UFC Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen II: A Modest Proposal to Make It Happen

Some of you may remember the complete lack of anticipation going into UFC 117 in August of last year.  Nobody will ever forget what happened that night, as Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva would go down as one of the greatest fights in UFC history. 

Chael took Anderson down at will and dominated him for four and a half rounds.  Like most people watching the fight, I couldn't believe what I was seeing—Anderson Silva was getting beat in every possible way.

Then, the very worst of Chael Sonnen's bad habits got the better of him.  For the eighth time in his mixed martial arts career, the wildly aggressive ground and pound display that Sonnen is known for led to his downfall.  

His reckless attack left an opening and Anderson locked in a triangle choke—with one minute and 50 seconds left in the fight.

The fight between Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 was many things: 

• Probably the greatest come from behind victory in the history of the UFC
• One of only three fights to end by stoppage in the fifth round—the only others being Randy Couture vs Ricco Rodriguez and BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez
• By far the closest we've ever seen Anderson Silva to defeat in his UFC tenure
• One of those fights that MMA fans everywhere just can't stop talking about.

Because of the way that their first fight went down, Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva II is the one rematch that MMA fans want to see more than any other.  

It's also one of the most controversial possible rematches in UFC history.  

First off, Chael Sonnen got caught cheating in post fight drug screenings after their first fight. 

Also, as we all know, "Uncle Chael" has spent the last year and a half bashing Anderson Silva and everyone else under the sun in every conceivable way.  

How do you justify giving a title shot to a man who cheated and is such a terrible ambassador for the sport?

Obstacle Number One: The Strange Reality That Chael Sonnen Lives in

Chael Sonnen's trash talking is legendary, but it's absolutely fascinating to compare and contrast what Chael Sonnen had to say immediately after Anderson beat him with what he has said since.  

You'd think that that man we've seen since UFC 117 was Sonnen's evil clone or something.

Chael has repeatedly mentioned alternate realities since losing the title fight at UFC 117.  One of his most repeated lines since losing is—"In what alternate reality do you punch a guy in the face 300 times and he wraps his legs around your head for eight seconds and he is considered the winner?"

I don't think Chael has thought this one through very well.  In a life or death fight, if somebody gets you in a triangle choke and you can't get out of it, you're going to die and there's nothing you can do about it.  Everything that has happened up to that moment in time is irrelevant.  He lives, you die.  He wins, you lose.  Game over.  

Thankfully, mixed martial arts doesn't allow fighters to die inside the cage, of course.  If they did, the sport would be illegal everywhere on this planet!  As a mixed martial arts fighter, you have two options when caught in a choke hold and are unable to escape.  

• Option A: You tap out, signalling that you give up and concede victory to your opponent 
• Option B:  You pass out, and as soon as the referee realizes you've lost consciousness, he will order your opponent to release the hold

Chael Sonnen chose option A.  He gave up.  There's no shame in calling it quits when you're locked in a submission hold that could kill you.  

And yet Chael Sonnen has never failed to claim victory in any interview since that day.  

Does he believe that he didn't tap out?  Or does he believe that tapping doesn't matter.  The logic of that would be, "Ignore me tapping Mr Referee, I'm good.  Just leave me here in this here choke hold till the fight is over."  It's all very hard to get your head around, but for Chael Sonnen this delusion is very real. 

Chael Sonnen is constantly showering himself with praise.  He never passes up an opportunity to tell the world how amazing he is.  Whether it's calling himself the greatest fighter in MMA history, the people's champion, a gangster from Oregon or whatever else, he never misses an opportunity to tell people he's the best fighter the world has ever seen.

But how does Chael's obvious love affair with himself match up with reality?  Sonnen has an overall record of 26 wins, 11 losses and one draw.  Inside the UFC, he has five wins and four losses. 

All four of his defeats in the UFC have come by stoppage, and he has only won by stoppage once.  Not exactly what you'd expect from the greatest fighter who ever lived.

If somebody else finishes an opponent in impressive fashion, Chael is quick to point out that he would have finished them sooner—and more impressively. 

The truth of the matter is that when Chael Sonnen wins, it's almost always by judges decision.  To his credit, 11 of his 26 wins were by stoppage, but look at who did he beat in those 11 fights:

Scott Shipman, Justin Hawes, Greg Curnut, Justin Bailey, Adam Ryan, Tim Williams, Tim Credeur, Tim McKenzie, Amar Suloev, Kyacey Uscola and Brian Stann.  

