OT - UFC 148 Silva/Sonnen
On the eve of the "biggest fight of the year" of the moment perhaps some discussion on where the blogosphere sees this going tomorrow night. The matchup is interesting and the subplots varied: Muay Thai/BJJ/Striking (Silva) vs. Good ol' American Wrestling (Sonnen); Silva's ego vs. Sonnen's mouth.
Current betting odds
Silva -280
Sonnen +255
I expect to see a lot of late money to come in on Sonnen such that the +255, presently, represents a reasonable value.
Prediction: Day before the fight...I'll take Sonnen via decision perceiving that he closes the distance, continues to enjoy success in takedowns and grinds out five rounds.
Hoping for the intelligent mma discussion versus the Sherdog fighter nut hugging/screaming...
Both's weaknesses I believe are the other's strengths - Sonnen's submission defense (duh) and Silva's problems vs. wrestlers. What did surprise me was the striking success that Sonnen had vs Silva, considering Silva is one of the most feared strikers in all of MMA.
I *want* to believe that Silva has adequately prepared to counter that same tactic (and I definitely am assuming that Sonnen will try the same thing; hell, it worked for 4 3/4 rounds). Yet...precisely how much did SIlva's injury affect him and how much did Sonnen's, ahm, testosterone replacement therapy affect HIM?
As usual, I want to see an exciting match. But definitely pulling for Silva FTW.
I wish they could knock eachother out like the end of rocky
I'm one of those types that buy into the thought that Silva was pretty injured going into their last fight which was the prime reason that Silva flat out got beat up. At the end of the day I really think that Silva is a far better fighter than Sonnen. I think that Sonnen looked pretty flat against Bisping (I personally had Bisping winning that one, but understood why Sonnen took the decision.) I'm also still wary about sonnen's submission defense... as Silva's camp kept saying on the preview show... he did get beat up, and he still won the fight. In a 25 minute fight it's pretty easy to imagine a scenario where Sonnen's focus slips for a few seconds again.
So... for the fight I really do think that Silva will win. However it's pretty tough to pass up a +255 line on sonnen. Not to mention... I'm one of those idiots that kinda like Sonnen's act.... and I also wouldn't mind seeing Silva finally lose.
rooting for chael, just a bit nervous after seeing his last fight against bisping... he easily through chael off his game
I thought Sonnen would have won the previous fight if he had kept it standing. Instead he stayed with the ground and pound and ultimately got caught. So I think Sonnen on the feet, Silva on the ground.
Huge Chael Sonnen fan, if people actually take the pre-fight hype serious you are simple minded. Additionally today Silva Showed his true colors, taking a cheap shot at Sonnen at the weigh ins.
What a bitch move. I think Sonnen is in Silva's head. I've never seen another guy take a shoulder to the chin in a weigh-in staredown. I've seen guys get slapped before, hell, I've seen a guy kiss his opponent but never a shoulder to the chin. If it wasn't such a big fight I could see him getting suspended, but of course Silva is UFC's crown jewel so he'll just get fined a penny or two.
It was sort of a cheap shot, but it wasn't like it was hard. It was a love tap. Anyway, Sonnen is in his head. If someone talked shit about your family (wife) and your country wouldn't you be a little more than pissed off. There is hyping a fight up and talking trash and there is personal attacks. This isn't WWE, this is real life combat. I love some trash talk, but the moment you talk shit about my wife or family it's personal.
If Bob Arum was promoting this fight I'd lay the house on Sonnen (sure in the knowledge that he would win) to set up Silva/Sonnen III
Am I the only one who is annoyed by Rogan?
This seems eerily close to A. Silva nut hugging.
If you had provided some analysis on this action then I might have thought differently.
Do you really believe that A. Silva will 'kill' Chael Sonnen? That's Sherdog level analysis right there.
This is going to be awesome. I like both fighters, so I'm just hoping to see a good one.
My friend and his wife used to babysit Chael Sonnen when he was a baby. I don't thing he would remember them though because he was to young.
Got an early start in life by offending your friend's wife, demanding a snack 'medium rare', fighting with the other kids by taking them to the floor and then laying on them with a boring wrestling style that didn't let them up, didn't advance his position much, didn't do any harm to them and didn't concern the parents too much so they didn't intervene...
Some things never change.