UFC 148: Chael Sonnen's Legacy Can't Afford Another Loss to Anderson Silva

Chael Sonnen has been a man on a mission. That mission? Get another shot at Anderson Silva after coming up short just two years ago at UFC 117.

It worked. Almost overnight he because a media darling, providing sound bites to anyone who sticks a microphone in his face. He'd make various ridiculous verbal attacks on Silva and his training partners. All the while, Silva remained quiet. 

After years of promoting a fight that wasn't signed, Sonnen was finally granted another chance to beat Silva. 

However, he also managed to place an enormous amount of pressure on himself in the process. You see, while some things are easily forgotten, his trash talk has been the entire focus in the promotion of this middleweight title fight. 

Interviews have been replayed ad nauseam. Stories have been written about how Sonnen said this or that about Silva. In short, Sonnen can't escape his pre-fight hype. 

And that's not a good thing.

In the past, we've seen fighters shake hands and claim that their rivalry was essentially just to make a boatload of money. Sure, it's frustrating as fans to be duped over and over again by a completely fabricated rivalry, but this one seems different. 

Maybe not on Sonnen's end but definitely on Silva's. There's an indescribable air in Las Vegas surrounding this fight. Sonnen has continued to push the "Chael P. Sonnen" shtick while Silva seems more focused than ever. 

Silva's goal is simple. He wants to give Sonnen a beating. He isn't just fighting for himself, he's fighting for every Brazilian fighter that Sonnen has offended in his road to UFC 148. He's fighting for a country that has heard everything that the Team Quest fighter has said over the past two years. 

Sonnen can't just go out and win. He needs to make a statement. He needs to back up two years of trash talk. He needs to prove that when he says he's the best fighter in the world, it's not just lip service. I hope he can. Because if not, this will be the final time anyone should care about Chael Sonnen. 

The time for talk is over. We'll know in this evening if Sonnen truly is the best. I can't wait to watch.