Somehow in Chael Sonnen's mind, his accomplishments are vastly better than Anderson Silva tallying record of 31 wins and four losses, and going 14-0 in the UFC, and having stoppage wins that include: 

Carlos Newton, Jorge Rivera, Tony Frykland, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin (twice), Travis Lutter, Nate Marquart, Dan Henderson, James Irvin, Patrick Côté, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami.  

Anderson has fewer fights than Sonnen, but he's finished off more than twice as many opponents than Chael.  

Anderson Silva has beaten Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia and Jeremy Horn all with relative ease.  All three men submitted Sonnen.  Horn stopped Sonnen three times!  The two biggest wins of Chael Sonnen's MMA career were when he beat Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt by judges decisions.  Anderson Silva beat both of them too, and he did it better—he knocked them out.

If Chael Sonnen beat Anderson Silva tomorrow, it would take many years and many consecutive wins before you could make the case that he's better than Anderson. 

Another fanciful delusion of Chael Sonnen's: Anderson Silva was ducking him for four years prior to UFC 117—so from August of 2006 till August of 2010.  

• In May of 2006, Chael Sonnen was cut from the UFC because he lost two out of three fights by stoppage and wasn't considered good enough
• From August 2006 to July of 2007, Chael Sonnen wasn't even fighting for Zuffa, he was fighting for Bodog Fights 
• In December of 2007 he lost his debut fight in the Zuffa owned WEC to then-champion Paulo Filho, who submitted him in the second round.  Chael got a rematch with Filho on November 5, 2008 and beat Filho by judges decision 
• On February 21, 2009 Chael re-debuted in the UFC, losing to Demian Maia by first round submission. 

So from 2006 to 2009 Anderson would have needed to vacate his title and leave the UFC in order to fight a UFC reject who hadn't beaten anyone of note.  After Chael's return to the UFC, you'd have been asking Anderson to fight a guy with a 1-3 UFC record.  Even if Anderson wanted to fight him, Dana White and Joe Silva wouldn't have let it happen.

After the loss to Maia, Chael Sonnen went on a three fight winning streak, beating Dan Miller, Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt all by judges decision.  So with a UFC record of just one fight over .500, Chael Sonnen got to fight Anderson Silva for the title.  

Somebody please help me understand when Anderson was ducking Sonnen for four years, because I'm just not seeing it.

There are countless other examples, but suffice it to say, Chael Sonnen is completely insane.

Fortunately for him, sanity is not a prerequisite to being an MMA fighter.  So, despite the fact that Chael Sonnen is completely out of his mind, Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva II should be the next title fight at middleweight.

Obstacle Number Two: Anderson Silva Is Bored

The problem with being as dominant as Anderson Silva has been in his fighting career is simple: you really have nothing left to prove, and you start to get bored.

Anderson Silva's boredom has been one of Dana White and Joe Silva's biggest headaches.  How do you keep this guy interested for his next fight?  

It nearly cost him his belt at UFC 117.  

Despite saying that he never underestimates his opponents, in this case he obviously did exactly that.  He walked into UFC 117 with a fractured rib.  He wouldn't have fought injured if he actually realized how big of a threat Chael Sonnen was to him stylistically.  

When it comes to a possible rematch with Chael Sonnen, this becomes especially problematic.  We've already established that Chael Sonnen is a raving lunatic, and don't doubt for a second that is exactly what Anderson Silva has concluded.  

At UFC 136, Chael Sonnen did his crazy "Anderson Silva sucks" diatribe, while Anderson Silva just sat there laughing at him.  

I want this rematch to happen, but I can't blame Anderson Silva for laughing at him.  Who wouldn't?

He's laughing at the guy who he fought while injured and beat anyway.  He's laughing at the guy who cheated and lost the last time they fought.  He's laughing at a guy who he's already beaten under some of the worst possible circumstances.  He's laughing at a guy who got suspended for cheating for a year.  He's laughing at a guy who, by rights, should be in prison for money laundering right now.  He's laughing at a guy who is on a winning streak of only one fight.  

I really don't think Anderson Silva believes he has anything left to prove when it comes to Chael Sonnen.  

Say what you will on the matter but, considering that Chael Sonnen is now five wins and four losses in the UFC, he really doesn't deserve another title shot.  He hasn't really earned it yet.

The problem is that nobody else deserves the title fight either.  Among the bad choices of undeserving opponents, Chael Sonnen makes the most sense for your next title fight.  

If Michael Bisping beats Jason "Mayhem" Miller later this year, Bisping still won't have a win over a top 10 middleweight.  With his win over Demian Maia, Mark Muñoz has the beginnings of a good case for a title shot, but probably needs one more win against a top fighter.

