Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

HOUSTON - There seemed nothing Chael Sonnen could do to top the performance he posted Saturday night against Brian Stann.

Then he stepped to the microphone.

After finishing Stann via arm-triangle choke in less than nine minutes, Sonnen stood in front of 16,ooo-plus at the Toyota Center and challenged UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva to what they call in the world of pro wrestling a "loser leaves town" match.

"Anderson Silva ... you absolutely suck!" Sonnen said. The victorious fighter then stepped away from the microphone for a little dramatic pause as Silva watched from the front row.

"Super Bowl weekend ... the biggest rematch in the history of the business. I'm calling you out, Silva. I beat you, you leave the division, you beat me, I will leave the UFC forever," said Sonnen.

That was it. Short and simple, but epic. Sonnen walked right out the cage.

[Related: Edgar puts thrilling cap on UFC 136 with TKO win over Maynard]

Sonnen is no stranger controversy. This was his first fight back after a bizarre saga involving the California State Athletic Commission and testing for performance enhancing drugs.

Before Sonnen took on Silva last August at UFC 117, he disclosed that he was taking testosterone because of a deficiency in his system. After several hearings during an appeal process, Sonnen wound up serving a lengthy suspension.

In many ways, it overshadowed what happened that night in Oakland, but Sonnen hasn't forgot. He dominated the nearly unbeatable Silva for 23-plus minutes before blowing it late and falling victim to a submission.

The storm has been brewing for more than a year and Sonnen has been talking major trash about the champion to anyone who would put a microphone in front of him. Sonnen went as far as calling the Stann fight "the first defense of his middleweight title."

[Related: Aldo defends featherweight title against game Florian]

There's was certainly a lot of pressure on Sonnen, but it didn't show. Stann is a dangerous striker, but his grappling has always been a weak point. Sonnen went right after his opponent's Achilles' heel and dumped him to the mat early the first. He kept him down for the rest of the round and mounted him several times.

In the second, it took just six seconds for Sonnen to get Stann to the mat. He grinded on Stann with elbows and punches. The crowd starting booing, and for some odd reason referee Keri Hatley put the fighters back on their feet with 2:22 left.

It didn't help Stann. Just 20 seconds later, Sonnen lifted him off the ground and slammed him back down. With 1:27 left, Sonnen slapped on the arm-triangle choke. Stann held out for a while, but had to tap, giving the victory to Sonnen at the 3:51 mark of the second.

Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Sonnen-crushes-Stann-then-vows-to-leave-the-UFC?urn=mma-wp7973

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

UFC 136 postfight: ?Rocky? references, baseball bats and the People?s champ

UFC 136 postfight: ?Rocky? references, baseball bats and the People?s champ

HOUSTON - In the end, the main card at UFC 136 delivered because Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard produced another classic in their third meeting in front of 16,164.

The live gate was $2.23 million. The UFC now holds the marks for the No. 1 and No. 4 all-time gates at the Toyota Center.

The effort in that main event got the UFC's lightweight champ the Knockout of the Night bonus, good for $75,000. Joe Lauzon beat out Chael Sonnen for Submission of the Night, while Fight of the Night went to Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia for their rock'em, sock'em brawl.

- Sonnen certainly deserved the Postfight Interview of the Night bonus. He called out Anderson Silva and asked to fight on the UFC's Super Saturday card in early February of 2012 in Las Vegas. Sonnen said the speech in the Octagon was off the cuff and he got fired up when he saw Silva sitting in the crowd. Dialing up more of the wrestling rhetoric, Sonnen said he was the people's champion and he was willing to give Silva a shot at the linear belt, his belt.

- White said he was highly impressed by Sonnen's victory over Stann. He believes in the theory of ring rust, but Sonnen showed no signs that he'd been away from the Octagon for 14 months.

- White said he wants to make the Silva-Sonnen fight as soon as possible. He wouldn't confirm that the fight would be on Super Bowl weekend, but he did say Brazil was almost an impossibility.

- Both Joe Lauzon and Dana White agreed on Melvin Guillard's performance saying he came into the fight with a lack of focus. Lauzon pointed out that while he sat in his hotel room all day on Saturday, Guillard was hanging out the UFC Fan Expo going down next door at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

- A very disappointed Kenny Florian wouldn't address retirement rumors. He was asked five questions and had little to say.

- Maynard still appeared stunned during the postfight. He couldn't believe Edgar made it through the first round.

"I don' know if he has a button that puts him out. I hit him on a knee, a right ... I think I hit him on a hook. What else? If there was a bat in there I probably would've hit him with that too. I couldn't find one. Where do you keep the bats in the cage?" Maynard jokingly asked White.

- White said he lost his mind cage side when Edgar pulled off the victory. Some may say   his mind was still lost when he made an impassioned plea that Edgar is now the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world during the postfight. White said he always thought the stuff you see in "Rocky" movies was [expletive], but Edgar produced a real-life Rocky fight.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-136-postfight-Rocky-references-baseball-?urn=mma-wp8049

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Lesson NOT learned: Diaz shows up 45 minutes late for presser ? ?not my fault?

