Sonnen recently gave the following sentiments that comes to us courtesy of a post on Bloody Elbow: “Thank you, Anderson, for revealing yet another weakness for me to exploit in our rematch. Beating that poor punching bag doesn’t impress Uncle Chael, guy. You tipped your hand like a chump poker player at a $5 table in Atlantic City. You may have beaten Vitor, but in the process, you LOST your edge. By beating that husk, you gave me the last page of your playbook. Revel in your time, [because] it ENDS the night you face me. I will mow you down like autumn wheat, AGAIN.”

It appears that a steroid scandal and a money laundering scandal haven’t damaged Sonnen’s sense of humor one bit. This is the same Sonnen many UFC fans fell in love with, especially Silva detractors, and to this day the man remains a popular star despite all that’s been going on in his professional life.

Me, personally? I used to “love to hate” Sonnen. His personality mixed with his fighting skills made him one villain I couldn’t help but watch and enjoy.

Then he got busted for steroids. Then he got busted for money laundering.

Now Sonnen’s the butt of the jokes.

Come on, people. Do you honestly expect me to still take this guy seriously? The man can barely keep his personal life together, and did anyone else notice how conspicuously absent he was when he got busted for steroids and then busted again for money laundering? Sonnen didn’t just toss stones in his glass house, he launched boulders from inside it with the help of several catapults.

I think we all know what a healthy, focused Anderson Silva can do against a dangerous opponent. He proved that much when he beat Belfort. And what’s this about Belfort being a husk? People took Belfort far more seriously as a major threat to Silva’s throne than they ever did Sonnen in the weeks leading up to both men’s fights with the champion. I’m used to hearing Sonnen attack Anderson Silva, I even enjoy his rants occasionally. But kicking Belfort while he’s down is just plain classless, and to be bluntly honest, it’s a new low even for Sonnen.

No amount of witty banter will make up for the fact that Sonnen choked in his big moment, and then had his personal life fall apart with no one to blame but himself. Sonnen needs to get his priorities straight before he starts making the same promises he made the first time he tried to beat Anderson Silva. Because as it stands right now, not only is this getting ridiculous, this is also getting pretty tedious. Sonnen is still the king of one-liners, but last time I checked, Silva still sits upon the UFC middleweight throne and Sonnen’s personal problems have got everyone laughing at him and not with him.

So I advise Mr. Sonnen to get his own house in order before launching his next crusade. We all make mistakes, and even I can admit that I’d watch him if he returned. But in the here and now, Sonnen continues to dig his own grave both privately and professionally.

And of course, this is all just my opinion. So let’s get some debate going, fans and friends. The floodgates are open, my flame shield stands ready. What’s your opinion on Chael Sonnen’s recent remarks and Sonnen in general?

After originally raising eyebrows following his spirited fifth-round submission loss to Anderson Silva, where the Oregon native was linked to Performance Enhancing Drugs due to high levels of testosterone found in his system–which was ultimately attributed to hormonal injections for a disease called hypogonadism.

Since then, the former title challenger has plead guilty to Money Laundering charges, a felony punishable up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 worth in fines. Needless to say, his life isn’t exactly where he would like it to be, and UFC President Dana White believes that the 185-pounder needs more time reassess his current dilemma.

The UFC head honcho recently suspended Sonnen from active competition within the mixed martial arts promotion, freezing his contract until further notice.

MMAFighting.com caught up with White who had this to say regarding his troubled brash fighter: “I really don’t know,” he said. “There’s no timetable. We still have to see what happens with all his personal problems.”

Chael has reportedly used his guilty plea to parlay his Money Laundering conviction, which stems from his former career as a Realtor, in order to not face any jail time. Instead, his Real Estate license has been revoked and a fine of $10,000, as well as a two-year probation period.

With all of the hoopla surrounding his life, it was in the best interest of the UFC to distance themselves from one of their noticeable athletes. Sonnen was scheduled to make a return to the octagon this March opposite of Japanese Judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama for “UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans”, however with his recent suspension at hand, Nate Marquardt has since taken his place.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of Sonnen’s current situation? Would you like to see him back in the cage, and if so against whom? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. Phil Baroni – The Trickshot Spammer

This is the guy who tries to always do the 360 noscope, or the across-the-map throwing knife/tomahawk, or any number of seemingly-impossible feats of gaming awesomeness.  Nine out of ten times it embarrassingly backfires in a most heinous way, but whenever that tenth time rolls around, the Trickshot Spammer will practically blow your ears out because of how hard they’re screaming into the mic and calling themselves legendary. The same could be said for Phil Baroni, who usually ends up on the wrong side of a bad KO, but once that tenth time rolls around, he shouts “I’m the best eva!” about fifty thousand times.

4. Anderson Silva-– zzirGrizz

If you don’t know who this man is, put his name into a YouTube searchbar along with the words “The Matrix”. To make a long story short, Grizz is the type of player that doesn’t talk, he simply does. And he’s the best he is at what he does. And what he does is come up with amazing ways to kill you, ways so incredibly difficult that you’re almost honored to be on the receiving end of such an ultra-embarrassing kill. The same could be said for Anderson Silva, who’s always coming up with new ways to viciously and dramatically separate his opponents from consciousness. And while both have stumbled along the way, both are generally regarded as being at the very top of their chosen profession.

3. Junior dos Santos – Sandy Ravage

Again, YouTube him if you haven’t heard of him. Sandy is the type of player with the insane score you wish you could have but don’t think is possible, until you see that he’s been able to reach that score. He’s the guy who gets at least fifteen kills for every death, he’s the kind of guy that can enter a losing game and single-handedly proceed to bring his team back from the brink and make it look easy while doing so. Plain and simple, Sandy Ravage is an engine of destruction. And so is Junior dos Santos. I truly, truly shudder to think what would happen if these two were to meet.

2. Shinya Aoki – The Tryhard Crybaby

There are tryhards (those that take the game too seriously), and there are crybabies (those that whine non-stop), and then there is the rare and incredibly infuriating mix of the two. This is the gamer that lives and dies by his highscore, and if you somehow manage to beat him, consider him your enemy for life. That pretty much sums up Shinya Aoki’s abrupt turn into a bad-boy: when the Japanese crowd turned on him, he flicked them off and went out of his way to lash back at them for daring to cheer another fighter. And much like Aoki, it’s hilarious when all of the Tryhard Crybaby’s taunts and boasts ends up backfiring on him, because he’s usually subject to such intense ridicule that he immediately leaves the game and runs crying to his mother.

And finally, we have…

1. Chael Sonnen – GUN1T123

Now and forever, the crowning achievement of both the gamer and the fighter will be mired in controversy. Chael Sonnen’s dominant near-victory over Anderson Silva will be always tarnished by the fact that he was on steroids when it happened, and fans continue to ridicule him for it. Shaggy, a.k.a. GUN1T, will forever be remembered as the YouTube commentator that became famous for getting the “world’s fastest nuke”, which basically means that he got a very high amount of kills in a very short amount of time, only for it later to be revealed that he had faked the whole thing. Both the fighter and the gamer have shown real skill before their scandals, but both have come to be defined by their momentary, albeit incredibly high-profile, lapses in judgment.

And so there you have it, fans and friends: ten MMA fighters and what they’d be like if they played COD. Now that it’s all over, what’s your opinion?

The former UFC middleweight title challenger will now be sidelined, for the time being, from his mixed martial arts career.

Following a reduced sentence handed down by the California State Athletic Commission whom originally penalized the Oregon native on suspicion of steroid use after elevated levels of testosterone were found present in the fighters’ post-fight medical proceedings last August, Chael has now been pegged to money laundering, a federal offense that can carry a 20 year sentence along with a $500,000 fine.

With everything considered, UFC President Dana White felt that it was in the best interest of the fighter to spend some time away from the octagon in order to reevaluate his life and get things in order.

“Chael Sonnen has gone through a lot in the last few months, and we think it’s important for him to focus on getting his personal life together before focusing on his career in the UFC,” said White who spoke with TMZ.

MMAJunkie.com has been able to confirm with sources close to the fighter that Sonnen’s suspension comes into effect immediately and can very well jeopardize a 185-pound meeting with K-1 veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama, which was scheduled to take place on March 19 for UFC 128 in Newark, New Jersey.

In fact, TMZ reports that Sonnen’s contract with the UFC “has been temporarily frozen”. How long the suspension will last has not been determined.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? How long should Chael sit out? Sound off in the comment section below.

While news of a reduced sentenced off of an original 12-month suspension handed down by the California State Athletic Commission following a post-UFC 117 drug screening would be generally good news after a tumultuous period of time spent contemplating his mixed martial arts career, it looks like Sonnen will now have time to reflect on what was a burgeoning career as a realtor–well, that’s all down the drain now.

It has been reported that Sonnen has plead guilty to federal charges of Money Laundering just early today and could be facing jail time. All this comes after the Oregon native is scheduled to face PRIDE veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 128.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the new middleweight affair which takes place at UFC 128 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey–however, the match up pitting Sonnen against Akiyama has now been gravely over shadowed by the recent news of Chael’s new escapades as a potentially convicted felon.

Charges of Money Laundering can cost Sonnen a maximum of 20 years in prison in addition to a $500,000 fine, if convicted. Chael has reportedly plead guilty, and as such has reached a plea bargain, that is according to The Oregonian, which acts as a news beacon for the entire Oregon area. Along with the deal, The District Attorney’s office has contended that Chael will face a two-year probation as well as a $10,000 fine and have his Realtor’s license revoked for his actions.

And what action’s exactly might you ask? MMAJunkie.com has done a great job keeping up with the story, and this is what they have been able to gather:

“The District Attorney states Sonnen conducted a financial transaction that was “designed to conceal or disguise the ownership and control of the proceeds of wire fraud.”

As part of his plea deal, Sonnen agreed to give up his Realtor’s license and pay a $10,000 fine, said Michelle Holman Kerin, the assistant U.S. attorney handling the case.”

The 33-year-old will face sentencing just 10 days after his proposed match with Akiyama on March 19.

So, MMA peeps, is everyone excited for Akiyama and Sonnen?! That was a rhetorical question, of course. How do you think this will effect Chael in the long run? All political aspirations have now definitely gone out the window with the kind of bad luck that the middleweight fighter has run in the last several months, and now it looks like Sonnen has only fighting to fall back on. Sound off in the comment section below.

The Oregon native was last seen in action when he was pitted against reigning middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva last August at UFC 117 in Oakland, Cali. Sonnen dominated the Brazilian for a majority of the fight, even dropping the dynamic striker in the opening moments of the fight. However, a mental lapse in the fifth and final round allowed Chael to be submitted in the waning moments of the fight, and with a triangle choke in place, Sonnen tapped out with less than two minutes to go in the fight.

Following the 185-pound contest, Sonnen was suspended on initial suspicion of steroid use when post-fight medicals showed that the 33-year-old had elevated levels of testosterone in his system.

It was later revealed that Chael in fact did not take any performance enhancing drugs, however was using testosterone replacement therapy for a condition called hypogonadism which decreases functionality of the gonads.

After it was all said and done, Sonnen eventually was handed down a 6-month suspension following a lot of litigation and a meeting before the California State Athletic Commission (which reduced an initial 12 month suspension to 6) and can resume competition in March of next year. Recently, the outspoken middleweight star has traded barbs with legend and former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva. The conflict originally came to a head when the brash Sonnen spoke negatively against the Nogueira brothers, who remain close friends with “The Axe Murderer”, however it was when Chael spoke unfavorably to Silva’s native Brazil that really but him over the edge.

