Wanderlei Silva Reportedly Out of UFC 175, Chael Sonnen Now Faces Vitor Belfort

[RancherRanger]

I wonder if Chael will be able to hype himself afte Vitor beats him.

Jits guys are his cryptonite.

Lucky for Chael Vitor's talent is really on the scale of a higher blue, low purple. Who has Vitor put in bad spot on the ground? I think if Vitor can sprawl he wins, if not Chael will take top position and wear him down. How many times have we seen Vitor practically give up from being in the bottom position a couple rounds?

[ESFitness]

You can certainly judge a fighter by their record. The best fighters have great records.
He loses every time they put him against a top tier fighter. Why not judge him on that?
And he'll lose against Belfort.

I dunno... with ufc, records are everything. you have guys 'coaches' and camps picking and choosing (and avoiding) fights/fighters based on their chances of winning... and winning at any cost, even a boring fight (lay and pray... jabbing for 5rds... literally RUNNING in circles around the right). guys in the UFC don't even seem to care about FINNISHING a fight. a guy with a great record doesn't tell me anything, at least not in the UFC with fighters who are or have been, ufc fighters the majority of their career.

chael's record sucks because since coming to the UFC he's had to fight skilled fighters who exposed what's brutally lacking I chaels skillset.

chuck liddell had a great record for a long time... but dana was seeing to it he was put up against guys chuck could pick apart.. guys who couldn't stand with him. soon as 'fans' caught on and he was put in against guys who could strike, look what happened.

BJ penns record isn't "great", and I can't stand the dude, but he's a great great fighter.

GSP? great record, but when's the last time he finished a fight? when's the last time he was aggressive and didn't just try to win on points?

wand's record is shitty, but he always tries to finnish fights, and he's always very very dangerous.

rampages record is better, but is he a better fighter? skill wise? not in my opinion. rampage is the polar opposite, skill-wise, of chael, but at least he tries to finnish.

if all guys want to do is win.. no matter what... usually by decision... then maybe they should stick to fighting in karate tourney's, with full headgear and whatnot. that's not what most want to see in the UFC, or any MMA.

what made pride popular? what made pride more popular and more respected than UFC? they didn't give a shit about records or win/loss %... they (the fans and match makers) wanted to see exciting fights between two guys who didn't care about winning on points.

 

[gracie bjj]

wanderlie silva may not have the greatest technique in his striking but no one can deny that when he gets in that cage he doesnt fight for a decision, he fights with the attitude of someones getting KO,D tonight n goes toe to toe with anyone win or lose, hes much more exciting than chael n imo more exciting than vitor.

[Royalty]

Lucky for Chael Vitor's talent is really on the scale of a higher blue, low purple. Who has Vitor put in bad spot on the ground? I think if Vitor can sprawl he wins, if not Chael will take top position and wear him down. How many times have we seen Vitor practically give up from being in the bottom position a couple rounds?

Vitor almost broke Jon Jones arm in the first round of their fight.

[thebrink]

You can certainly judge a fighter by their record. The best fighters have great records.
He loses every time they put him against a top tier fighter. Why not judge him on that?
And he'll lose against Belfort.

He lost to a 6'5" Jones and gave Anderson Silva a beating for 5 rounds before getting sub'd doesn't mean he's no good. Chael is one of the better wrestlers in the sport and is tough as nails, he's not a shit fighter. And yeah, he'll most likely lose to Belfort which there is no shame in...

[Yanin]

Not surprised, but everyone is on it during training then cycle off isn't that general knowledge? But what's new is that they test at any random time now which makes it wak. Pro athletes IMO should be able to sauce. Especially in fighting

[Fuzzy Nuts]

I just ran into Vitor's team at Guitar Center.

[King Shizzo]

It would have been a classic striker vs. wrestler matchup. Not too long ago, Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva on the ground.

It would be strength vs. strength. Would Silva knock his ass out, or would Sonnen punish him on the ground for three rounds?

I think Belfort will rape Sonnen. Belfort almost made Jon Jones tap via submission. We all know how devastating Belfort's hands are as well.

Let's call it the TRT championship.

[oldtimer1]

Sonnen is the most intelligent and entertaining speaker the UFC has ever had. I don't see him winning this fight and the fight could be the end of his career.

[cephissus]

Sonnen is the most intelligent and entertaining speaker the UFC has ever had. I don't see him winning this fight and the fight could be the end of his career.

x2 can't think of a more well-spoken and charismatic athlete.

[Schnauzer]

Sonnen is the most intelligent and entertaining speaker the UFC has ever had. I don't see him winning this fight and the fight could be the end of his career.