Next week in Las Vegas should be a hoot. With the injury to Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz has been boosted back to main event. It's an amazing second lease on life for the oddball welterweight star.

Surely, Diaz learned a lesson and will fulfill his most basic duties required by the promotion. Wrong.

Diaz was due on a UFC 137 media call today at 2 p.m. ET. For 45 minutes, it was deja vu all over again. Diaz was nowhere to be found and his "people," including manager Cesar Gracie frantically attempted to corral the fighter. At 2:45, they finally found their man and what unfolded from there was pure hilarity.

"Nobody called me in the last week or couple days or anything and said there was a call," Diaz said. He then explained that he was sleeping when he, "woke up, my phone was dead, and my brother's telling me I'm supposed to be on a call. I don't know anything about it. It's as simple as that."

Those same people who eventually saved him today, are often letting him down.

"I've got all these people, business people and big money people around me trying to make deals," Diaz said (46:50 mark). "I don't know anything about that. All I know is somebody's getting paid like over a hundred grand just to tell me what I'm supposed to do and what I'm not supposed to do."

Diaz then seemed to suggest these same hired hands screwed him out of the title fight opportunity he lost against GSP.

"I'm like, for that much money I think I could have had somebody standing around and telling me, 'Hey, you can't miss this press conference. That voids the whole contract and then you're out. You're not making [expletive]. You're not fighting [expletive]. You ain't making no money. So you have to be at this thing.' It's simple."

Expect more of the same next week. You have wonder though if the promotion's patience is wearing so thin that Diaz must produce a win over Penn to stick around.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Lesson-NOT-learned-Diaz-shows-up-45-minutes-lat?urn=mma-wp8370

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

HOUSTON - There seemed nothing Chael Sonnen could do to top the performance he posted Saturday night against Brian Stann.

Then he stepped to the microphone.

After finishing Stann via arm-triangle choke in less than nine minutes, Sonnen stood in front of 16,ooo-plus at the Toyota Center and challenged UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva to what they call in the world of pro wrestling a "loser leaves town" match.

"Anderson Silva ... you absolutely suck!" Sonnen said. The victorious fighter then stepped away from the microphone for a little dramatic pause as Silva watched from the front row.

"Super Bowl weekend ... the biggest rematch in the history of the business. I'm calling you out, Silva. I beat you, you leave the division, you beat me, I will leave the UFC forever," said Sonnen.

That was it. Short and simple, but epic. Sonnen walked right out the cage.

[Related: Edgar puts thrilling cap on UFC 136 with TKO win over Maynard]

Sonnen is no stranger controversy. This was his first fight back after a bizarre saga involving the California State Athletic Commission and testing for performance enhancing drugs.

Before Sonnen took on Silva last August at UFC 117, he disclosed that he was taking testosterone because of a deficiency in his system. After several hearings during an appeal process, Sonnen wound up serving a lengthy suspension.

In many ways, it overshadowed what happened that night in Oakland, but Sonnen hasn't forgot. He dominated the nearly unbeatable Silva for 23-plus minutes before blowing it late and falling victim to a submission.

The storm has been brewing for more than a year and Sonnen has been talking major trash about the champion to anyone who would put a microphone in front of him. Sonnen went as far as calling the Stann fight "the first defense of his middleweight title."

[Related: Aldo defends featherweight title against game Florian]

There's was certainly a lot of pressure on Sonnen, but it didn't show. Stann is a dangerous striker, but his grappling has always been a weak point. Sonnen went right after his opponent's Achilles' heel and dumped him to the mat early the first. He kept him down for the rest of the round and mounted him several times.

In the second, it took just six seconds for Sonnen to get Stann to the mat. He grinded on Stann with elbows and punches. The crowd starting booing, and for some odd reason referee Keri Hatley put the fighters back on their feet with 2:22 left.

It didn't help Stann. Just 20 seconds later, Sonnen lifted him off the ground and slammed him back down. With 1:27 left, Sonnen slapped on the arm-triangle choke. Stann held out for a while, but had to tap, giving the victory to Sonnen at the 3:51 mark of the second.

Sonnen crushes Stann, then vows to leave the UFC if he can?t beat Silva in rematch

Other popular stories on Yahoo! Sports:
? College football's Week 6 Winners and losers
? Brewers-Cardinals an old-school matchup
? College football's Week 6 Winners and losers

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Sonnen-crushes-Stann-then-vows-to-leave-the-UFC?urn=mma-wp7973

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

Frankie Edgar bloodies camera with celebration kiss at UFC 136

Frankie Edgar bloodies camera with celebration kiss at UFC 136

Frankie Edgar was understandably excited when he TKOed Gray Maynard to defend the UFC lightweight belt. To celebrate, the 5-foot-6 fighter jumped onto the six-foot fence of the Octagon, grabbed a camera and gave it a big kiss. As his face had been bloodied early when Maynard had Edgar on his heels in the first round, Edgar left a bloody mess behind him.

MMA has its own charms that makes it different from any other sport. One of them is that its fans can see the beauty behind blood drops on a camera.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Frankie-Edgar-bloodies-camera-with-celebration-k?urn=mma-wp8006

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro AkiyamaÂ