Bisping v Anderson would be hilarious though.
I just picture it going like Griffin/Silva but worse.
I just picture it going like Griffin/Silva but worse.
Bisping v Anderson would be hilarious though.
I just picture it going like Griffin/Silva but worse.
“Well, this is it! The biggest fight of my life, offered to me on 10 days notice: a No. 1 contender’s fight for the UFC middleweight title. Me against Chael Sonnen, who is one of the best-known fighters in the sport, live on FOX next Saturday night, Jan. 28. A huge fight, huge opportunity for me and my family.
I was due to fight Demian Maia, probably the most dangerous Brazilian Jiu-jitsu fighter in the division, if not the entire UFC, on the Chicago card. It was already a short-notice fight, just seven weeks after my fight in Las Vegas where I beat up Jason “Mayhem” Miller. But I was thrilled — honored, actually — to be asked by the UFC to be part of this huge event live on FOX.
Then I got a call Tuesday afternoon from UFC president Dana White. I was sitting down having some post-morning workout lunch, talking with my trainers about how well my BJJ defense was looking ahead of my UFC on FOX fight with Maia.
We were all rather pleased with how things were going; Maia is basically a 50-times-better version of Miller, but there are similarities. They are very similar fighters in style if not ability, and so the things I worked on for Miller set me up nicely for the Maia fight. I was drilling my submission defense like crazy, and was very confident of putting on a massive performance against Damien.
Then “DANA WHITE” popped up on my caller ID. I picked it up and Dana said: “I got some good news for you … Mark Munoz is hurt, how’d you like to take his place and fight Chael for the No. 1 contender spot?”
Dana hadn’t even finished saying Munoz was out before I was planning how to beat Sonnen in my head. I’ve accepted fights on short notice for the UFC throughout my career, but this one is a massive, massive chance for me, and I am very grateful to Dana, (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and the UFC. I was already hugely grateful to be asked to fight on FOX, but to fight Chael on FOX … well, there are hundreds of fighters who would kill for this opportunity, and I would have had to be a fool to turn it down.
I’m sure I’ll get blasted for this on the forums, but I feel I could have been the one fighting Chael anyway. We were due to be “The Ultimate Fighter” coaches against each other, but because of things outside our control it didn’t happen, and I’ve won a fight since. I don’t understand how Mark Munoz, as great as he’s been doing lately, was getting Chael instead of me. I feel bad for Mark, but I know he’ll come again and no doubt he will be right back in the mix in this very interesting 185-pound weight class.
I feel very sorry for Damien, too, as ours was a great matchup and I am sure he trained hard for me. He’s a class act as a fighter and a person, and I am glad he’s still getting a great fight and opportunity on FOX.
Next week, I’m ready to go all guns blazing. A fight is a fight, and at this level anything can happen, but all things being equal, Chael Sonnen cannot knock me out. He can’t submit me, either. The worst that is going to happen is that he will outpoint me and, if I don’t beat him, I didn’t deserve a title shot against Anderson Silva anyway.
But my performance against Miller in the opening round, where he held me down for three minutes, wasn’t good enough, and I will need to be better Saturday. I needed to be better than that if I was going to beat Maia, and I will need to be better than that to beat Chael.”
Mark Munoz has chips of bone “floating around” in his shoulder, causing severe inflammation and restriction of movement.
He will have surgery tomorrow to address the issue, which has forced him to pull out of a January 28 meeting with Chael Sonnen. His place has been taken by Michael Bisping.
“For those that [are] wondering. Injury on Fri sparring causing bone spurs to dislodged in my joint causing locking & pain. Surgery on Thursday,” he posted on his official Twitter account.
“The spurs dislodged from my bone and into my joint causing bone chips to float around in the joint space.”
"I can guarantee you – Anderson Silva and I will never cross paths again," Sonnen said today.
Sonnen believes that statement extends to his opponent should Bisping come out ahead in the fight, which takes place next Saturday at Chicago's United Center and airs live on FOX.
"I don't if he's going to retire, or [the UFC is] going to retire him," Sonnen said. "I think the plan was if I could get past Munoz and if Michael was successful against Demian, they were going to do an interim championship between Bisping and I.
"I know Anderson's not going to fight. The folks at the UFC know he's not going to fight. I'm all for promoting and marketing and all that good stuff. I don't want to throw water on a perfectly hot flame, but Anderson Silva's not going to fight anybody."
Sonnen was originally slated to fight Mark Munoz before an elbow injury forced Munoz to withdraw from the event. In his place went Bisping, who was originally set to meet onetime middleweight title challenger Demian Maia. Maia now meets up-and-comer Chris Weidman.
As bold declarations go, Sonnen's comments aren't much of a departure from countless barbs he's tossed in Silva's direction. After defeating Brian Stann at UFC 136, he offered the champ a loser-leaves-town fight of sorts and later rescinded it when lingering injuries delayed Silva's return.
Sonnen feels those injuries – bursitis and back problems – are suspiciously convenient. But what can he do?
"I tend to believe him," Sonnen said. "If a guy says he's hurt, you've got to believe him. Only he knows, and I don't need an X-ray or anything else.
"I think it's a little fugazi that he claims that he's hurt, and then we see footage of him live sparring with Wanderlei Silva. I think it's a little fugazi that he claims he's hurt, and I've got my friend (Muhammed) 'Mo' Lawal training with Machida alongside alongside Silva. I think these things are peculiar. But if a guy says he's hurt, it's enough for me."
Not enough, though, to tone his rhetoric down when it comes to the prospect of winning a rematch with the champ after their epic first meeting at UFC 117, which ended with him submitting in the fifth round after dominating the fight up to end.
The way Sonnen sees it, the UFC can try to put the fight together all they want, and they may again. But they won't have any luck.
"I can tell you that behind the scenes, they tried to put me and Anderson together four times, and four times he said no," he said. "I called him out publicly. You call out a Brazilian publicly, you're going to be fighting that Brazilian. That's in their culture, and he sat there and covered his mouth and hid behind Charles Barkley, which is a smart move. It saved him a trip to the hospital. But Anderson Silva is not going to fight me. I don't believe he's going to fight Bisping. I don't believe he's going to fight again. That's my personal opinion.
"He even said no to (UFC executive) Lorenzo Fertitta's face. Face-to-face, not over the phone – Lorenzo brought him out, sat him down, and said, 'This is the fight we want.' And Anderson said no."
why would I care about UFC.com? Why is that a big deal? Who gives a shit lol