Sonnen's coach angling for rematch
There are better UFC fighters than Chael Sonnen. There is no better self-promoter.
Sonnen built massive hype for his UFC 148 main event rematch against Anderson Silva through insults and race-baiting that prompted his soft-spoken opponent to fire back with his own verbal salvos. After a second loss to the UFC middleweight champion on July 7, Sonnen’s camp reportedly is taking a new approach in hopes of getting another title shot at Silva.
Sonnen’s coach Scott McQuarry told MMAJunkie.com that he is seeking to file an appeal of Silva’s second-round technical knockout to get the decision overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
This latest controversy stems from a Silva knee strike that helped end the bout. Under UFC rules, it’s illegal to throw a knee or kick to the head of a downed opponent. Sonnen had stumbled after wildly missing a spinning backfist.
Officials from UFC said the knee caught Sonnen in the chest, paving the way for a series of Silva punches that prompted referee Yves Lavigne to call the fight at 1:55 of the second round.
Hoping to remove any taint on the outcome, UFC president Dana White cut off a reporter’s attempt to question Silva about whether the knee was illegal, during the post-fight news conference at the MGM Grand.
“We watched it on tape,” White insisted as a stoic Silva sat by his side on an interview podium. “There’s no need to talk about an illegal knee. There was no illegal knee.”
Sonnen didn’t respond to a FOXSports.com email request seeking comment Monday and, as of Tuesday morning, hadn’t issued a statement on his Twitter account. He expressed no problems with the strike during the news conference. Sonnen also declined to complain about Silva illegally grabbing his trunks at several points during the bout.
“Yeah, Anderson grabbed my trunks, but I grabbed his right back,” said Sonnen, who sported a nasty gash on the right side of his nose from Silva’s shots. “It goes both ways. We can’t sit and nitpick some of that stuff.”
Some would argue McQuarry is doing just that.
Channeling his fighter’s gift for gab, McQuarry has accused Silva of trying to get disqualified. Just like in their initial 2010 bout — which Silva won via submission after being pummeled and controlled on the mat for almost five rounds — Sonnen dominated “The Spider” in the first round last Saturday night following a takedown.
“It was pretty evident to me that there was intent on Anderson’s part to do an illegal knee,” McQuarry told MMAJunkie.com. “It was extremely blatant, and it was ignored by the referee and everybody else and swept under the rug. And to add insult to injury, Dana White gives the 'Knockout of the Night’ (bonus) to Anderson.
“I’m normally pretty quiet about this type of stuff. But when you see an injustice to this extreme and there’s so much on the line, I feel compelled to say something.”
McQuarry said his goal is to secure a rematch for his fighter. Protesting the result is a brilliant way of trying to do so without Sonnen having to work his way back into the No. 1 contender’s spot inside the Octagon.
It also provides a new storyline that could lead to another massive payday for Sonnen, Silva and the UFC. UFC 148 drew a company-record $7 million gate for live attendance and is expected to garner at least 1 million pay-per-view orders.
Sonnen deserves much of the credit.
Sonnen convinced fans he was a viable threat to end Silva’s six-year winning streak through his performance in their first confrontation at UFC 117. The icing to the build for this fight was Sonnen’s incessant chirping like a 1970s pro wrestler — take a bow, “Superstar” Billy Graham — that genuinely got under Silva’s skin. Sonnen and Silva made fans believe they despised each other in the same way that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would generate heat if those boxers could ever agree to square off.
Silva vs. Sonnen II wasn’t so lopsided that fans would be apathetic about a third installment. There is no other 185-pound UFC title contender with the same box-office draw as Sonnen, nor someone who could sell a fight as effectively. A “dream fight” between Silva and UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones also doesn’t appear in the offing for multiple reasons, among them being that neither side has interest in such a matchup.
There will be those who believe protesting the decision would be as classless as when Sonnen knocked Brazilians for their hygiene. Still, Silva’s strike was borderline enough that there is legitimate reason to at least consider doing so.
And even if nothing comes of this, Sonnen and his camp have again found a way to steal some of the spotlight from Silva and cast enough doubt about why he lost to create buzz for a rematch that wasn’t there immediately following UFC 148.
For that, Sonnen should take a bow.
And a knee.
