
Lastly, we have the final piece of this puzzle, Jon Jones. Now, Jones can only fight Anderson Silva and this fight can only happen at 205 pounds. Which is interesting as it is the only common ground we have in super fight territory because Silva has fought at 205 before in the UFC. He has fought three times in the light-heavyweight division, winning all three bouts via first round knockout. Granted, they were against limited opposition but nevertheless it is the only overlap there is in the Venn diagram of UFC super fights.
The only issue with a Jones-Silva super fight at 205 is that it doesn't seem like Jones is going to be sticking around at 205 for much longer. A move to heavyweight has been a much touted option for Jones, he is still young and filling out his 6'4" frame. However, this could be happening much sooner than was previously anticipated. In January, Jones suggested that his inevitable move to heavyweight could be happening as early as this year. It seems the window of opportunity for Jones and Silva to face off could be narrowing.
Another potential obstacle in the way of Jones's involvement in a super fight, is his upcoming fight with Chael Sonnen. Even though this fight is somewhat controversial and many believe that Sonnen doesn't stand a chance, this is MMA and that means that anything can happen. In my opinion, there are a couple of things that Sonnen brings to the table that Jones hasn't experienced in his title reign so far. One is world class wrestling, and the other is the likelihood that he will not be intimidated or in awe of the unconventional champion. Jones possesses the ability to stump world class fighters, his unique style has caused his opponents to almost freeze. I doubt that will happen to Sonnen, he will come to fight. Fighting Chael Sonnen is never an easy task and it is one that Jones shouldn't overlook.
There we have it, the three men in this super fight triangle and the obstacles they face in order to compete against one another.
So who knows if the stars will ever align. One thing is for certain, for them to do so, an awful lot has to fall into place.
