Amidst the hoopla.............
Sonnen's domination of Okami was real impressive for the following reasons:
- He's sorta had a very turbulent past few fights with dominating Filho but then getting submitted, dominating Filho again but with the debable of Filho's state, then gets schooled by Maia then quietly comes back with a good win over Miller but then comes back with perhaps one of the best performances of his career
- Like Shogun, he fought very disciplinedly, i think like we've never seen before
- Sonnen's striking is not awesome but good and he used what he has very well against Okami with an excellent pace and kept Okami out of any potential td attack while constantly scoring and keeping Okami puzzled
- More than anything, I saw Sonnen excellently mixing his striking and tds like we so rarely see fighters do today. He wasnt able to do much on the ground but the fact is that he tried and by mixing it up, he only showed a more dominant performance vs someone who hasnt been dominated in the grappling dept yet in MMA iirc
- He didnt get submitted when it did go the ground (though he was in some potential danger with Okami's kimura but Okami never got it out enough to warrant a "catch")
Dang Wasa-B another solid Post....roll on Brotha!!!!
I was gonna add something but u basically said what I wanted to....Your inhibiting me from adding to my post count with any intelligent comments...
Yeah I was impressed with homeboy myself. I thought for sure Okami was winning the UD
ttt
Far and away the best fight ever for Chael. His fight with Babalu was good but of course he lost that one. The fight he proposed with Rich would be a good fight at 195 but I really want Rich to settle in at 205. A Marquardt fight would be good as well.
I saw a kind of mental collapse going with Okami. he looked timid,lie he felt that there was nothing he could do to take Chael down. Chael had the same feeling and thats why he opened up that striking clinic.
He's never looked better, that was very impressive.
Chael looked great, but I will always worry about his sub defense. He's just been caught too many times in his career making a boneheaded mistake on the ground. His sub defense always comes back to derail him whenever he gets a hot streak going.
Steve4192 - Chael looked great, but I will always worry about his sub defense. He's just been caught too many times in his career making a boneheaded mistake on the ground. His sub defense always comes back to derail him whenever he gets a hot streak going.
thats why i was shitting my pants when okami pulled guard for the kimura, it woulda been nuts if hed have gotten that but too little/too late.
Doem - I saw a kind of mental collapse going with Okami. he looked timid,lie he felt that there was nothing he could do to take Chael down. Chael had the same feeling and thats why he opened up that striking clinic.
The thing that pissed me off was that Okami didnt even attempt a td until he threw out the last ditch pull guard kimura in the 3rd.
However, Okami is always a slow starter only this time Chael just kept the pressure on him and his wrestling was better than all the guys Okami got to the ground. Basically Chael was better than all of Okami's opponents including Rich who was dominated in the 3rd by Yushin.
Time for a Sonnen vs. Maia rematch maybe?
Wouldn't mind seeing Sonnen/Santiago either if the UFC ever brings Santiago back.
I remember a lot of people writing him off back in the day because of his submission defense. Guy has reinvented himself with 3 wins in a row.
Sonnen and Lindland are really good guys. Awesome to see Chael pick up the W. I called this fight among friends and everyone thought i was crazy.
solidsnake - I remember a lot of people writing him off back in the day because of his submission defense. Guy has reinvented himself with 3 wins in a row.
Isnt this 2 now after the maia loss (miller and okami)?
He looked the best he ever has.
Reminds me of the commentator saying "I havent seen Botha move this well in his entire career" during the Tyson fight.
Sonnen had a great use of his base considering it had to be hard fighting a guy like Okami with the extra 150lbs of CRE hanging on to his nuts. It's amazing the guy could walk in the cage.
Sorry, had to do it.
14 of 24 wins have been decisions and none of them were FOTN candidates.