(Video courtesy MMALive)
Chael Sonnen replaced Franklin McNeil as John Anik’s other wingman alongside Kenny Florian on the latest episode of MMA Live and the trio proved itself a major improvement over the traditional line-up. Not only did he come off as a seasoned vet on camera, Chael also added to his vast depth of knowledge with a plethora of Sonnenisms like the one he used when describing the pending match-up between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
"Well, listen, the fight has to happen. It’s already happened once and Maynard got the edge on him. I think Frankie’s better now. I like it from a competitive standpoint. It needs to take place," Sonnen said. "It’s the right fight. From a business standpoint, acting as though Maynard versus Edgar is going to sell out an arena is about as optimistic as holding onto Jim Morrison’s mail."
During the segment, which originally aired on Thursday, the durable UFC middleweight confirmed that if Anderson Silva‘s injured ribs heal in time, they will square off at UFC 125 which is being planned for Saturday, January 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Alternatively, he said the rematch of their UFC 117 barnburner could headline an event the night before the Superbowl on February 5.
“There’s absolutely going to be a sequel. Part two is tentatively scheduled for New Year’s weekend," Sonnen revealed. "It may take place Super Bowl weekend. Either way it’ll be in Vegas. It’s gonna be a big deal.”
Sonnen assured Anik that he isn’t going to waste the second opportunity against "The Spider" and said he plans on starting out 2011 wearing UFC gold.
“Last time I defeated the myth, this time I’m gonna defeat the man. The only thing different is I’m leaving there with the belt. That’s it. We were one minute away from pulling it off," Sonnen pointed out. "If I [had] beat him I’d have to come back and beat him again anyways. Nothing in my career has changed. I was the best fighter before that fight and I’m the best fighter after it.”
The Edgar-Maynard rematch has reportedly been penciled in as the co-main event of the New Year’s day event, but it is likely that the UFC will bring in a handful of supporting marquee match-ups to ensure that the card sells if the Sonnen-Silva bout doesn’t make it on the card, considering fan and even a large amount of media consensus has pointed to the fact that the lightweight title fight is a tough one to market.
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Chael Sonnen’s really grown on me, and I think he has been fantastic for the MW division. The only downside to his trash-talking this time around is that even if it is the same, it won’t seem so over-the-top this time since he actually did most of what he said the first time around. I think one of the best things about Sonnen’s hype was Anderson’s mystique, and how Sonnen had no respect for it, but we all still did and thought Sonnen had a screw loose.
Sonnen said he wasn’t afraid of Anderson’s stand-up and that he wouldn’t be outstruck on the feet on his way to the takedowns. He said he would put Anderson on his prissy ass and pound on him for 25 minutes. We all laughed and asked what this guy was smoking, and thought it was hilarious that he would say those things. Now that he did those, and pounded on Anderson for 23 minutes, it won’t seem as much like hyperbole this time around when he says the same things.
Although he still says a lot of shit that is just outright wrong or selectively revisionist of the past, so maybe he will still have some crazy shit to say to sell the second fight.