“Have respect or lose your teeth” were the wise words of advice that the future UFC Hall of Famer had to share with Sonnen, and since then the Team Quest product has done little to hold any punches back in kind.

“We get through all the red tape in just a matter of months. The very first of March we’ll resume training and I’m looking to have a fight immediately following”, said Chael who appeared recently on MMA Live, discussing his immediate future in the world of mixed martial arts.

“There’s three shows going on in that month, I’m going to get tabbed on one of them.

‘I’m not feeling quite up to myself. I’m suspended and can’t resume training until early March, so I’m looking for an easy fight, I took an easy target and I called out the guy (Wanderlei Silva) with the worst record in the history of the UFC.”

Sonnen is nothing short of a UFC pay-per-view miracle. If the guy lost all of his limbs, he would still be able to convince you that he could win a decathlon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of Sonnen’s recent claims? Does a fight with Silva interest you? Who do you think will walk away the victor from the middleweight affair? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. The UFC 126 “Super Bowl Super-Show”.

It’s not enough that the UFC is giving us Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, oh no. In addition to the mega-fight that’s been several years in-the-making, we’ve got Rich Franklin vs. Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader. Basically, we’ve got three fights that could each easily, and I do mean easily, headline an event on their own. And it all goes down during Super Bowl Weekend, where everyone is hosting parties and having fun anyway. UFC fans are in for a real treat with this one.

4. UFC in Brazil for the first time in over ten years.

Georges St. Pierre in Canada. That’s the kind of reaction I think the Brazilian fans will give if they get someone like Wanderlei Silva or Anderson Silva or even Renzo Gracie or Royce Gracie to compete at the upcoming UFC event in Brazil. From the beginning, from the moment the idea for the first UFC tournament popped into the head of Rorion Gracie, Brazil has been tied to the UFC. While the UFC will most likely forever be headquartered in Las Vegas, heading back to Brazil is almost like coming home. It should be an amazing show featuring an unbelievable atmosphere.

3. UFC in Toronto in front of over 60,000 fans.

But even the tentatively-titled UFC: “Rio” virtually pales in comparison to the UFC’s upcoming debut in Toronto. The UFC owes almost as much to Canada as it does to Brazil, Canada was the first major step on the road to the UFC becoming a global brand and it remains a key player in the UFC’s international development. And UFC’s debut in Toronto will be in the Rogers Centre, better known as the Toronto SkyDome, which can seat anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 people. I can hardly begin to imagine how epic the crowd alone will be, let alone the amazing card the UFC will likely put on in order to attract the most fans possible.

2. The thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

It’s been repeated so many times by so many fans and insiders that it’s practically a cliché, but it’ll always be true: “The Ultimate Fighter” broke the mainstream barrier and is perhaps the single most important thing to have ever happened to the UFC outside of its original founding. We’re heading into our thirteenth season of TUF, and things just keep getting better. No season is perfect, but the steady ratings and improved fight quality of Season 12 have left me incredibly pumped up for TUF Season 13. Even though I’m a bit sad that we won’t see Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva coaching against each other, there’s really no reason to miss out on Season 13.

And #1 on the list goes to…

1. Better per-event fight quality thanks in no small part to the influx of WEC talent and the addition of the Bantamweight/Featherweight divisions in general.

As a WEC super-fan, could I have really picked anything else to top this list? With two new divisions and a host of world-caliber talent, the WEC/UFC merger should begin paying out enormous dividends almost immediately. I have a great feeling that this is going to be a “best of both worlds” scenario, where we get the same great WEC action except on a much larger scale. Both the merger and the new weight divisions should give a lot of otherwise-underwhelming UFC events a big shot in the arm, especially the international events. It should be an awesome, awesome year of fights.

And that’s the end, fans and friends! My four-part “All I Want for Christmas” mini-series is now officially over and done with. I’d like to thank all my readers for their continued support, and once again I’d like to wish you all a very happy and very merry Christmas, and happy holidays in general. So, what about you? What are you looking forward to for the UFC in 2011?

Silva recently spoke with Fighters Only and had some less-than-kind words for the abrasive, mile-a-minute trash-talker and former UFC Middleweight Championship contender. Here are some highlights: “I trained with him one time at Xtreme Couture and I killed him there… Sometimes I talk, we talk, it’s making the fight more interesting. I like to talk about my opponents, no problem. I am not afraid of anybody.”

It’s pretty easy to see why so many people were looking forward to Silva and Sonnen coaching against each other: they’ve got two radically different personalities, but they’re also two of the most entertaining talkers in the business. When Wanderlei Silva speaks, he speaks in an incredibly down-to-earth tone, so when he says something important, people immediately pay attention. Chael Sonnen is the polar-opposite, inundating fans with constant verbal barrages to the point where they have no other option than to listen to what he has to say. But of course, none of that would have mattered had Sonnen not been at his comedic best when throwing his verbal jabs.

And Silva vs. Sonnen does certainly sound like an excellent match-up on paper. Sonnen’s striking has improved a whole lot lately, but Wanderlei Silva still possesses a large amount of the famous KO power that once had both fans and fighters speaking of “The Axe Murdered” in hushed, near-reverent tones. It’s true that Wanderlei Silva is not what he once was, but I’ve yet to see the man compete in a boring fight throughout all his numerous ups and downs. I think these two men would bring the best out of each other if this fight does happen, and us fans would be treated to a great fight as well as several awesome weeks of build-up.

As to who I think would win the fight, my head says it’s relatively fifty-fifty while my heart just has to side with Wanderlei. I think a properly-motivated Wanderlei Silva can still be a threat in the Middleweight division, he’ll probably never hold a championship but I think he has a few high-level fights left in him. And Silva would have all the motivation in the world against someone like Chael Sonnen. Likewise, Sonnen would also be incredibly motivated to perform at his best if he ever signed on to fight Wanderlei.

In the end, I really hope this fight happens. I would have enjoyed it immensely if these two coached a season of TUF against each other, but I’ll be more than happy to settle for Silva vs. Sonnen happening, period. It’s a great fight that appeals to several different sections of the general MMA fanbase, so I think the UFC would really be losing out if they overlooked this match. And what about you, fans and friends? What are your feelings on Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen?

According to a report seen on MMA Mania, journalist Ariel Helwani recently took to Twitter for a pair of announcements: that TUF Season 13’s coaches have still not been finalized, and that both Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva are officially out of the running. The two men were widely rumored to be coaching opposite each other for weeks, with many anticipating the inevitable showdown thanks in no small part to a classic video that showed “The Axe Murderer” laying a verbal beatdown on a somber, borderline-apologetic Sonnen.

We then head to MMA Weekly for a report concerning a possible Brazilian version of TUF. For those unaware, there’s been a lot of talk recently surrounding which country/countries will get the first shot at their own version of TUF. Regarding a possible Brazilian version, UFC President Dana White had this to say: “…Imagine the talent that would come off that show… So yeah, we want to do it. I don’t know how fast it would be that we could get it done, but trust me, we’re moving pretty quickly… We want to take ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ everywhere. All these places and all these different countries that we’re going, we want to take ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ to these places.”

I have to admit, I had my heart set on Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva coaching against one another. Chael Sonnen is certainly charismatic enough and infamous enough for the role of a coach. Plus, Wanderlei Silva is so good-natured and kind that I think fans across the world would find yet another reason to become a fan of “The Axe Murderer” once they get to know who he really is outside of the Octagon: the kind of man that once stated “I don’t have fans. I have friends.” The contrasting ideals and potential dynamic between these two could have given us some of the best TUF drama in years, perhaps ever, and I’m honestly sad that it’s not happening.

In regards to a Brazil-exclusive version of TUF, I fully agree with Dana White: this is a no-brainer. Brazil has bred an incredible amount of MMA champions, it’s one of the premiere destinations for Mixed Martial Artists no matter what discipline they’re looking to train. I’d love to see a Brazilian version of TUF, I think the fight quality would be off the charts.

All in all, it’s going to be very interesting to see how things shake out for “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2011. And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think about these recent TUF developments?

Sonnen was part of the main-event of the August tussle opposite of current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva. Chael dominated the Brazilian for four-and-a-half rounds before succumbing to a triangle choke, being submitted in the waning moments of the final round.

Following the match, Chael had received word that starting September 2, he would be serving a one-year suspension for allegedly taking Performance Enhancing Drugs, originally believed to be steroids due to elevated levels in testosterone.

Sonnen appeared before the commission earlier today, presented his case, and stated that the elevated levels in testosterone were present not by any PED’s specifically, but by injections taken due to the discretion of his Doctor.

A testosterone producing deficiency called Hypogonadism was the cause of concern from Chael’s Doctor in Oregon, whom also appeared before the commission today as a witness. Sonnen, 33, was been diagnosed with the disorder since 2008, and has reportedly been taking injections of testosterone since.

The commission sympathized with Sonnen’s disease, however pointed to the fact that little to no disclosure was revealed prior to his match his Anderson Silva, at least not in proper documented form. Instead, Sonnen revealed that he was taking shots of testosterone to an official of the CSAC just one day prior to his meeting with “The Spider”, which took place in Oakland.

This proved to be insufficient, and as such, the members of the commission opted to count Sonnen’s time served as part of a reduced suspension, which will be completed on March 2, 2011.

The UFC does have an event in March in the works for their second venture into Abu Dhabi, which is tentaively scheduled for the 19th. The event is expected to be held on Yas Island, of the United Arab Emirates, and is said to be the return of current UFC light heavyweight champion, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as he takes on former champ Rashad Evans. Tito Ortiz and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are also expected to face off at the March event.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? The motion was originally at a stand still when it was proposed to keep the one-year suspended sentence when it was opposed 2-2. Then the six-month sentence was introduced, and finally passed by the majority at 3-1. Do you agree with the CSAC? Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s what Marquardt said at the UFC 122 post-fight press conference, courtesy of MMA Mania: “I felt great coming into this fight. Mentally, I felt ready… When he was catching me, it wasn’t really affecting me, but the judges perceive it as him controlling the fight. I felt I did enough to win, but I wasn’t a spectator… Either way, I’m still one of the best, and I’m going to get back in there and be the champ one day.”

Dana White, however, disagrees. Here’s what he said at the same post-fight press conference (courtesy of Bloody Elbow):  “He is a choker, he choked tonight.  Marquardt is such a talented guy, and what I’m seeing is stuff from the Greg Jackson camp…  I mean, Nate Marquardt sat here tonight and said that he thought he won the fight. Where the [expletive] is his corner? You go into the last round and you’re getting outstruck by a wrestler, and you think you won the fight?”

I have to agree with Dana White on this one, although I disagree with the comments he made about Greg Jackson’s camp (more on that later). I didn’t find the judges giving the nod to Okami controversial at all, I think Okami did more than enough to win all three rounds of that fight. It’s tough to say what’s truly holding back Nate Marquardt, perhaps it’s the pressure, perhaps he simply can’t deal with high-level wrestlers. But whatever it is, Marquardt is setting a dubious precedent when he runs through mid-level competition while continuously faltering to high-level threats. If this chain isn’t broken and broken soon, Marquardt may quickly find himself fully embedded in the position of middleweight gatekeeper.

I don’t think you can blame his camp, though. The success of Team Greg Jackson is well-documented. They’ve got several championships under their belts and have propelled many fighters to great heights. The problems Marquardt ran into at UFC 122 do not mean that the Greg Jackson camp as a whole is flawed and needs reworking. Marquardt and his camp definitely need to go back to the drawing board in this one particular case, but the entire system is very sound.

