UFC 136 Results: Was This the Best Chael Sonnen We Have Ever Seen?

At UFC 136 we didn’t see a Chael Sonnen who was just looking to win, we saw a Chael Sonnen looking to make a statement.

Sonnen went out and completely dominated Brian Stann for a round and a half, before locking in a fight-ending arm-triangle choke midway through the second.

We have seen Sonnen look impressive before; after all, he took out Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami in back-to-back fights before he earned his title shot at Anderson Silva.

But this was a completely different animal.

Chael Sonnen was a man possessed, sprinting out from the opening bell, relentlessly putting pressure on Stann, and giving the former Marine no chance at any offense.

It took about two seconds for Sonnen to go for a takedown, and though Stann stuffed him at first, Sonnen just kept putting the pressure on him and eventually got the fight to the ground.

From there it was Sonnen’s world, as he kept Stann from getting back to his feet and landed his trademark ground and pound, never letting Stann get enough room to breathe.

The second round started much like the first, but this time Stann actually got a few punches off, connecting with a solid right hand. Sonnen just walked through it, though, and took Stann to the mat.

After a standup by the referee, Sonnen slammed Stann to the mat and the arm triangle was locked in just moments later.

Sonnen isn’t known for finishing fights, and he certainly hasn’t gotten out of a fight without taking any damage in quite a while. But he went out and took care of business with relative ease on Saturday.

This was the best Chael Sonnen we have seen inside the Octagon—a controlled and driven grinder who looks for the finish. He had literally no problem defeating Stann, who many considered to be a top 10 middleweight.

If he fights like he did Saturday in his rematch with Anderson Silva, we could easily have a new middleweight champion in 2012.