I just rewatched the fight with Anderson for the first time since the first time I saw it live, now that it's on Netflix. Now more than ever.........I CAN NOT WAIT!!!
You know what? I am betting on Chael, because you can say whatever you want about a rib injury, the striking was not as one sided as I would have expected. The ribs had nothing to do with the amount of times Anderson was tagged on the button. Chael is a fucking animal when he is on his game. The kind of dominance Chael exhibited on that night is scary. Good for Anderson for pulling it off, but I think this might be the end of the ride.
I do believe Silva was injured, and for those who have had a rib injury you know rib injuries are a bitch, totally incapacitating at times. I'm super pumped for this fight too, I really want to see a injury free Silva and a Sonnen with normal testosterone levels. It really comes down to Silva being able to stop the takedown, and if not, can he pull off the sub from the bottom again because if he goes down that's where he will stay. Silva really needs to dominate this fight. 
I keep saying it....the first fight had nothing to do with a rib injury. If Silva would have KO'd him in the first, second or third round, nobody would have mentioned the injury. The fact is Chael is an extremely tough style matchup for Silva. He's never really fought another high level wrestler. Henderson had the accolades, but really doesn't use his wrestling a lot in MMA. Sonnen is the only real high caliber wrestler who uses it to his advantage and he dominated the ground/takedowns. It will be much easier for Sonnen to avoid the mistake he made in his last fight than it is for Silva to avoid takedowns from a world class wrestler. Say what you want, but there's a reason Silva avoided the first fight for a long time and has dragged his feet a long time to have the rematch. If any fight warranted an immediate rematch, it was the first one. Unless he catches Chael with a knee shooting in, I think it will be a repeat of what we saw for four and half rounds last time.
I disagree with you on the Dan Henderson part. Dan Henderson lands punches because of his wrestling. You have to worry about both. I'm not sure Chael Sonnen even came close to making an Olympic team. Dan was a alternate on one. That's not easy to do. I do however give conditioning to Chael Sonnen. I hoping for a good fight, and I hope if Chael wins he calls out Dan Henderson, since he only fights the best, and will fight anyone at anytime. Lets see how he holds up to that. I say Dan kills him.
I dont think you have to worry about Chael winning July 7th anyways.
bemsqua - "It will be much easier for Sonnen to avoid the mistake he made in his last fight than it is for Silva to avoid takedowns from a world class wrestler."
I agree, but you really can't dismiss the injury, Silva didn't look himself from the very first second of the first fight, maybe that was because he feared Sonnens wrestling, I'm not sure myself, but I have no reason to doubt Silva's claim of an injury, what I understand from what has been said by those close to him is that he was indeed injured. Silva is a respectable guy, no reason for him to lie, one thing is sure, the rematch will tell us all. Don't forget Sonnen was a testosterone inflamed raging bull too, that may make a difference in this fight as he should be closer to normal this time.
If the same Chael that showed up to fight Bisping in Chicago in January shows up on 7/7...this fight won't last very long.
chael looked like an asshole against bisping - he was out of control and barely eked out that win. silva will maim him this time around for sure. if not, i'll resign as a fan of the sport.
Not sure if it's true but I think Sonnen had a really big weight cut in a very short amount of time for Bisping, it makes sense, he looked drained.
Johnny D - Not sure if it's true but I think Sonnen had a really big weight cut in a very short amount of time for Bisping, it makes sense, he looked drained.
Chael always has a huge weight cut and looks sucked out...he's gigantic for MW and seems to somehow keep gaining mass into his mid 30's.
jjj2121 - "Chael always has a huge weight cut and looks sucked out...he's gigantic for MW and seems to somehow keep gaining mass into his mid 30's."
I understand he cuts big, but I was told it was the short amount of time in which the weight cut took place that hurt him.
I read the thread title in Goldberg's voice.