If Marquardt really does want to stand and bang for the majority of his fights, he should focus on training to become the next Chuck Liddell, to use his “wrestling in reverse” to keep the fights standing. Team Greg Jackson has some incredibly dominant wrestlers filling its roster, Nate needs to be defending their takedowns on a daily basis if he wants to keep his fights standing and look for the big power KO. So while the future definitely looks bleak,  I firmly believe that all hope is not yet lost for Nate “The Great”.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you take from Nate Marquardt’s comments, as well as the comments made by Dana White?

“When I watched the Chael fight, I realized I lost some focus of my desire to be champion.  Now I have that back fully 100% and just very excited for the fight and feel very prepared and very ready.”

Okami, like Marquardt, has recently lost to Chael Sonnen.  Yet, Marquardt says he is not looking to replicate how Sonnen defeated Okami.  In fact, he said watching the Sonnen/Okami tape has not been of much use at all.

“The bottom line – Chael is a different style fighter than I am.  I am going to be looking for openings to finish the fight.  It is not going to help me that much.  That fight, he fought completely differently than I am going to fight him. It doesn’t help me that much to watch that fight. There were other fights more valuable for me to watch.”

If he gets past Japan’s most successful UFC fighter, Marquardt is quite confident about facing Anderson Silva, should he defend the title against Vitor Belfort.  He feels Silva has always had holes in his game yet only since his narrow title defense victory over Chael Sonnen has the mainstream MMA media taken notice of the “The Spider’s” flaws.

“It’s been known to me that Anderson has holes in his game and if anything it has been eye opening for the media because they put him on this pedestal as if he was unbeatable.  Chael was able to expose, obviously that he is susceptible to take downs, and ground and pound and even if someone lands on a punch he gets wobbled.”

But first things first, and Marquardt has a giant obstacle in Okami blocking his second-chance title shot.  Will this go to the ground or stay standing … Marquardt didn’t divulge particulars, but sounded quite confident in his general game-plan.

“I fight best when I look for the opening and wait for the opening to come and then I capitalize and go for the finish 100%.   That how I fight best, how I do the most damage and this fight is not going to be any different.

—

How does Marquardt beat Okami?  We want to hear your prediction?  Which fight at UFC 122 has got you fired up.

According to the Graciemag article, the UFC is looking at a possible November event in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. The HSBC Arena is currently the rumored venue of choice for an event that is supposedly going to be called “Ultimate Brazil”. The first “Ultimate Brazil”, also known as “UFC Brazil” and UFC 17.5, took place over twelve years ago in a Brazilian gymnasium. The event featured such notable fights as Vitor Belfort TKO’ing Wanderlei Silva and Pedro Rizzo KO’ing David Abbott.

I think Brazil could easily become a major player in the UFC’s international excursions in the very near future. The UFC has left Brazil untapped for over a decade, and it’s high time that they test the waters once again. No matter what card they put together, I think the UFC will be very successful in their first UFC show.

But if you want my opinion? I say stop making “Brazil vs. USA” cards in principal and start putting them into practice. What I mean is that the UFC has made several notable Pay-Per-View events in recent history that have been filled with Brazilian fighters taking on American fighters, but they’ve never come out and directly marketed the “country vs. country” dynamic. For the UFC’s first show in Brazil, I’m calling for a “Brazil vs. USA” card so blatant that I’d even want it to be called “Brazil vs. USA”.

Not only that, but just imagine the type of fights that the UFC could put together if they truly want to make this foray into Brazil a resounding success. We could see the third encounter between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua. We could get Wanderlei Silva facing off against Vitor Belfort once again, after all this time. How about a rematch between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir? And if the UFC really wanted to ensure a sell-out, they could book the match that practically everyone in the world wants to see: Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva 2. If the card really does take place in November, Chael’s one-year suspension (if he does end up serving the entire length of the suspension) would have ended with more than enough time to prepare for this rematch.

I know I could be accused of getting my hopes up, and rightly so, but it’s hard not to when I think of all the great Brazilian stars competing in the UFC and how the UFC always tries to fill the first card in a new market with talent that’s native to that region. Depending on how big of a statement the UFC wants to make when they return to Brazil, we could end up getting one of the best events of the past several years. It may be a year away, but I can’t wait to see this card come to fruition and I look forward to seeing what big-name athletes the UFC brings to the table when they return to Brazil.

And what about you, fans and friends? How excited are you about the UFC returning to Brazil, and what fights would you like to see?

After all, at 6’4, undefeated as a professional with a perfect 10-0 record, and with only two decisions to his name, it was easy to see why this Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt was sought after by the worlds largest organization.

However, after a disappointing knockout loss to Gerald Harris and an additional loss to grappling ace Demian Maia at UFC 118, with a win over former UFC title challenger David Loiseau sandwiched in between, it looked like the Brazilian’s career inside the octagon would be short lived.

Shy Sadis, co-manager over the middleweight stud recently broke the news of the new 4-fight deal with MMAJunkie.com.

Accordingly, Miranda was in camp with idol and fellow middleweight Anderson Silva, to whom he helped emulate the style of Chael Sonnen (for his UFC 117 match), and since then, the two Brazilians clicked and the Blackhouse representative has taken a liking to Miranda.

Mario stepped up on short notice to fill in for an ill Alan Belcher, when the Demain Maia fight was presented to him. Originally slated to compete on the “UFC Fight Night 22″ card on September 15, the bout was pulled to an earlier date after the Belcher fall out. Instead, the fight was moved two weeks earlier to UFC 118, on August 28, in Boston, Mass.

Miranda held his own against Maia, staving off several submission attempts, but the superior grappling of Demian, a Abu Dhabi Grappling veteran, proved too much, and the former title challenger eventually secured a clean sweep, unanimous decision victory with 30-27 going all across the board.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news of Miranda re-signing with the UFC? Wise move? Can you see him make waves in the crowded division? Sound off in the comment section below.

Most famously, the former title challenger in Sonnen came under some fire when he was stuck with former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva for an extended amount of time, traveling with “The Axe Murderer” between gym openings and fan signings. The whole duet can be featured on the WandFightTeam Youtube channel, where Silva confronted Sonnen face to face concerning some of the outlandish things Chael had to say, primarily about his native Brazil and good friends in the Nogueria brothers.

However, even after the fall out, Wanderlei feels that the year long suspension that the Team Quest product is beginning to endure, following a failed drug screening post-UFC 117, is too much even for the brash middleweight fighter.

“After I talk with him in the car, he had a lot of opportunities for talk some things to me, and he said just ‘thank you’. It’s okay, no problem”, proclaimed Silva regarding Sonnen in a recent interview MMACanada.net, on their way to Ottawa, Canada, beginning a signing tour which will culminate in Toronto.

“Maybe he going to fight with me, but he’s one year out”, said Silva regarding Chael’s suspension, which was handed down by the California State Athletic Comission after his spirited defeat against middleweight champion Anderson Silva last August.

“But, that’s tough. I think a year, that’s too much time. I agree with what Dana (White) said, ‘the guys take his job for a year’, that’s terrible”, said a sympathetic “Axe Murderer” (go figure).

“This guy has a family, this guy needs work. I think six months is okay. A year, is too much time.

“For sure, this is wrong”, said Silva in regards to the alleged steroid use of Sonnen.

“But you can’t take a job from a guy for a year, that’s not so good”.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Wanderlei’s sentiments regarding Sonnen? If Wanderlei agrees that Sonnen’s suspension is too long, do you? Sound off in the comments section below.

The Ed-Chael feud had been well documented in the lead up heading into ufc 117 where Chael faced Soares’ client Anderson Silva just last August. After many outlandish claims directed towards Soares himself and Anderson Silva primarily, it was later discovered that after failing to capture the UFC middleweight title from “The Spider” after a dominant four-rounds turned in (before the Brazilian submitted Sonnen with a late-rally fifth-round arm bar), Sonnen was found to have been possibly under the influence of performance enhancing drugs.

Despite the fall out, and all of the negative tension shared in the media, Ed sympathizes with Sonnen and even goes as far as to say that his ‘friend’ is innocent of said allegations.

“I really feel sorry for Chael, being in this situation”, stated Soares in a recent interview with MMAWeekly.com.

“Chael’s not a bad person. He’s got a family, he’s got things (to take care of). On top of all the financial burden that this gonna put on, just for his reputation. And, unfortunately, the great performance he put on in August will now be tarnished because of this.”

While Ed (who’s management company also has under wraps some of the sports best including the Nogueria brothers, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael “Feijao” and WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo) recognizes the burden that Sonnen must be feeling, he relays some short-changed resentment that Anderson Silva himself is feeling in lieu of the situation.

“It’s just a bummer all the way around. It’s a bummer for Anderson–and it’s a bummer for the UFC and for the fans, because I do believe it was a rematch that a lot of people wanted to watch”, began Soares. “And it would have been a big fight, and unfortunately, there’s a lot of money left on the table, because I think it would have been a big pay-per-view, big sales, and everyone would have made a lot of money. It’s unfortunate, but I just wish Chael all the best, and hopefully he’s able to clear all this stuff up”.

Sonnen was tagged as the next immediate challenger to Silva’s title, however since the allegations, the UFC botched a potential title fight that was tentatively scheduled for UFC 127 seeing as how the Oregon native can very well be sticking with his year long suspension, which runs until September 2 of next year (unless otherwise overturned and appealed) and replaced Chael with Brazilian striker and former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort. Regardless, Soares simply wishes Sonnen the best and hopes matters are resolved from what his instincts tell him that the situation at hand isn’t exactly what it appears to be.

“I personally don’t believe that it is what it looks like”, said Ed. “I don’t know Chael great, but I do like Chael. Chael, I consider him a friend. He’s cool. We talk once in a while. I just don’t see him doing that (PED’s). I don’t know all the details of it; it really took me by surprise when I heard the news.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Do you side with Soares, and sympathize with Chael? Do you feel he is guilty until otherwise proven innocent? The California State Athletic Commission, which served Sonnen with his year-long suspension following his bout with Silva at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif., has a history with supposed-botched test results. Just ask Sean Sherk, who till this day refutes the claims that he was under the influence of PED’s. Sound off in the comments section below.

In what will go down as one of the better fights in 2010, Sonnen put up an almost savage-like beat down on the reigning defending middleweight champion, however the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt battled back from adversity after being taken down and pummeled for four-and-a-half rounds, and submitted his rival with a triangle choke.

Why the stoppage was marred in controversy for a short period of time, Sonnen’s post-fight drug test will blemish his career for the rest of his life. Following the loss, a spirited one at that, the former Olympic wrestling hopeful, was found to have under the influence of performance enhancing substances due to highly elevated testosterone levels, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Sonnen has since refuted the claims and will be appealing the suspension handed out by the Commission, which if sustained will render him unable to fight until September 2 of next year.

Silva, though, a true sportsman, believes that it’s innocent until proven guilty, and doesn’t necessarily buy into all of the allegations.

“I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. I let the people decide”, said the UFC middleweight champion in a recent interview with Marcelo Alonso on behalf of Sherdog.com.

“I’m an athlete; he’s an athlete. We worked hard for the sport, so giving him the benefit of the doubt would be better than for me to speak any nonsense”, which is an stark contrast to Sonnen’s pre-fight hype leading to the pair’s August 7th affair, where Chael berated the champion with insults dating back to March of this year, even prior to his bout with former opponent Nate Marquardt–UFC 109.

