Silva vs Sonnen

You would think that just a card with the man that is regarded as the best fighter in the world would be more than enough to sell a PPV. But, when your talking about Anderson Silva it is a totally new ballgame. He speaks Portuguese, but he speaks English but only speaks when the questions are easy and when the going gets tough he speaks Portuguese and his translator, manager Ed Soares speaks for him and it doesnt't always translate to what Silva really says.

The UFC knows that the fans are fed up with the way Silva has been fighting. Need we not say more when fought Patrick Cote at UFC 90, Thales Leites at UFC 97 and the infamous UFC 112 against Demain Maia and during the 4th round, UFC President Dana White handed the belt to Soares and told him to put around the waist of Silva. White said if Silva fights like that again, he would get fire Silva. Would he really do that?

Enter Chael Sonnen! He beat Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 and was deemed to face the winner of Anderson Silva-Vitor Belfort at UFC 112, but Belfort suffered an injury and Demain Maia entered the fight and lost to Silva. Now the matchup was set with Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen and the date was UFC 117 August 7th in Oakland,CA.

After Sonnen won at UFC 109 and was deemed the number one contender, Silva released a statement the following day saying Sonnen wasn't worthy of a title shot. So, what did Sonnen do? He went on a verbal barrage on Silva, calling him every name in the book to get under his skin. How did Silva respond? By saying nothing until the Fan Expo at UFC 114 when they went face to face.

When you look at the matchup, it looks like Silva should easily dispose of Sonnen. There is a way Sonnen can win. Follow the path of Dan Henderson in what he did at UFC 82. He took Silva to the ground and dominated the whole first round and has been the only fighter to take a round from Silva in the UFC. And, what is Dan Henderson? A wrestler? What is Chael Sonnen? A wrestler.

Sonnen is a NCAA All American in wrestling when he went to the University of Oregon and a 2 time University National Champion in Greco Roman Wrestling and was a U.S. Olympic Team Alternate, just like Henderson.

What Sonnen should and better do is very simple: take Silva to the ground and grind out a decision or try to ground and pound Silva. Easier said than done as Silva has a better than average submission game and out of Sonnen's 10 losses, 8 have been by submission.

But if there is a man who can do the impossible, it is Sonnen. He has runs his mouth ever since the card has been announced and he is the only guy who has said and you actually can truely believe him. Does Silva underestimate Sonnen? He better not.

I believe Chael Sonnen walks into the Oracle Arena tomorrow and does exactly what he says he will do. And that is he beats Anderson Silva! Takes him down to the ground and dominates the ground action and beats Silva to become the UFC Middleweight Champion. And then we can a champion who will talk to the media, the fans and promote the sport the made you the person you are today.