On paper, both Bisping and Muñoz probably have a better case for a title shot.  But Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva is the fight the fans are dying to see!  

So how do you get Anderson Silva interested in fighting Chael Sonnen again?  How do you sell the champion on a rematch with an obnoxious madman that he already beat?

Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva II Must Take Place in Brazil

What you need to do is throw Anderson Silva a bone here.  Give the champion who has nothing left to prove some reasons to want to fight Sonnen.

Having Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva II happen in Brazil would be a great place to start.  Last time they fought, it was in the USA.  It would only be fair to put the rematch in Brazil—preferably Rio de Janeiro.  

And fairness isn't the real reason you want this fight to happen in Brazil.

Right now, the UFC has a narrow window of opportunity to do something huge.  Chael Sonnen has done everything imaginable to make the entire nation of Brazil hate him.  Even Brazilians who had no interest in MMA until now want to see Anderson Silva beat the living crap out of Chael Sonnen.

Just put Sonnen vs Silva II in the biggest soccer stadium you can find.  Whether it's a 50,000 seat stadium or an 80,000 seat mega-stadium, you're going to sell every single ticket.  You can only do this if the fight happens in Brazil! 

For Americans and MMA fans world-wide, UFC Rio II would be a great excuse to take your next vacation in Rio de Janeiro—that is, if you can get tickets before the Brazilians buy them all!  

Putting this event in Rio would definitely boost your pay-per-view numbers too.  

What happens when a man as hated as Chael Sonnen arrives in Brazil?  

How does Chael react to a crowd that absolutely loathes him after telling everyone that Brazil loves him?  

Will the UFC beat their current record attendance of 55,000?  Will they completely blow that record out of the water?

Can you imagine for a moment how much noise 80,000 Brazilians can make at a UFC event?  

People are going to tune in just to see all of that!

Putting this fight in Brazil is just brilliant marketing in every possible way!

Chael Sonnen Has to Actually Admit That He Lost at UFC 117

Everyone on this planet but Chael Sonnen knows that he lost the fight at UFC 117.  Truth be told, deep down inside, Chael Sonnen knows it too.  Repeatedly insisting that he won a fight that he actually lost is just making him looking like a spoiled little baby and an even bigger idiot.

I think it would be quite reasonable to require Chael Sonnen to publicly acknowledge that Anderson Silva beat him at UFC 117.  

He can spin that however he wants to, of course, just as long as he consistently acknowledges the fact that he did indeed lose the fight.  Leading up to a potential rematch with Anderson, he needs to admit that he lost that fight at every pre-fight press conference.

This may be more than Chael Sonnen can do, but since he's already stated that he'll do anything to get Anderson to fight him again why not take him at his word?  It's not like we're asking him to lie or anything like that.

We've already taken a peak inside the alternate reality that exists in Chael Sonnen's head.  But since the rest of us live in the real world, are we really asking too much for Chael to join the rest of us just this once?  Does he want it badly enough to admit once and for all that he lost to Anderson?

We're not even asking him to give up any of the rest of his psychotic delusions.  He can keep his story of the Nogueira brothers mistaking a city bus for a horse.  He can continue thinking that he is the greatest fighter in the history of MMA.  He is welcome to keep thinking he's "technically" the current middleweight champion of the UFC.  We're not even asking him to stop believing that anyone actually likes him.  

Crazy Chael Sonnen can continue to be as crazy as ever in every other way.

The Cheating Scandal Needs to Be Addressed

Chael Sonnen found a highly effective way to cheat leading up to UFC 117.  

Since it's not very well understood, let's look at that a little more closely.

Normal testosterone levels range from 300 - 1000 ng/dl.  Athletes tend to have slightly higher testosterone levels, but any instance of testosterone levels over 2000 nanograms per deciliter is investigated as possible PED use.  

Now there is a whole lot of science here that I could spend an entire article on.  Suffice it to say, the California State Athletic Commission wasn't hassling Chael Sonnen just because they felt like picking on him.  

Chael claims to have been diagnosed him with Hypogonadism or Low T.  This means Chael naturally produces less than normal testosterone.  They don't usually treat Low T unless your levels are below 300 ng/dl, although some doctors will do it if you're under 350. 

Mr Low T Sonnen failed the post-fight tests in two ways: He was apparently over 2000 ng/dl total testosterone, and the different types of testosterone in his body were radically out of proportion.  