With that said, though, Silva admires that Sonnen put up such a performance against him, but if he couldn’t get it done within 20 or so minutes he was given, than he doesn’t deserve a rematch, which prior to his failed drug screening, Sonnen had gained an immediate rematch slated for sometime next year. Silva is reportedly now facing former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, tentatively scheduled for UFC 127 on February 5 of next year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“In my opinion, he never deserved a rematch”, said Silva. “He stayed in the same position all fight. I don’t think he deserves a rematch. If he couldn’t win in 30 minutes with me injured, could he win in a rematch”, stated Anderson, who competed against the Team Quest product with fractured ribs leading into their bout. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt”.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of Silva’s position against Sonnen? Should Chael become resolved of all allegations stemming from his post-fight drug test, should he be entitled to a rematch? Sound off in the comments section below.

He’s what “Minotauro” had to say over at Sherdog: “Sonnen is a kid who does not know what he’s talking about, who thinks it’s cute to do this type of marketing. Sonnen is a guy who never practiced a martial art in his life. He doesn’t know what respect or leadership is. He never respected any teacher, so he said those things…. After the fight with Anderson, Sonnen has apologized for the comments he made toward us. I think marketing yourself is fine, but what he said indicated a real lack of respect toward us. Sonnen was totally wrong. It was a great lack of respect toward us. The guy talked too much, and even though he was doping, he still lost to Anderson. Even with Anderson hurt and Sonnen doped, Anderson still defeated him. God is just.”

I have to admit, Sonnen’s pre-fight trash talk was so hilarious and witty that I actually enjoyed a lot of it. The “Frankenstein mask” remark was one of the funniest MMA quotes I’ve ever read, in fact. But when I put myself into the shoes of the Nogueira brothers, I can see that they’re rightly justified in criticizing Sonnen so harshly. As “Big Nog” says, it’s one thing to market yourself to hype a fight and get your name out there. It’s another thing entirely to disrespect and trash a fighter’s good name.

Simply put, Sonnen crossed a line several times in his boasting and ranting leading up to UFC 117. Even as someone who enjoyed his mile-a-minute mouth a whole lot, I felt particularly upset over his “Happy Meal Toy” remark. That crossed a line and then went right on walking. To belittle the Nogueira’s years and years of torment, the physical torture they put themselves through to make themselves top-caliber athletes and two of the best Brazilian Jui Jitsu artists to have ever competed in MMA…you don’t attack something like that. And if you do, you deserve whatever is coming to you. If anyone deserves respect in this game, it’s the Nogueira brothers. Both are incredibly humble, both come from humble beginnings, both are fantastic fighters even if they are on the decline nowadays. I’d like to see Sonnen take the kind of punishment Rodrigo and Rogerio endured in PRIDE and see what he has to say.

The Sonnen steroid scandal may have died down a bit, but I’m actually glad that Rodrigo got his shots in. He definitely deserved a chance to ridicule Sonnen for boasting, juicing, and still losing. I look forward to seeing “Big Nog” back in the Octagon, and I also look forward to seeing just how Sonnen tries to dig himself out of the considerable hole he’s now in. Because it won’t be easy, and if his total media blackout has anything to say about the situation, Sonnen knows when he’s been beaten. And the only person he has to blame is himself.

And what about you, fans and friends? How do you feel about Rodrigo Nogueira’s comments?

The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States.

While some categories have changed, in order to be politically correct, must stay the same. Voting continues until November 26, where till then you can cast your votes online at All winners are determined by a fan vote, and ballots can be cast through Nov. 26 at www.worldmmaawards.com.

The full list, which was formatted by MMAJunkie.com, of finalists includes:

CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva
* Brock Lesnar
* Frankie Edgar
* Jose Aldo
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
* Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116
* Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 14

KO OF THE YEAR

* Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki at WEC 45
* Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 113
* Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee at UFC 114
* Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 115

SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR

* Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon at UFC 108
* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 118
* Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum”

BEST PROMOTION

* Bellator
* DREAM
* Strikeforce
* UFC
* WEC

LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR

* Bjorn Rebney, Bellator founder and CEO
* Dana White, UFC president
* Joe Silva, UFC VP of talent relations
* Michael Schiavello, HDNet broadcaster
* Scott Coker, Strikeforce founder and CEO

INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Alistair Overeem
* Dan Hardy
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Shinya Aoki

BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Charles Oliveira
* Evan Dunham
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Jon Jones

FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
* Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii
* Miesha Tate
* Sarah Kaufman
* Zoila Frausto

COACH OF THE YEAR

* Cesar Gracie
* Firas Zahabi
* Greg Jackson
* Rafael Cordeiro
* Shawn Tompkins

GYM OF THE YEAR

* American Kickboxing Academy
* American Top Team
* Black House MMA
* Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting
* Wand Fight Team

RING GIRL OF THE YEAR

* Arianny Celeste
* Brittney Palmer
* Chandella Powell
* Natalie Skyy
* Rachelle Leah

BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING BRAND

* Affliction
* Fight Chix
* RVCA
* Silverstar
* TapouT

REFEREE OF THE YEAR

* “Big” John McCarthy
* Dan Miragliotta
* Herb Dean
* Josh Rosenthal
* Mario Yamasaki

MOST MEMORABLE RING ENTRANCE

* Anderson Silva
* Clay Guida
* Jason “Mayhem” Miller
* Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
* Tom Lawlor

BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT BRAND

* Everlast MMA
* Fairtex
* Hayabusa
* TapouT
* Venum

BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING BRAND

* Bad Boy
* Hayabusa
* Jaco
* TapouT
* Venum

MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR

* “Inside MMA” on HDNet
* MMAjunkie.com
* MMAWeekly.com
* MMAFighting.com
* Sherdog.com

MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

* Aaron “Tru” Teweles, Freelance
* Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com/Versus.com
* Conner Cordova, MMAReligion.com
* Gareth A. Davies, Telegraph.com
* John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com

So, MMA peeps, any surprises here? Anyone you would have liked to seen in some of these categories? Who do you think will take home some of the honors of the night? Sound off in the comments section below.

Vitor Belfort recently announced via his twitter account that he is expecting to face Anderson Silva for the middleweight title, on Super Bowl weekend, for UFC 127 on February 5.

The event is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, though no venue has been tapped yet for the event.

Just a few hours ago, “The Phenom” and former UFC light heavyweight champion made it known to the public of his title bout with champion Anderson Silva, stating “Hey guys look like I will be fighting on (February) on superbowl week”, said the Brazilian.

No other bouts have been rumored for the event as of yet, but the 185-pound match up is expected to be the main event of the evening.

Originally rumored for the January card in Las Vegas, which will feature a lightweight title bout pitting wrestlers Frankie Edgar (champion) against top contender Gray Maynard, however the change should come as no surprise. Prior to his bout with former top contender Chael Sonnen, who was recently believed to have been linked to steroids post-UFC 117, “The Spider” suffered rib injuries which he is now recuperating from.

The champion is healing up correctly at home in Brazil, where he will begin his training regime once his body is back in full form.

Belfort, mean while was pulled out of a number one contenders bout with Yushin Okami for the Spike TV live broadcast event for UFC 122, when Sonnen was found to have come in positive for Steroids, sidelining the Team Quest fighter for one full year since he will be serving his suspension.

Vitor was originally granted his shot at the title after a knockout victory over Rich Franklin back UFC 103 in September of last year, however pulled out of a scheduled UFC 112 meeting in April of this year when he had a shoulder injury. Now fully recuperated, Belfort will be waiting for Silva to be on the mend before the two explosive strikers meet, come February 5.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the timing of the card? It was originally believed that Silva-Belfort was to help generate numbers for the Maynard-Edgar fight in January, since no one believes that that particular fight can rightfully carry a Pay-Per-View. Sound off in the comments section below.

He’s what the controversial figurehead had to say in an interview with Bleacher Report: “Am I disappointed? Yes, absolutely… The big misconception is that Dana tells the athletic commission this and that. I don’t tell the athletic commission jack ****… I have to sit back now and see what’s going to happen… Every other sport has a commissioner. The NFL has a commissioner. When something goes wrong he comes in and says here’s what’s going to happen. The government tells my fighters what’s going to happen to them…You don’t realize how devastating it is. They’ve already been punished. They’re down and out. What am I going to do? Go over and kick them in the face? What else is there to do? I’m going to fine you and suspend you for another three months? The government is the commissioner!”

Dana White raises an excellent point, I honestly can’t see why some people are blaming him. It’s true that he’s willing to give second chances to people that have tested positive for steroids in the past, but only if they own up to their mistakes and make a concentrated effort to never slip back into substance abuse. And it’s not like White has given everyone a second chance- time and time again Dana White has railed on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett, who has tested positive for steroids multiple times in his career. White has criticized Barnett again and again for what he (White) feels is Barnett’s unrepentant, unapologetic nature. White has even gone as far as to say on multiple occasions that “The Babyfaced Assassin” will never work in the UFC again.

As strongly as I’ve come out against Performance Enhancing Drugs in MMA, at the end of the day I think that people deserve a second chance. Maybe I’m just a bleeding heart. If a fighter has the intestinal fortitude to come clean and get clean, then he deserves one more shot at grabbing his fair share of the spotlight. You’ll never see me advocate or endorse PED’s in any type of sport, but I do think that people can change their bad behaviors if they really want to.

The only thing I disagree with White on is his assertion that the commission has done enough and that he shouldn’t kick a fighter when he’s down. Some people will probably call it “overreacting” if White institutes a system of additional punishments in regards to fighters testing positive for banned substances, but I call it an old-fashioned case of “tough love”. Maybe White shouldn’t extend a fighter’s suspension or fine them in addition to their commission-appointed fine. But what about making them fight at least once outside of the UFC before being allowed back with open arms? How about making them work their way up the rankings from scratch? I don’t think Dana White should be kicking fighters when they’re down either, but I also don’t think that he should be bending over backwards to raise them back up.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Do you agree with White in that the commission’s punishment of fighters is enough? Or do you think that something more is called for?

Posted on the YouTube channel of MMANewsLeak.com, here’s what Belfort had to say: “Dana [White] just gave me the best present ever. All those rumors that I was hurt…I’m not hurt, I’m healthy. Thank God. I’m just training, I’m back in my routine. Nothing changes. I’m so excited, happy that I’m fighting for a title. I couldn’t be more happy. I’m having a lot of fun, I’m training hard. I’m pushing real hard right now, and studying a lot of [Anderson Silva's] fights. It’s going to be a good brawl.”

Belfort also said that the current plan is for the fight to happen either on New Year’s Eve or New Years Day in Las Vegas, Nevada. For those wondering, Belfort said “January 1” in the interview but then said “New Year’s Eve” shortly thereafter, so that’s where the confusion comes from. But Belfort did say that UFC President Dana White would be making it all official in the next several days, so look for a follow-up article once an official date is announced.

As a Vitor Belfort fan, I’m very happy that he’s been given this opportunity. Belfort has never been more humble, and he’s arguably never been this good either. He’s focused, determined, and poses a very real threat to Anderson Silva. Yes, I’m disappointed that we don’t get to see Sonnen/Silva 2 first. Yes, I think that Belfort should have had an actual fight at Middleweight in the UFC before getting a shot at the championship. But there’s nothing I or anyone else for that matter can really do about any of the situations that led to this newly-announced fight. All I can do is look forward and hope for a good match-up. And right now I’m incredibly hopeful.