As long as his PPV's keep selling well Dana will keep him around. Jones vs. Sonnen was UFC's second-bestselling event last year.

[thebrink]

Sonnen is the most intelligent and entertaining speaker the UFC has ever had. I don't see him winning this fight and the fight could be the end of his career.

X2.

He's witty and funny as all hell. Overall good for the sport and a one of a kind kinda guy.

[A Righteous Sort]

Lucky for Chael Vitor's talent is really on the scale of a higher blue, low purple. Who has Vitor put in bad spot on the ground? I think if Vitor can sprawl he wins, if not Chael will take top position and wear him down. How many times have we seen Vitor practically give up from being in the bottom position a couple rounds?

Don't quote me on it but I believe Chael has been submitted a few times in a Jits guy's guard.
He doesn't like jiu Jitsu and doesn't train it, and consequently he alway has problems with it.
I think Chael is going to get knocked out by Vitor.

[A Righteous Sort]

I think records are pretty accurate as far as determining fighters skill level provided:

1. The records are taken in to account in the fighters prime.
2. The records are taken in to account if the fighter has faced most of the division.

We would have to stack up Wandy's record in his prime vs Chael's record in his prime to determine who is better. And in his prime Wandy had the record for KOs (pride) I believe.
Chael just got beat up by Rashad, Jones, and Silva - people that incidentally have better records than him.
That is why I say he is overrated - he is tier B and not the number 1 contender he always positions himself as.

Just look at the stats in the UFC:

Weidman is better than Silva (beat him twice) and his record is better too.
Silva is better than Chael (beat him twice) and his record is better too.

Fedor in his prime was the best, and his then undefeated record reflected that.

Jones is better than Machida and his record reflects that.
Machida is better than Rashad.
Rashad is better than Chael.

In each case there is a VERY strong correlation between the fighters talent and his record - especially in the UFC. The UFC is actually better as far as correlating records with talent IMO, because of all the Yakuza corruption in Pride, and the fact that guys often fought in a tourney format.

The best guys have the best records period - with few exceptions.
They are usually undefeated or have 1 or 2 losses.
Chael has fought everyone and lost to a lot of people that are no longer taken as seriously.

Vitor will KO Chael.

[wolfrittner]

When Chael  fought Jones, he broke jones toe really bad.(or Jones broke it himself). If he would have survived another 30 sec, he would have won the fight. That was really bad timing. lol  There is no way they would have continued the fight. Even thou Jones was a much better fighter anyway but he could have won it. That must suck to find out later..

[A Righteous Sort]

When Chael  fought Jones, he broke jones toe really bad.(or Jones broke it himself). If he would have survived another 30 sec, he would have won the fight. That was really bad timing. lol  There is no way they would have continued the fight. Even thou Jones was a much better fighter anyway but he could have won it. That must suck to find out later..

No doubt.
Must've sucked the same way it sucked for Vitor to be so close and yet so far.

[wolfrittner]

Sonnen is the most intelligent and entertaining speaker the UFC has ever had. I don't see him winning this fight and the fight could be the end of his career.

Yes I agree. I always liked his interviews. He is a funny guy and most people take it the wrong way. I just wished he would have a better record.

[wolfrittner]

No doubt.
Must've sucked the same way it sucked for Vitor to be so close and yet so far.

Lol.

[OTHstrong]

I think records are pretty accurate as far as determining fighters skill level provided:

1. The records are taken in to account in the fighters prime.
2. The records are taken in to account if the fighter has faced most of the division.

We would have to stack up Wandy's record in his prime vs Chael's record in his prime to determine who is better. And in his prime Wandy had the record for KOs (pride) I believe.
Chael just got beat up by Rashad, Jones, and Silva - people that incidentally have better records than him.
That is why I say he is overrated - he is tier B and not the number 1 contender he always positions himself as.

Just look at the stats in the UFC:

Weidman is better than Silva (beat him twice) and his record is better too.
Silva is better than Chael (beat him twice) and his record is better too.

Fedor in his prime was the best, and his then undefeated record reflected that.

Jones is better than Machida and his record reflects that.
Machida is better than Rashad.
Rashad is better than Chael.

In each case there is a VERY strong correlation between the fighters talent and his record - especially in the UFC. The UFC is actually better as far as correlating records with talent IMO, because of all the Yakuza corruption in Pride, and the fact that guys often fought in a tourney format.

The best guys have the best records period - with few exceptions.
They are usually undefeated or have 1 or 2 losses.
Chael has fought everyone and lost to a lot of people that are no longer taken as seriously.

Vitor will KO Chael.

Weidman is better than Silva (beat him twice) and his record is better too.

 

wtf