If Not Chael Sonnen, Who?

UFC 136 saw the triumphant return of Chael Sonnen.  Fourteen months from the cage seems to have blunted neither his technique nor his attitude toward middleweight champion and pound for pound great Anderson Silva. 

After dispatching Brian Stann via arm triangle, Sonnen called out Anderson Silva in a move that has raised valid criticism as crossing the line between sport and  entertainment. 

Silva has done nothing to counter Sonnen’s challenge.  He has not responded at all. 

While the silence of Silva himself has deafened the MMA world, the man who speaks for champion as translator in interviews, his manager Ed Soares, has said everything but yes to Sonnen’s challenge.  To wit:

He should not be allowed to fight. 

He should get back in line. 

He does not yet deserve a title shot.

Soares has acknowledged that if Dana White dragged Silva to the octagon by booking the fight that they would cross that bridge when they came to it.  So definitely, maybe. 

Unfortunately for Soares, and perhaps for Silva, the law and Dana White agree that Sonnen should be allowed to fight, as evidenced by his presence in the ring. 

To Soares’ point about Sonnen’s place in the middleweight line, a look at who might be in line ahead of Sonnen might be worthwhile. 

Yushin Okami

Yushin Okami, whom Fight Matrix and Sherdog both rank as the number three middleweight in the world, was the last man to fall to Silva’s amazing striking and has not fought since. 

Immediate rematches are not entirely uncommon in the UFC, ask Frankie Edgar; nevertheless, Silva blasted through Okami as he has done to so many fighters before, leaving no doubt that the Japanese warrior must refine his skills by climbing the middleweight mountain before challenging Silva for the title again.   

Vitor Belfort

Ranked number 5 by Fight Matrix, Vitor Belfort has won four of his last five fights, his only loss coming at the hands of none other than Silva himself. 

Silva fed him a vicious front kick in one of the most decisive highlight reel knockouts in recent memory.  Prior to this Vitor had won five in a row against fighters no one considers top ten middleweights.

Belfort has since gotten back to his winning ways, knocking out Yoshihiro Akiyama, currently ranked number 55 by Fight Matrix.

Sonnen, prior to his loss, bested better competition than Belfort, including fighters that outrank the Brazilian striker himself. 

There can be no question that Sonnen is in front of Belfort in line for a shot at Anderson Silva.

Michael Bisping

Please.  No sane man can make the case that overrated Michael Bisping, should he defeat Jason Miller, currently ranked the 48^th middleweight in the world by Fight Matrix, is deserving of a shot against Anderson Silva.

Since getting smoked by Dan Henderson in 2009, Michael Bisping has had mixed success against the middle to bottom tier of the middleweight division. 

He’s knocked out the 53^rd greatest middleweight in the world, lost a decision to the 23^rd greatest middleweight, won a decision over the 31^st greatest middleweight in the world, won another decision against the middleweight currently ranked number 55 and knocked out a fighter currently commanding slot 59 in the middleweight rankings. 

Demian Maia

Maia beat Sonnen via submission back in 2009, but has done little since.  His mixed record sees him winning decisions against the bottom middleweight division and losing against stiffer competition.

If Maia had been beating top 10 or 15 competition since his own loss to Silva (candidate for worst fight of all time), then I’d say that Sonnen may need to avenge that loss prior to meeting Silva again.  But Maia has not shown that he belongs in the octagon against a top 10 fighter, let alone the consensus number two middleweight in the world.

I recommend that the UFC book Maia versus Bisping.  This will give the fans what they need: a chance to make a sandwich without feeling like they have missed anything.

Mark Munoz

Munoz is on track for a title shot.  He has climbed back from his loss to Yushin Okami with victories over middling competition and is ready, once again for top tier fights.

Defeating C.B. Dolloway and Demian Maia are not title shot credentials.

Should he reign victorious over Chris Leben at UFC 138 he should be one win against a top 10 opponent from fighting for the title.  

Dan Henderson

Of all the non-Sonnens that comprise this list, Hendo is the only fighter that makes a compelling case for a rematch against Anderson Silva. 

He’s a current champion in StrikeForce, has the right skill set to test Silva and has recently bested stern competition, fighting above his weight class, when he took on heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko. 

While he has said that he would be interested in fighting Silva, he’s also said that he isn’t interested in any other fight at middleweight.  Further, he’s intimated that the weight cut is more of a struggle than it used to be and that he would prefer fighting at light heavyweight.

A victory in his UFC return against Mauricio Rua would likely set him up to face LHW champ Jon Jones for a strap he seems more interested in defending.

Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is the consensus top contender in the middleweight division.  Fight Matrix and Sherdog both rank him as number two in the world. 

Anderson Silva has lost more rounds to Chael Sonnen on the judges scorecards in just one fight than he has unanimously lost in all his other UFC fights combined. 

His victory over Sonnen was of the narrowest possible margins, being, at the time it happened, an upset.  Sonnen was on track to beat Silva who leveraged his ace jiu jitsu skills to pull out a win against a dominant Sonnen. 

Consider for a moment how many fighters have dominated Anderson Silva. 

A favorite fall back is that Sonnen was using PEDs, that Silva had bruised ribs that Howdy Doody was in the House of Aquarius during their first fight, that without these advantages Sonnen would never have put in the performance he did. 

Then Silva should have no problem putting away Sonnen now, right?  Book this fight.

Prior to his loss to Silva, Sonnen defeated Nate Marquardt, currently ranked number four by Sherdog and Fight Matrix, and Yushin Okami, currently ranked number three by Sherdog and Fight Matrix. 

Sonnen’s return fight saw him boot Brian Stann from his top 10, number seven perch on Fight Matrix to number 13 in the roster published last week.

Sonnen is the highest ranking non-champion on the Fight Matrix Division Dominance list.

Further, the only fans who don’t want this fight are Anderson Silva fans, the biggest of which are Soares and Silva himself. 

Finally, Dana White himself has hinted that the winner of the Sonnen/Stann fight is the top contender.

Soares has said that Anderson Silva is not ducking Sonnen.  This is true.  If Silva fights anyone except Sonnen next, then he’s ducking someone.