I don’t think anybody is going to be taking anybody down in this fight. Silva has shined against strikers, he made his name by picking them apart, nailing them with laser-precise counter-strikes, and finishing them faster and more gruesomely than any opponent had ever done before or (in many cases) since. Silva will be at the top of his game against Belfort, a fellow Brazilian. There will be a lot of pride on the line in this fight, and since it’s unlikely that either man will engage in any sort of over-indulgent or bitterly-personal trash-talk, we’ll likely see two men come out and give us an awesome show simply because both have a deeply-rooted desire to be known as the best competitor in the world.

In all honesty, I can’t wait to see this fight and I think it’s way too close to call right now. Belfort seems to be the perfect opponent for Silva: the kind of go-for-broke striker that he can utterly dominate in order to gain back his status of a feared destroyer. But Belfort’s hands have never been more precise, his striking is now far more technically sound than his glory days of seemingly-blind bull-rushing, and he doesn’t seem to have lost any power since making the drop down to Middleweight. It’s sad that this fight has lost its allure because it’s been postponed so many times, but I still think this is an obvious Fight of the Year candidate and a match fully deserving of “dream fight” status.

And what about you, fans and friends? How do you see this fight going down?

Courtesy of the Wand Fight Team’s YouTube channel, Silva really let Sonnen have it by saying the following: “You make a challenge. You sell the fight, you make a promotion, it’s good. But you need to be careful talking about some things, like Brazil. You’re talking bad things about Brazil. You don’t know Brazil. When there is something you don’t know, you need to respect that thing. You’ve been to Brazil, but I am Brazilian. Like you’ve been talking about the Nogueira brothers. These guys are the history of the sport, we have to respect these guys. The promotion is good, but you need to respect some things. These guys need respect. We need to have a good conduct about that. Don’t do that anymore. In Brazil we have a saying- ‘You have respect, you don’t lose your teeth.’ In Brazil we say that. Give respect. Because we don’t know about the future, no?”

Even though I’ve said multiple times in the past that I’ve enjoyed Chael Sonnen’s numerous rants and raves, I have to say that Wanderlei Silva makes an excellent point. For someone that maintained the image of a cold-blooded killer for so long, Wanderlei also comes off as a highly articulate, very intelligent, very humble man. He has a way with words that completely bypasses his rough Brazilian accent. When you look at it from Wanderlei’s perspective, Sonnen did go pretty far in his pre-fight trash-talk.

I think all Chael Sonnen fans and closet fans (and I’m a closet fan, I admit it) should admit that the man says some incredibly stupid/ignorant things at times. It’s largely overshadowed by the comedic gems he keeps churning out, but they are there. I got plenty of chuckles when Sonnen referred to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira as “Roy Nelson in a Frankenstein mask”, but he went way too far when he compared a Nogueira black belt to a Happy Meal toy. His “no bowing in Brazil” rant was also a bit too much, and I’m sure it certainly angered Silva, who has been a proud Brazilian all his life. It most likely offended a lot of other people too, since the majority of top-ranked fighters in the entire MMA world are, for the most part, either Brazilian or American. Simply put: Sonnen was a fool when he tried to poke fun of a country that has given us some of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.

So, is Chael Sonnen vastly entertaining? Of course. But is Wand 100% right in this video? You better believe it. Win or lose, Silva’s place in the history books is certain. Sonnen’s place may forever be mired by his still-unfolding steroid scandal. Perhaps this is one time where Chael should actually listen to a voice that’s not inside his own head and turn it down a few notches, at least when it comes to broad and sweeping remarks that hurt and offend far more people than just his next opponent.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Do you agree with Silva that Sonnen went too far? Or, as the saying goes, is this a case of “all’s fair in love and war”?

After what was a commanding and inspiring performance against Anderson Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, at UFC 117 last August, it appears that Sonnen didn’t compete without the help of performance enhancing substances.

Following his performance, a 4 1/2 round drubbing of pound-for-pound great Silva, who eventually submitted Sonnen in the waning moments of the fifth round with a triangle choke, a post-fight drug screening revealed elevated testosterone levels that were “abnormal” to say the least.

Most may be able to indicate such findings due to the visible lesions on Sonnen’s back, which were in plain view at UFC 117, as well as UFC 109, and virtually non-existent at UFC 104.

Since the reveal, Sonnen, who was on deck for an immediate rematch with Silva as early as January at UFC 125, has been replaced by Vitor Belfort, who himself had pulled out of headlining duties with Yushin Okami at UFC 122 (which was originally set to claim a new number one contender to the title), and will now be facing his former teammate in Silva, to vie for his middleweight title, which he was originally promised at UFC 112, though the Brazilian succumbed to a shoulder injury and had to pull out of the fight.

In Belfort’s place, Nate Marquardt has stepped up to the plate to face Yushin Okami in November.

The following statement below is made in full by the California State Athletic Commission concerning the matter, which was originally posted by MMAWeekly.com.

=================================================================================
The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has suspended the license of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Chael Sonnen, after Sonnen tested positive for steroids, a banned substance.

A sample from Sonnen’s August 6 drug test came back with a high T/E (testosterone-to-estrogen) level, which is indicative of anabolic steroid use. CSAC learned of the results September 2 and ordered a second test, which also came back positive for steroid use. CSAC received test results from the second sample on September 14 and suspended Sonnen two days later. He is suspended for one year. Sonnen has 30 days to appeal the decision.

“The use of anabolic steroids and other banned substances are not tolerated by the commission,” said CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd. “Anabolic agents put the health and safety of both the user and his opponents at risk.”

Sonnen’s test was observed in the presence of a CSAC representative and the sample was sent to the World Anti-doping Agency test facility at the University of California, Los Angeles on August 6, 2010 for processing.
=================================================================================

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of this mess? Who will it all pan out? Is Sonnen guilty till proven innocent? Let your opinions be known in the comments section below.

The Okami-Belfort bout was to serve as ufc 122′s headliner, the organizations second foray into Germany which is taking place on November 13 via-tape delay on Spike TV, however since Belfort had been pulled the bout, most speculated that the Brazilian was injured when former title challenger Nate Marquardt stepped up to the plate to face the Japanese star.

MMAjunkie.com found out the promotions plans with sources close to the event, UFC 125 where Anderson Silva is expected to return to defend his title for a record 8th time against fellow Brazilian and former friend Vitor Belfort.

The two have traded barbs left and right since they were originally to meet at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi last April, however Vitor had pulled out of the bout due to injury and Demian Maia stepped in his place–he lost via unanimous decision.

Silva was last seen in action where he defended his belt against Chael Sonnen, who had a commanding performance against the champion before he was submitted in the fifth round by triangle choke and by all sources was leading in the score cards. However, Sonnen has come under heavy fire as it has been speculated that he was under the influence of performance enhancing drugs since a failed drug test has come back from the California State Athletic Commission following their bout at UFC 117 in August.

Belfort’s return to the octagon came in September of last year, when the former professional boxer knocked out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin inside of the first round at UFC 103, in a catch-weight bout of 195 pounds. Belfort has yet to compete in the UFC’s middleweight division, however has seen 185-pound action outside of the UFC. He holds two knockout victories at 185 against standouts Terry Martin and Matt Lindland under the now defunct Affliction banner.

Vitor has willingly stepped up to the plate to attempt to claim the title from his former training partner Silva, after Sonnen had failed his drug test and as such has erased any implications of him returning to the octagon early enough to challenge Silva in February (UFC 125) for the Super Bowl weekend card. His suspension is expected to carryout well through 2011, until September 2 of next year.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of this news? Should Belfort bypass a number one contenders bout and get the immediate shot? Is there anyone you’d rather see in there? Let your opinions be known in the comments section below.

First, here’s what Sonnen’s manager had to say in an interview with MMA Fighting: “It is our policy not to comment on pending actions by the Athletic Commission. Chael is consulting with his legal advisors and physicians and will have a statement in the near future. Chael will file an appeal with the CSAC and looks forward to working with the Commission to resolve this matter.”

And here’s what Jim Rome of “Jim Rome is Burning” fame had to say, courtesy of the Jim Rome Show (with text courtesy of MMA Mania): “Every sport has a drug problem. The UFC is facing the same issue that every sport is dealing with. But it’s nearly impossible to eradicate. As long as guys think the reward to use is always going to outweigh the risk, they’re not going to stop. I’m not saying you stop trying, you have to educate these guys, you have to penalize these guys, but they are still gonna do it. Stakes are way too high, the rewards are way too great. Guys will always cheat.”

As I find myself doing so often these days, I both agree and disagree with Jim Rome. I think it’s a harsh reality, but one that we all must face: cheaters will always cheat. But I disagree that there’s nothing that we can do about it. What we can do is penalize the cheaters so harshly that only the most desperate fighters turn to steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Science has proven that these men are gambling much more than their careers when they use and abuse PED’s. They need to learn their lessons, pay their fines, and spend their time on the sidelines. And if they don’t learn, they need to be released from their contracts and left to their own devices. It’s a harsh stance to take, but if some folks really will never learn, then they aren’t worth a promotion’s time.

In regards to Sonnen’s gathering of the troops, I have to say that I’m not surprised. Of course Chael Sonnen was going to appeal this. There’s just no way he would take this attack on his credibility lying down. But my prognosis remains bleak: I don’t think Sonnen is in a fight that he can win. Sonnen messed up in several ways, and there are very few avenues to pursue that the California State Athletic Commission can’t trap him in. It’s going to be a dirty, bloody courthouse battle, but Chael Sonnen is going to once again lose the most important fight of his career. Judging on all the information that’s been revealed up to this point, I just don’t see any way for him to win.

But what about you, fans and friends? Do you agree or disagree with Jim Rome, and why? And how did you think Sonnen’s appeal will go?

Here’s what the report had to say: “Chael Sonnen, the brash Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender who nearly defeated champion Anderson Silva in August, tested positive for a steroid before the fight in Oakland and faces a year-long suspension, California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer George Dodd said Sunday… Sonnen will have 30 days to appeal his suspension and $2,500 fine, said Dodd… Dodd said Sonnen’s positive test emerged from a urine sample he gave before the fight that was processed through the UCLA Olympic drug-testing lab.”

As I said in the original article, the overwhelming majority of evidence states that these tests are accurate. Sonnen faces a very long and very difficult road ahead if he chooses to appeal the suspension. When former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk appealed his positive steroids test, the best he got was his suspension cut in half, from one year to six months. Even with the best of evidence, Sonnen is still looking at a sizeable layoff. It’s just the way these things go, no matter how unfair it may seem.

I’m sure we’ll get a lot of conspiracy theories from the Sonnen faithful, but I’m going to put my faith in a system that is so trustworthy that it’s used in the Olympics. I think there’s very little room for debate now that full details have been revealed, and I didn’t think there was much room for debate in the first place. It doesn’t matter what you think about steroids in MMA, you could believe that everybody’s juicing or that everybody is a saint and that only the big bads touch the roids. But the simple fact of the matter is that Sonnen got caught. He took a chance, he gambled his entire reputation for one shot at UFC gold, and now the greatest performance of his career is nothing but a black mark on his good name.

This puts a real dent in the UFC’s plans. Sonnen/Silva 2 was one of the most hotly-anticipated rematches in years, and now it may never happen. The odds-on favorite for Silva’s next challenger is the winner of the upcoming Vitor Belfort/Yushin Okami showdown, and even those two potential Middleweight Championship fights lose their luster if the Sonnen/Silva rematch doesn’t happen first. As fight fans, as UFC fans, as MMA fans, we need to know once and for all if Chael Sonnen can beat Anderson Silva. Now that it looks like we’re going to be deprived of that fight, I don’t see any potential Anderson Silva fight coming close to the marketability and potential entertainment value of the Sonnen/Silva rematch. And that includes Belfort/Silva, a fight I’ve personally labeled as a “dream-match”.