And I can't wait either, it will be more than a fight, it will be a true climax of a rivalry and a story that has built up for a long time. I wish more UFC fights were like this!! Gotta let fights and rivalries simmer longer, let the fans really start to salivate for the fight, let the buzz go for a while.
sgotwalks - I just rewatched the fight with Anderson for the first time since the first time I saw it live, now that it's on Netflix. Now more than ever.........I CAN NOT WAIT!!!
You know what? I am betting on Chael, because you can say whatever you want about a rib injury, the striking was not as one sided as I would have expected. The ribs had nothing to do with the amount of times Anderson was tagged on the button. Chael is a fucking animal when he is on his game. The kind of dominance Chael exhibited on that night is scary. Good for Anderson for pulling it off, but I think this might be the end of the ride.
I'm guessing you have never trained striking before? You don't think a core injury affects your head movement and reflexes?
Either way I am stoked for the rematch as well. It's gonna be bonkers!
Motivated Penn - I read the thread title in Goldberg's voice.
And I can't wait either, it will be more than a fight, it will be a true climax of a rivalry and a story that has built up for a long time. I wish more UFC fights were like this!! Gotta let fights and rivalries simmer longer, let the fans really start to salivate for the fight, let the buzz go for a while.
Can't agree. They did that with Hashad and Jones and I was MEH by the time the fight actually happened. Maybe that was just too long.
jjj2121 -Johnny D - Not sure if it's true but I think Sonnen had a really big weight cut in a very short amount of time for Bisping, it makes sense, he looked drained.
Chael always has a huge weight cut and looks sucked out...he's gigantic for MW and seems to somehow keep gaining mass into his mid 30's.
Yes.... 'somehow'
DaHomewilder - could've sworn the pre fight warm ups had Anderson practicing flying knees.
Dude...that's impossible. Silva couldn't even twist with his punches or kicks. A very close source to his camp said he never even trained for the fight. If his ribs were 100% Chael would not have even been able to get in takedown range. Silva would have KO'd him before that. If he chose to, he could have elected to stuff everyone of Chael's takdowns and throw Chael around the Octagon. If somehow Silva would have slipped and ended up on the ground...if his ribs were 100%, he would have immediately swept Chael and do whatever he chose from that point on. The point is your eyes were playing tricks on you when you were seeing him warming up in the back.
Now, looking ahead to July 7th...don't forget about the persistent injured knee rumors. Although, Silva immediately tweeted himself performing flying knees, don't be surprised if the knee injury flares up on the 7th.
Have you ever had a rib injury? They are extremely debilitating. You have labored breathing and certain movements are extremely difficult because they send a searing pain through your torso and take away your breath.
If he really did have a rib injury it would severely impact his performance.
UGCTT_LnPninja -Motivated Penn - I read the thread title in Goldberg's voice.
And I can't wait either, it will be more than a fight, it will be a true climax of a rivalry and a story that has built up for a long time. I wish more UFC fights were like this!! Gotta let fights and rivalries simmer longer, let the fans really start to salivate for the fight, let the buzz go for a while.
Can't agree. They did that with Hashad and Jones and I was MEH by the time the fight actually happened. Maybe that was just too long.
That's certainly a fair opinion. I think the biggest problem with Jones - Rashad is that Jones is unbeatable at LHW, so Rashad had zero chance whatsoever.. kinda hard to hype that legitimately!
triso - Have you ever had a rib injury? They are extremely debilitating. You have labored breathing and certain movements are extremely difficult because they send a searing pain through your torso and take away your breath.
If he really did have a rib injury it would severely impact his performance.
Yep, and he proceeded to strike wildly, and do a much worse job moving around on his feet then we have ever seen from him. He went straight at Chael at the begining of every round, which we also rarely ever saw.
I would say it did severely impact his performance.
I believe they are allowed to take certain types of pain relief for injuries like that, with the proper clearance. Maybe a shot of some sort to lessen the pain?
I think that Anderson will win because he is an artist - not some wrestler that can't finish guys, but one things for sure, this will be talked about for years to come
Can't wait!