I think Anderson Silva is going to beat Chael Sonnen, but since Anderson is a fan of Roy Jones Jr. and essentially is MMA's Roy Jones Jr, I'm going to give you a bunch of stats to scare you into picking Chael Sonnen.
- Roy Jones' last loss prior to Tarver rematch: A disqualification for illegally punching a downed opponent (Montell Griffin), in a fight he was winning. Jones would avenge this loss, knocking Griffin out in a couple of minutes in the rematch.
- Anderson Silva's last loss: A disqualification for illegally upkicking a downed opponent (Yushin Okami), in a fight he was winning. Silva would avenge this loss, knocking Okami out with jabs.
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- Roy's dominant run in boxing was at middleweight, super middleweight, and light heavyweight.
- Anderson's dominant run in MMA is at middleweight with two wins at LHW against James Irvin and former champion Forrest Griffin.
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- Roy's first fight with Antonio Tarver: A disputed majority decision win in Jones' favor, a fight that saw relative unknown Tarver gain fans in a losing effort by putting up a very good showing against Roy. The prevailing reason for Jones' performance was his drop in weight after defeating John Ruiz at heavyweight and then dropping to 175 (light heavyweight).
- Anderson's first fight with Chael Sonnen: A dramatic late submission victory over Sonnen, who spent the bulk of his career as a journeyman before rising to #1 contender, and literally the only person who has ever looked good against Anderson Silva in the UFC. In fact, he was well on his way to a dominant decision victory before he once again couldn't defend a triangle choke. The prevailing reason for Silva's poor performance, which included getting staggered by a Chael Sonnen punch, was a rib injury.
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- Roy's age at time of Tarver rematch: 35 (Tarver's age: 35)
- Anderson's age at time of Sonnen rematch: 37 (Sonnen's age: 35)
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- Roy's rematch: A shocking 2nd round KO loss to Tarver, who was not known as a one-punch KO artist. Jones had only been knocked down once in his career prior to that, and Jones was wobbled and did not beat the count of 10. What made it all the more memorable is when the referee asked both men pre-fight "any questions?", to which Tarver replied "Have you got any excuses tonight, Roy?"
- Anderson's rematch: To be determined on July 7th, but one thing is for sure, Blackhouse fighters disclose injuries and illnesses the week of the fight or post-fight regardless of victory or defeat. So if Silva loses, you've got an excuse in the bag already. And Chael Sonnen is not a KO artist of any sort. Including ground-and-pound.
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- Antonio Tarver has never been knocked out. As of a week or so ago, he's now failed a post-fight drug test.
- Chael Sonnen has never been knocked out. He's failed a post-fight drug test.
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Now I did leave some things out. For example, Tarver and Jones rematched immediately whereas Silva annihilated Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami, and Chael Sonnen post-suspension beat Brian Stann and Michael Bisping. Also, Roy Jones is still fighting today primarily because he owes the IRS a lot of money, while Anderson Silva is lip-synching Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You".
The only way for the parallel to be perfect is if Chael Sonnen stops Anderson Silva. A decision win does not count. Tarver's shocking KO of Jones needs to be matched by Chael choking out Anderson or KOing him with a head kick or something.
Take that for what you will.
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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