So there you have it, fans and friends. No “flu medication” here, no conspiracy theories. Another professional athlete has tested positive for steroids. I know, I know…it’s such a shocking revelation, isn’t it? But no matter where you stand on the issue, let’s get some debate going. How bad do you think things will get for Chael Sonnen? Where do you think he goes from here? And what do you think the future holds for the UFC’s Middleweight division now that Sonnen is likely looking at a year-long layoff?

According to the report, Sonnen passed his drugs-of-abuse test, but not his PED test. He has been notified of the situation and it remains to be seen what will happen. Obviously Sonnen will have to go before the California Athletic Commission and face their judgment. He’ll more than likely be looking at a sizable suspension and fine if he is unable to prove that the test was a false positive. Anderson Silva’s manager Ed Soares has already commented on the situation with this to say: “If it’s true, I feel really bad for him. I know he did it to himself but it is really sad, he put on such a great performance that night it is just a shame it will be tarnished.”

I know what I’m about to say is going to upset some people, so allow me to throw out fair warning and explain a few things. First off, yes I’m an Anderson Silva fan. A huge one. A massive one. I won’t deny it. But that doesn’t mean I loathe Chael Sonnen. Maybe I did when this rivalry first started, but I don’t now. If you forced me to make a choice I’d even say that I’m a fan of the man. He’s got a brilliant mind and real fighting skill. So the following isn’t said out of malice towards Chael Sonnen the person. It’s directed towards Chael Sonnen the athlete, the professional fighter, the man who supposedly (if no eleventh-hour revelations come out) cheated to get ahead.

So here it is: I have absolutely no sympathy for Chael Sonnen, and he should be ashamed of himself. I will never, ever, not-in-a-million-years ever condone Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports. I just don’t have it in me. It’s unfair to the opponents who do play by the rules. It’s unfair to the promotions that spend a fortune building up their stars only to have that good faith tarnished. It’s even unfair to the person taking the drugs, as cold, hard science has linked PEDs to a variety of potentially fatal side-effects.

What’s more, this permanently puts an asterisk next to the best performance of Chael Sonnen’s career. Chael Sonnen fans harp on him coming closer than anybody’s ever been in recent history to beating Anderson Silva. That doesn’t mean anything, nothing at all, if Sonnen cheated to get there. In fact, it makes his performance downright saddening (or laughable, depending on whom you ask): even when taking illegal drugs, even when his opponent had a bad rib injury, Chael Sonnen still couldn’t beat Anderson Silva.

I don’t know where this leaves Chael Sonnen… nowhere good, that’s for sure. There’s very little room for debate, the precedent for these tests being correct and not false positives are overwhelming. Sonnen has a long and very difficult road ahead of him if he wants to restore his good name. It’s not impossible, and if all this does end up being untrue you’ll see me quickly recant this entire article. But that is highly, highly unlikely. And for now, I think Chael Sonnen’s career just hit a massive roadblock. And he has nobody to blame but himself.

But what do you think, fans and friends? Where do you stand on the issue?

With translations courtesy of MMA Mania, here’s what he had to say: “I want the belt. The belt belongs to Anderson today and I want to fight him. He cannot fight this year, but I won’t wait for him. I know all of his game, I know all his jiu-jitsu, stand-up game, I know he likes spinning kicks and uses elbows. If I touch my hand on him, he falls and won’t stand on his feet anymore. If I get close like Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia did, my fire power is bigger than theirs… He knows that if my hand touches him he won’t stay standing up. That’s not a promise, that’s a fact. I’ll go towards him, I know what I want, I’m focused and don’t doubt on what I can do. I’m very excited.”

I think Belfort is right in some ways and wrong in others. He definitely has a point that his striking power is much better than Chael Sonnen’s and especially Damien Maia’s. Belfort has always had immense power in his hands, and the drop down to Middleweight has left them faster and deadlier than ever. Even better, Belfort’s long years of experience, the highs and lows of a career that has spanned almost a decade and a half, has made his striking much more technical and laser-precise. If Belfort is given even the smallest of opportunities nowadays, more often than not his opponent is off to the land of dreams.

However, at the end of the day this is Anderson Silva we’re talking about. No man has ever (T)KO’d Anderson Silva in MMA, even though some would say that a few got close. There’s technical counter-strikers, there’s good Muay Thai practitioners, and then there’s Anderson Silva. Despite all the fans that seem to be turning on him in droves with every new fight he competes in, there’s a reason why Anderson Silva is the longest-reigning UFC champion in MMA history. There’s a reason why he holds the record for the longest undefeated streak in UFC history. It’s because he’s one of the greatest Mixed Martial Artists of all time. Vitor Belfort knocking him out isn’t impossible, but everyone including “The Phenom” is fooling themselves if they think that Belfort/Silva would be over in a flash so long as Belfort finds an opening and takes it.

Belfort/Silva will be a war, and neither man is going down without a fight. I respect Belfort’s tenacity, his desire to fight and fight often, and I even admire the man a little bit. He’s been through losses that could have crippled the careers of lesser men, and every time he’s come back better than ever. You can’t not respect him for his ability to turn his career around whenever it looks like he may be done. But Anderson Silva would by far be the toughest test of his career, even when you consider all the legends Belfort has faced in the past. It will likely be a Fight of the Year fight…but it’s not ending in Round 1, no matter what anyone says.

But what about you, fans and friends? How do you see Belfort/Silva going down if the fight finally happens?

1. Yes, Rousimar Palhares should know better.  Don’t stop fighting mid-round without referee assistance.  However, I still feel odd about Marquardt’s victory.  He did exactly what he should do and capitalize on his opponent’s mistake, but it just doesn’t feel right that Palhares felt genuinely “wronged,” albeit incorrectly, and consciously stopped fighting.  Marquardt was cleared of greasing and I am not saying he did anything wrong, but, in no way was Marquardt dominating and the fight was up for grabs.  Horrible mistake for Palhares and I don’t feel Marqaurdt is clearly the better fighter since this ended in such a clumsy, odd, bizarre, uncomfortable way.  Hopefully, Palhares gets back to winning ways and we see this fight again some day.

2. Charles Oliveira, 20, and Rory MacDonald, 21 …  two MMA stars that the UFC is going to hold on to with all they have.  Both are wildly talented and exciting.  Yes, MacDonald lost his last fight to Carlos Condit, but he looked great for two rounds at UFC 115.  As important as their skills and charisma, is their nationality and age.  Oliveira, Brazilian and MacDonald, Canadian.  The UFC is all about international expansion and these two studs can be counted on for years to come to produce wins, excitement, and box office/PPV returns.  The great MMA youth movement has begun!

3. Cole Miller looked great.  And, he added fuel to the anti-wrestling fire in MMA.  His post fight interview compared some wrestlers to NFL football teams running out the clock to protect a lead instead of going for a game ending score.  I can’t help but think the Nik Lentz win over Andre Winner at UFC 118 has sparked this growing discontent.  It fueled my editorial recently as well as the UFC’s Dan Hardy to rail against wrestlers for stalling and not engaging.

4. Jim Miller is rugged.  That word just kept coming to me as he was fighting.  No huge mistakes, forward pressure, durable, consistent, improving.  Sounds like another Jersey lightweight down the shore who now owns some pricey UFC hardware.

5. World Class MMA on Wednesday night for free is cash money.  I know Dana White makes more off the PPV shows, but getting the sport out there to all the fringe viewers and skeptics is what keeps this beast growing.  More Spike TV UFC events, please!

6. Does Chael Sonnen ever stopping running his mouth?  I have enjoyed his talk as much as anybody – but he seems always prepped with a quip to the point of annoyance now.  Spike TV camera’s showed him cage-side but never let him finish, as he seemed at the ready to launch into another rant.

7. When Spike TV shows a clearly taped interview from earlier in the day they should take down their “Live” bug on the upper left corner of the screen and have the host indicate, “earlier today we spoke with …”  Per the Mir and Cro Cop interviews.

8. Referee John Shorley must give a fighter five minutes to recover from a groin shot.  He was pushing Oliveira to start fighting when he was not ready after Escudero landed his low blow.

9. Ultimate Fighter nugget:  Andy Main won his fight to get in the house.  He is in the Jim Miller / AMA camp in Jersey.  Tough as nails from what I am told, and one to watch.

—

What were your big takeaways from the fights on Wednesday night?

Twitter: @john_moody

Courtesy of MMAMania, here’s the poem in its entirety: “Anderson think it through / There’s still a few months before they lock the cage door behind me and you / Last time they raised your hand / But it was plain to see / That I took a lot more out of you than you took out of me / I broke the mirror and I blew away the smoke / It was me who tapped / But it was you who broke.”

In regards to GSP and “Shogun”, here’s what Chael said to MMAWeekly: “GSP had better pray to heaven above that Shogun accepts my challenge because one of those guys is getting beat up. If GSP said he wanted to fight me, the first thing I would say is the same thing I say every time I hear GSP talk, ‘God dangit that guy sounds like a French-Canadian Minnie Mouse.’ That’s the first thing I’d say. Then I’d say ‘hey GSP, let me ask you a serious question. Do you have a designated driver? Do you have someone to get you home safely? Cause clearly you’re intoxicated.’ I would say, ‘GSP, do you have a hankering for pain? GSP, did you lose a bet with God? GSP, bring your $3,000 suit, bring your $3 date, and get that 3 cent tan beat off your socialist back.’ That’s what I would tell GSP.”

In typical Chael Sonnen fashion, I find this utterly hilarious. Chael Sonnen makes it so easy to hate him that I’m honestly beginning to become a fan. I don’t know where Sonnen suddenly found this bizarre and wildly entertaining sense of humor, but it’s gotten to the point where I along with many others think that he could have a run as a stand-up comic. I mean…poetry? A French-Canadian Minnie Mouse? Who else but Chael would be creative enough in his trash-talking to give us those kinds of gems?

If Chael Sonnen wants to keep his name in people’s minds, he’s doing an excellent job of it. But if he really believes the things he says, and is not just saying them to garner interest, then I think that’s where his undoing lies. In particular, the fight with Georges St. Pierre would be a case of Chael biting off far more than he could ever chew. Sonnen is a dominant wrestler and a decent striker, but Georges St. Pierre is an amazing striker and one of the best wrestlers to ever compete in Mixed Martial Arts. He may fare better than Mauricio Rua, who I’ve been a vocal opponent of in the past, but even I can admit that Rua is no slouch on the ground and that every second Sonnen stays standing with “Shogun” is a second too many.

At the end of the day, you have to respect Chael Sonnen for what he did to Anderson Silva. He talked a ridiculous amount of trash and then managed to back up almost all of it. But it doesn’t mean he can do it again. I still think that a healthy and motivated Anderson Silva could conceivably destroy Chael Sonnen, as could Georges St. Pierre and Mauricio Rua. Sonnen is still the best talker in the business… but he’s beginning to talk himself into an early grave.

And what do you think, fans and friends? How do you feel about this latest series of antics by Chael Sonnen?

(Goals for near future)

Marquardt: Well, my goal is to become the champion. And so, really, right now, I’m focused on my fight with Rousimar. You know, he’s a very tough, dangerous opponent, and, you know, I’m taking him seriously. And like I said, that’s my goal, is to win the title. And right now, that’s the way I’m going to do it, is by beating Rousimar.