The two they're looking for is supposed to be at a 1/1 ratio or very close to 1/1.  They start suspecting PED use when that ratio is 4/1 and Chael was over the 4/1 mark.  Edit: As I recently found out, Chael wasn't just over the 4/1 mark, he was at 17 to 1!  Takes a whole lot of testosterone to get you that far out of proportion.

So here you have a guy claiming to have horribly broken testosterone production.  Then he walks into the fight with Silva with levels rarely seen in your most over-the-top freak of nature testosterone over-producing humans on the planet!  

If Sonnen were using the treatment just as a treatment, then his overall levels would have been around 500 and the CSAC would have never bothered him about it.  But Chael Sonnen was using Testosterone Replacement Therapy as a PED.  All Chael had to do is find a doctor corrupt enough to load him up to the eyeballs with testosterone.  

A doctor that corrupt may do many things for Mr Sonnen.  They might even diagnose a man with Low T when he doesn't have anything even remotely resembling Low T.

The right thing for Chael Sonnen to do is to cease and desist completely on using Testosterone Replacement Therapy.  If he wants a rematch with Anderson Silva, he needs to fight Silva on his own steam.  

But do you take a man who already cheated once and is guilty of money laundering at his word?  Obviously not!  So you have to come up with some sort of guidelines to at least force a little honesty out of Mr Sonnen.  

So for argument's sake, let's just take Chael at his word and say that he really does have Low T.  Okay that's fine, so Chael just has to test under 500 ng/dl in pre-fight and post-fight tests with no more the 2/1 disproportion in his levels.  After all, TRT is meant to bring abnormally low levels up to a healthy levels, and 500 and 2/1 are well within the healthy range for a 34 year old man.

If my suspicions are correct, Sonnen is already naturally producing more than 500 ng/dl total testosterone and never needed TRT to begin with.  In that case, he'll either have to find a way to deplete his natural testosterone production, or he'll have to come clean and admit that he never needed TRT.  

In either of those cases, he doesn't get his rematch with Anderson Silva yet.  He only gets the fight if he isn't lying about having Low T and isn't abusing the treatment for it.  

If he wins but fails to land below 500 and 2/1 in pre-fight or post-fight drug tests, then the win becomes a no contest.  Anderson already faced him once when he was loaded up to the eyeballs with testosterone.  It's only right that he faces just Chael Sonnen this time.

As Chael Sonnen is so fond of saying, put it all in writing and have him sign it.

If He Loses Then Chael Sonnen Must Apologize for All the Stupid Things He's Said

In the tradition of Bully Beatdown, after the bully loses they are required to apologize for all stupid things they did and said.  

I don't think this is asking all that much of Sonnen.  Trash talking is one thing, but Uncle Chael has said a lot of things that were so over-the-top offensive and ridiculous that it boggles the mind. 

He has gone on an all-out attack on Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Big Nog, Lil' Nog, Bigfoot Silva, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Lance Armstrong, the entire nation of Brazil and too many other people and places to list here.  

Just have him admit that hes a big idiot and that everything he said leading up to both fights were either wildly exaggerated or completely false.  

I do agree with him on one thing though.  Pound for pound best is a completely made up concept.  There is no way to truly measure it.  So, no, he doesn't have to acknowledge that Anderson Silva is the pound for pound best fighter in the world.  All Chael has to do is acknowledge that Anderson Silva is the best mixed martial arts fighter in the history of the sport.

Oddly enough, I think the apology would be the easiest requirement for Chael Sonnen to accept.  In his own mind, he can't possibly lose so why wouldn't he agree to all of this?  

Just to answer the questions before it is asked:

• No, Anderson Silva does not have to apologize to Chael if he loses because he has nothing to apologize for.  He has been nothing but respectful
• Nobody has to leave the UFC, retire or leave the division.  Adding stupid requirements like that is professional wrestler fake fight idiocy, it has no place in the real fighting world.  It also kills your options for a rubber match and that sort of thing

Chael Sonnen vs Anderson Silva II Will Be a Great Fight

There are many reasons for Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva to have a rematch fight.  It's a great fight for the fans.  

Despite Chael's multitude of character flaws, he is without a doubt the second best middleweight on the planet.  Chael truly is the most logical opponent for Anderson Silva's next title defense.

If Chael Sonnen will man up and agree to these terms, then I think Anderson Silva will agree to fight him. 

If Chael Sonnen won't agree to these terms, then either Mark Muñoz or Michael Bisping can fight Silva next.  Chael will just have to wait in line.  

If any of this is asking too much of Chael Sonnen, then he just doesn't want it bad enough.