(Is there any extra pressure headlining the card?)

Marquardt: No, I don’t feel extra pressure. I mean, every fight I go into, you know, I have a strong will and a strong want to win. And, you know, I don’t think I need to add any extra pressure to myself by worrying about it being a main event or whatever.

I mean, I’m going to go out there, and I’m going to do my job. I’m going to fight my hardest, and, you know, it’s going to be an exciting fight, and that’s all I have to worry about.

(How far he has come in his career)

Marquardt: Well, I mean, it’s pretty crazy how far I’ve come and how far the sport’s come since I started. You know, I started training when I was 15 years old. I had my first fight when I was 19 years old. And, I mean, I’m just – you know, I’m a totally different fighter, obviously, from when I first started.

But as far as, you know, what I’ve done in UFC and what I want to do, I mean, the main thing I’m concerned about and my main goal is to become the champion.

(responds to Dan Hardy’s comments trashing wrestling)

Marquardt: I think that’s just coming from someone who isn’t a good wrestler. I mean, I think wrestling is a big part of MMA. And, you know, you shouldn’t complain about it. You should learn it and learn how to defend against it.

And, you know, I was unable to defend the takedowns from my last fight, and that’s why I lost the fight. And now I’m going to be more prepared to defend the takedown, no matter who I’m fighting. And, you know, I’ve worked hard on my wrestling, and I continue to work hard on my wrestling.

So, you know, I think with mixed martial arts, we see waves or changes, you know, trends in the sport where, you know, one minute it’s the strikers that are dominating the sport, and all of a sudden then it’s the wrestlers, and then it kind of goes back and forth. And I think it’s just something you have to pay attention to and be prepared for.

(Do you feel pressure to fight in an exciting style?)

Marquardt: I am an exciting fighter. And, you know, I do look to finish fights. And, you know, that’s what the fans want to see. So, I mean, that’s my style, so I’m not really worried about it. My number-one concern is winning the fight, and, you know, I think I’ll be able to do that, and it’s going to be an exciting fight. It’s just an exciting match-up of – you know, the style match-up I think is going to make the fight exciting.

(Will a win over Palhares put you back in the title picture?)

Marquardt: Well, I think a win against Palhares – I don’t know exactly you know, I definitely feel I’m still at the top of the division, and, you know, I can be one or two fights away from a title shot.

Does a win over Palhares put Marquardt next in line to fight the winner of Silva/Sonnen 2?

twitter: @john_moody

5. Miguel Torres vs. Urijah Faber

Both men are likely only one fight away from this massive dream match-up. If Torres can beat Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 and Faber makes a successful Bantamweight debut at WEC 52 against Takeya Mizugaki, I think the WEC would immediately make this match. It’s true that both men have fallen on hard times and that the match itself loses some of its luster due to that, but it’s a fight that’s been on people’s minds for a long time and still features two of the best fighters the WEC has ever seen, so it’s definitely good enough to make this list.

4. Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez

I’ve talked about this fight in the past, but it could easily happen in 2011. In fact, it’s only a matter of who wins what. If Brock Lesnar beats Cain Velasquez to retain the UFC Heavyweight Championship, a match with Carwin is an immediate possibility. If Velasquez beats Lesnar, then Carwin is only a few fights away from another title shot, perhaps only one fight away if Lesnar/Carwin 2 is booked and Carwin manages to even the score to 1-1. Even though Lesnar is the UFC’s golden boy of PPV ratings, Carwin/Velasquez would do monster business and definitely be a landmark occasion.

3. Randy Couture vs. Mauricio Rua

Of course, this is assuming that Couture keeps winning and Rua remains the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. This would be a huge fight that would pit the unlikely comeback of Mauricio Rua against the Comeback King, Randy Couture. No matter where it’s held, I think the arena that has this fight would explode if Couture somehow beat “Shogun” and became champion once again. Seeing the ageless wonder with gold around his waist once again would go a long way towards outdoing 2010 in terms of can’t-miss happenings.

2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 2

It was one of the most hyped, talked-about, and shocking fights of 2010…and it’s very likely that 2011 will see Chapter 2 written. Everyone wants to see this fight. I’m convinced that those that say Chael Sonnen doesn’t deserve an immediate rematch even want to see this fight. We need to know once and for all: was the first fight a fluke? Is Chael Sonnen really that good, or was Silva’s rib injury the cause for his near-downfall? Will this be the return of the old Anderson Silva or the final coronation of the people’s champion? The first fight made history, the rematch should be even bigger.

And in that regard, my #1 spot goes to…

1. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum 2

I don’t know when it will happen, how it will happen, or even where it will happen. But it’ll happen in 2011, I have a strong feeling about that. Fedor Emelianenko’s first legitimate loss was the biggest story in years, and the rematch would likely set several records if marketed correctly and promoted heavily. It’s the ultimate test of Emelianenko’s career, it would finally and definitively answer the avalanche of questions surrounding that defeat. Did Emelianenko get careless? Was Werdum just that good? Is Fedor done? Was he ever all that good to begin with? This rematch would settle all the scores, and due to that, it’s number one on my list.

And what about you, fans and friends? As big a year as 2010 was and still is, what fights do you think could happen in 2011 that would make it even bigger?

Here’s what Marquardt had to say regarding Dan Hardy’s comments: “I think that’s just something from someone who isn’t a good wrestler. I think wrestling is a big part of MMA, and you shouldn’t complain about it, you should learn it and learn how to defend against it… With mixed martial arts we see waves of changes, trends in the sport where one minute it’s strikers that are dominating the sport, then all of a sudden it’s the wrestlers, then it kind of goes back and forth, and I think it’s just something you have to pay attention to and be prepared for.”

For the most part, I wholeheartedly agree with Marquardt, and not simply because I’m a fan of the man. I think those that do nothing but whine and complain about dominant wrestlers doing nothing with their takedowns are simply angry at themselves for not being good enough wrestlers to avoid being taken down and grinded out. I’ve used this term before, but it’s a very fitting analogy: there’s a “beautiful ugliness” that comes from a dominant wrestler grinding out a decision. Look at Chael Sonnen and Jon Fitch:  they’re always active on the ground, but they rarely finish their fights. Their skill comes in taking an opponent into their area of expertise and dominating them so thoroughly in that one area that, by the time the final bell rings, the judges have no choice but to give them the Unanimous Decision victory.

But as I’ve said before, let’s not sugar coat this: there is a growing amount of “lay and pray” going on in the UFC. This problem isn’t UFC-specific, it’s happening in other promotions around the world too, but the problem is heightened in the UFC because they set the standard for all other MMA promotions to follow. And boring one-sided fights aren’t the standard the UFC wants to set. I think Dan Hardy is actually right: if a fighter is not active on the ground, stand them up. If they keep going to the ground and doing nothing with their advantageous positions, start taking points away.

Now, this is not a knock on the UFC’s talented roster of word-class wrestlers. The problem I have is with how some fighters choose to implement their wrestling in a UFC octagon. There are a host of excellent examples besides Fitch and Sonnen of wrestling-based fighters producing very entertaining fights: Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, and of course, UFC legend and Hall of Fame member Randy Couture. A few bad apples do not indicate that the bunch as a whole is spoiling. So Nate Marquardt and Dan Hardy are both right in some cases and wrong in others.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Do you side with Dan Hardy, who thinks that wrestlers should be stood up as quickly as possible if they don’t do anything with their takedowns? Or do you agree with Nate Marquardt that a fighter can only blame himself if he gets dominated by his opponent’s superior wrestling?

Here’s what Dana had to say on the matter: “There’s no such thing as an automatic rematch. Back in the day, in boxing, when they would negotiate contracts, there would be a rematch provision, meaning ‘if I have the title and I lose this fight I get an automatic rematch.’ Used to happen all the time, that doesn’t happen in the UFC. In the UFC, we rematch fights that we think either A) deserve it or B) people want to see. So there really is no automatic rematch. There’s no such thing.”

I’m glad that Dana White put a definitive end to this branching section of the larger debate. I wouldn’t call an “automatic rematch clause” a dirty tactic, but it’s certainly a cheap one. If a champion is so afraid of losing his championship that he won’t fight an opponent without an automatic rematch clause, then that fighter it’s truly championship-caliber.

However, sometimes immediate rematches just need to happen. All sports are prone to mistakes, errors in judging and whatnot, and MMA is not immune. For the most part, immediate rematches have been used as a way to rectify mistakes either glaringly obvious or hotly debated. MMA judging and even MMA refereeing have come under fire a lot lately, with blown calls and bad decisions being handed out seemingly once every major Pay-Per-View. The quickest and easiest way to solve this problem and to ease fan backlash is to simply book another go-round.

And you can say whatever you want about Dana White, I’ve said plenty in my time, but the man responds to what his fans want. If enough fans demand it, he’ll make it happen, sometimes even if it doesn’t make sense. It’s the reason why Chael Sonnen is getting an immediate rematch with Anderson Silva even if Silva definitively finished the fight and Sonnen tapped out. Even if you think an immediate rematch after a stoppage victory is ludicrous (and trust me, that’s a huge debate in and of itself), the simple fact of the matter is that Dana White listened to what the majority of his fans wanted and now it’s pretty much confirmed that Chael Sonnen will be given an immediate rematch.

At the end of the day, I think we should judge a fighter on the quality of the fight they put on in the rematch, and not criticize them so harshly solely because we think their immediate rematch isn’t deserved. Both Mauricio Rua and Frank Edgar made the most out of their immediate rematches. Chael Sonnen will likely have a fantastic rematch with Anderson Silva. So long as immediate rematches are handled on a case-by-case basis rather than as a whole, I’ll continue to judge them not as a whole but on a case-by-case basis. If an immediate rematch makes enough sense (if people want to see it, if it’s a big money fight, if the ending was controversial, etc. etc.), I say just bite the bullet and make the rematch, no matter how the first fight ended.

But what about you, fans and friends? Even though it’s now confirmed that there’s no “automatic rematch clause” in the UFC, how do you feel about the recent string of immediate rematches?

In short, Sonnen believes that not only is an immediate rematch in the works, but that it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. In fact, Sonnen even said that a New Year’s weekend fight was possible, or a fight on Super Bowl weekend. Either date seems unlikely at this point, frankly, although Super Bowl Weekend seems more plausible. For those that still don’t know, Anderson Silva fought with a rib injury for the entirety of his showdown with Sonnen, and should be out until 2011. It is not known when Silva will return.

Sonnen was also frank in admitting that his motivations hadn’t changed after the shocking loss to Silva. Sonnen re-iterated that he only wants to be number one, and that he actually still considers himself number one, and that he was the closest any UFC fighter has ever been to actually beating the dominant champion. Sonnen also promised that the rematch would feature more of the same.

As a massive Anderson Silva fan, I want to hate Chael Sonnen. But I don’t. If anything, I “love to hate” him. He strikes me as one of the most entertaining jackasses one could ever possibly meet. He has all the skills to back up his boasting, and we haven’t seen this good a trash-talker since the glory days of Tito Ortiz. However, there are a few things I’d like to point out.

Mainly, I want to point out that Chael Sonnen isn’t the best Middleweight in the world. That crown still rests on the head of Anderson Silva. Sonnen was a hair’s breadth away from wrenching that crown off of Silva’s dome, but the plain fact of the matter is that Silva found an opening, went for broke, and his gamble paid off. As dominant as Chael Sonnen was, he was never in a position to really stop Anderson Silva. Chael has also always had a problem with leaving himself open to submissions when he thinks he’s winning, so if nothing really has changed, that weakness will be out there and begging to be exploited once again when the rematch does finally go down.

Secondly, like so many of his fellow elite-level wrestlers in the UFC, Sonnen is and always will be a grinder. It’s been almost three years since he last finished a fight. If he couldn’t finish Silva off when Silva was fighting injured from the beginning, I don’t know how he’ll contend with a Silva that’s healthy. And just like Anderson Silva, I won’t make any excuses for the poor performance Silva put on at UFC 117, injured rib and all. Silva really let me down at UFC 117. But if he comes into the rematch healthy, it’s going to be a very different fight.

Overall, I’m looking forward to the inevitable rematch. Sonnen’s domination of Silva was one of 2010’s best stories, and I can’t wait to see how the next chapter unfolds. But what about you, fans and friends? How excited are you for the rematch, who do you see taking home the gold, and why?

5. Marius Zaromskis vs. Dan Hardy

It’s a shame that people have mostly forgotten about Marius Zaromskis, since I became a huge fan of his due to his destruction of several people in the Japanese-based DREAM. Zaromskis hasn’t been heard of since he was TKO’d at the hands of Evangelista Santos, but he’s still a very tough fighter with incredibly powerful high kicks. Against Dan Hardy he’d face another strong-willed power-striker, and this one would likely see both men absorb a lot of damage before somebody gets knocked out.

4. Ronaldo Souza vs. Chael Sonnen

Now this is a fight that fans can really sink their teeth into. Souza fights out of the same camp as UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, so you have a guaranteed rivalry right there. Both men have good-but-not-great striking, but since they’re evenly matched, it would be pretty entertaining to see them trade blows. If it goes to the ground, Souza is nicknamed “Jacare” (Alligator) for a reason, while Chael Sonnen’s ability to dominate on the ground needs no introduction, based on his near-total shutout of Anderson Silva at UFC 117. It would simply be a highly, highly competitive match.

3. Shinya Aoki vs. George Sotiropoulos

This one would have to take place in Japan, though, so both men could utilize their magic submission pants. There’s no doubt that George would have the advantage striking, since Aoki’s stand-up has always been atrocious. But if/when it goes to the ground, this has the potential to be one of the most entertaining ground battles in years.

2. Junior dos Santos vs. Antonio Silva

It’s the technical striking of JDS going up against the power of “Bigfoot”, and I think both men would turn in a great performance. Antonio Silva wants to be taken seriously so badly that I think he would show up in great shape and with a great gameplan for this fight, while Junior Dos Santos has quickly become the best pure striker in the Heavyweight division of MMA as a whole, not just the UFC. Someone is going to sleep in this fight, and it would be quite a spectacle to see the super-fast and super-slick JDS trying to cope with Silva’s massive frame, long reach, and serious punching power.

And the #1 spot goes to…

1. Muhammed Lawal vs. Rashad Evans

Both men have awesome wrestling skills, with striking that is good for the most part and great on occasion. As talented as both men are on the ground, I have a feeling that their impressive wrestling backgrounds would basically cancel each other out and force this into a stand-up brawl. Both Lawal and Evans have a lot of power in their hands, and I can see this one getting quite vicious before all is said and done. And if someone does get an advantage on the ground, look for some very harsh Ground and Pound. It’s not a traditional choice by any stretch of the imagination, but I would love to see this fight.

So that’s what I think, fans and friends. What about you? Other than the obvious, what are some UFC vs. Strikeforce fights you’d like to see?

Maia was last seen in action over the weekend when he out-pointed fellow Brazilian, Mario Miranda en route to a unanimous decision win, at UFC 118.

Maia, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu phenom who was coming off of a bizarre loss to Anderson Silva in Abu Dhabi last April, nearly submitted the fellow BJJ Black Belt on several occasions, often times favoring an elusive arm bar that Maia found open on several occasions, but was never able to secure the maneuver.

Demian has been nothing short of impressive in most of his UFC appearances. He holds a 13-2 record overall, with 7 of those victories coming inside the octagon–five of which were submission finishes. His lone two losses come to the aforementioned Silva, and fellow former title challenger Nate Marquardt.

While his original opponent Alan Belcher pulled out due to injury and Miranda was tapped as a late replacement fighter who prior to the bout held a sub par UFC record of 1-1, Maia had high praises for his fellow Brazilian.

“It ended up not being Alan Belcher, but he was an opponent up to par, as his record shows”, said Maia in regards to UFC 118 opponent Miranda, while speaking with Graciemag.com.

“He’s tall, well-rounded, very hard to finish. He’s strong for his weight and I feel it was a good return fight for me. Thank God it all worked out and I managed to do what I trained to do.”

“He defends really well, and in really sticky situations, where you have to defend taking blows. Sport Jiu-Jitsu is one thing, MMA is really different. He defended really well in difficult positions”, he continued.

“I didn’t try to finish him from his back that much and I think I could have been more incisive there. Now I tried to get his arm several times, but he really did escape. It’s something I need to fix, but credit to him, too.”

While he has seen a lot of success at 185, Demian suggests that the middleweight field in of itself is a mess, and wants to find immediate resolve and make his way back to the top, sooner rather than later.

“Things are all mixed up at this weight (middleweight). At this weight, in my 15 fights, I only have two losses and to excellent athletes. I feel it’s a bit of an illusion thinking dropping weight will be easier. Who knows, I might try it out some day, but I’m not stuck on that. But for the time being, I don’t intend to.”

So, would you like to see Maia at Welterweight, or should he continue to try his hat at the Middleweight division and make his way back to the top? He holds a key victory over top contender Chael Sonnen, who is on deck next (again) for Anderson Silva.

The former Pride champion revealed his plans during a Q & A session during the Fan Expo in Boston, for UFC’s first trip into the new market.

MMAJunkie.com was the first to report the news, where reporters were on-site to pick up some quick tad bits from the MMA legend. According to Silva, he’s looking for a February or March return to the octagon, and he’s not looking for any tune-ups. He’s looking towards the top of the heap, and hopes to make an immediate impact upon his return.

The UFC star was last seen in action, when he defeated perennial contender and UK star Michael Bisping, by unanimous decision at UFC 110, in Sydney, Australia. It marked his first win at 185-pounds after a lengthy and storied career at 205.

“I had surgery on my knee,” said Silva, who was originally scheduled to face Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 last July before bowing out due to a rib injury. “In this last year, I repaired my face, I repaired my knee, and I feel better now. I think I’m going to fight for another six years. I want to fight into my 40s.”

As hungry as ever, Silva 2.0 is ready to make his return, and has added Chris Leben (who defeated Akiyama in Silva’s place), Chael Sonnen, and Vitor Belfort on his hit list.

“I saw Leben’s fight with Akiyama. It was a great match. He’s a real tough guy. I think he’s a perfect opponent for my next fight.”

While a bout with Leben seems like the next logical step, Silva is still gunning for a shot at Vitor, a rematch from their bout in 1998, which was Silva’s initial UFC debut.

“I want to fight with (Belfort) soon,” continued the Brazilian. “He’s a good opponent, and I know we’re going to have a good match. I’m going to try to beat him.

“Vitor Belfort is a good opponent. I want to fight with him in the future.”

And the infamous Chael, who whether you like him or hate him he gets your attention, says that it’s Sonnen’s sharp tongue and witty comebacks that would make a fight with him all the more interesting and motivating, should the bout materialize.

“I like to fight with guys like that because it makes more motivation for training,” proclaimed the 34-year-old.

“Sometimes you fight a guy that’s so respectful. That’s good because this is our job. But sometimes when you fight guys that talk a lot, it’s great.”

Hoping that his best days are not behind him, Silva is looking onwards towards his career, gearing for another shot at a coveted UFC title to anchor his already sterling career.

“I was world champion in 2003,” Silva said. “Those days were the best days of my career. Now, I think my best days are going to be back soon.”

So, who would you like to see Silva match up with next? Is Belfort on deck for a classic rematch? Will Leben be willing to wait for the Las Vegas resident in order to propel his own career? Or perhaps the Politician/Realtor/Fighter/Comedian will descend his thrown and throw Silva a bone.

Said bout, a middleweight affair against Jorge Rivera against fellow banger Alessio Sakara has stayed alive. The bout will mark a true push for each competitor, as one another will look for contenders’ status in a crowded 185-pound division, dominated by Anderson Silva–though Chael Sonnen might argue the point.

UFC 118 takes place in Boston, Mass., Rivera’s hometown. The 185-pound veteran is based out of Team Sityodtong, under the tutelage of Kru Mark Dellagrotte.

Rivera has seen a resurgence in his lengthy and storied career, and for the first time has been able to string together a 3-fight win streak inside the octagon. After a split-decision victory over Nissen Osterneck, “The Conquistador” was able to put together two back-to-back TKO victories over the likes of Rob Kimmons and fellow “The Ultimate Fighter” veteran Nate Quarry, respectively.

Sakara too, has had the benefit of posting three in a row as well, starting with a head kick, knockout victory over Joe Vedepo, Alessio put together quality wins beginning with a split decision win over former 185-pound title challenger Thales Leites, and then the grizzly, emaciated, veteran–James Irvin, by first round TKO.

Both Rivera and Alessio are on their best standings since their respective inceptions into the UFC, and will now vie for a spot towards contender status within the UFC, which is slowly thinning since Anderson Silva has run through most top-flight competition in the weight class.

With that said, who do you think holds the key to victory in this match up? Who would you like to see the winner challenge next? And who do you think holds the best shot at defeating the 185-pound kingpin that is “The Spider”?

UFC head honcho Dana White has made the business what it is, by putting together exciting fights–the ones that the fans are clamoring for. And while the Vitor Belfort vs Anderson Silva match up was originally scheduled for last April at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, many speculated that after “The Phenom” would recover correctly and efficiently, that he would be next on the table for “The Spider”–but that seems far from certain.

White appeared today on ESPN’s Sportscenter, and potentially broke the news for what’s next on the table for both contender Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva—all sign’s point to an immediate rematch.

“Yeah, I think that’s the fight that fans want to see,” White said about the potential rematch between Sonnen-Silva. “The way that I see my job is my job is to give the fans what they want. I think that’s the fight they want to see. We got some interesting fights in that division. Vitor Belfort is still out there. I’m looking towards the Chael Sonnen rematch. Yes.”

While Vitor was mentioned in passing, it appears that Dana White is leaning towards the Sonnen rematch for “The Spider”. In some regards, it’s a Pay Per View that will most definitely sell. According to the UFC President, during the post-fight press conference following UFC 117, in preliminary numbers, Anderson Silva pulled in his largest sales in the PPV market, which later was confirmed to be anywhere from 600,000 up to 1 million buys, regardless–making the PPV Silva’s largest as a headliner.

With a rematch imminent, add in some more of Sonnen’s patented verbal jabs, and the drama that occurred in their original outing (where Chael largely dominated the fight for 4 and a half round before being submitted in the waning moments of the fight with an arm bar/triangle choke by the aforementioned Silva), it’s a sure selling PPV, and more importantly, a rematch that the fans and media alike want to see.

While no time line on the fight is present, since Silva is reportedly recovering from injuries sustained prior to the bout with Sonnen.

Does Sonnen warrant an immediate rematch? Should Silva be fighting Vitor next–or who do you deem a more worthy challenger? Voice your opinions below.