Por Juan José Palomo / @JJPalomo19

Para FOX Deportes

Cuando sabes que vas a enfrentarte a un rival mucho mejor que tu, o que ya te ha vencido, y a pesar de ver una y otra vez el video no encuentras las debilidades físicas, la desesperación te lleva a creer que en lo mental lo vencerás.

Y Sonnen comenzó el juego desde hace muchos meses atrás, cuando en una conferencia de prensa mostró un cinto que según el, pertenecía a Anderson Silva. Al pasar de los días, Sonnen continuaba con el ‘ataque psicológico’ y el invicto campeón, Silva, estuvo al borde del precipicio en la ceremonia de pesaje, cuando dio un golpe con su hombro a su retador.

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Por Samuel Navas / @sam_navas

Para FOX Deportes

El UFC 148 trajo a nuestras retinas grandes combates entre peleadores que buscaban reivindicarse, dejar su última gota de sudor en el octágono (Tito), pero sobre todo la tan esperada revancha de Chael Sonnen contra Anderson Silva.

Como los expertos rememoraban en nuestro portal FOXDeportes.com en varias columnas y artículos de opinión, Chael era el único luchador de MMA que puso en complicaciones al campeón de pesos medianos. Con el antecedente de haber mantenido un dominio de muay thai sobre ‘la araña’, con el intercambio de palabras previo al combate y con las acciones que le habíamos observado a Silva en los combates recientes, Sonnen era un buen retador para el campeón.

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By Simon Samano/@sjsamano

For FOX Deportes

What else could Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva possibly have to say ahead of Saturday night’s middleweight championship rematch at UFC 148?

Nothing.

Sonnen has spewed enough trash talk to get under the champion’s skin, and Silva uncharacteristically has fired his share of salvos in response.

So now it’s time for the most anticipated rematch in UFC history to finally happen. Sonnen nearly made history at UFC 117 in becoming the first man to defeat Silva in the UFC. Sonnen beat up Silva for nearly 25 minutes before the champ pulled out a miracle triangle choke to escape with a win.

What will happen this time around? Below is a breakdown of the matchup:

Striking advantage: Silva And it’s not even close. Don’t get me wrong, Sonnen can throw down. But this is Silva’s domain. He’s the most dynamic striker in UFC history (in time, Jon Jones, in time). Given what he’s said he will do to Sonnen, it sure as hell better be on display.

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By Simon Samano/@sjsamano
For FOX Deportes

 

Holy sh*t, Chael Sonnen has really done it this time.

 

His trash talk has done more than just anger Anderson Silva. This time, Sonnen has unleashed a fury from Silva we’ve never seen before. That’s what happens when you speak ill of Silva’s wife and insult his home country.

 

To know that, you only had to be on the fighters’ media conference call earlier this week. Even without knowing Portuguese, the rage in Silva’s voice registered loud and clear.

 

“Well, first of all, Chael is a criminal,” Silva said through his translator. “He’s been convicted of crimes, he doesn’t deserve to be in the Octagon, and when the time comes and the time is right, I’m going to break his face, and break every one of his teeth in his mouth.”

 

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By Simon Samano
For Fox Deportes
 
Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre were long considered the two pound-for-pound kings until the recent meteoric rise of Jon Jones, who most folks — including myself – figure has surpassed GSP but isn’t quite good enough to supplant the “Spider” as No. 1.
 
But that’s to most folks. St-Pierre, on the other hand, has his own pound-for-pound analysis and shared a somewhat stunning top three in an exclusive interview on Sportsnet’s “UFC Central”.
 

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By Simon Samano
For Fox Deportes

Have you seen “The Avengers”, yet? I have. It was pretty awesome. Didn’t disappoint at all.
 
Actually, “Avengers” was the first traditional comic-book movie I was pumped to watch since “Spider Man 2” back in 2004. I say “traditional” because Christopher Nolan’s rendition of the Batman franchise is in a category all its own of comic-book movies. But I’ve digressed. …
 
Anyway, the opening of “The Avengers” last weekend means Hollywood’s blockbuster season is upon us, but it’s not just movies we should be looking forward to this summer.
 
Between the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, the UFC has a number of big fights that have fans fraught with anticipation, which includes all but the welterweight championship on the line. Here are my top 10 UFC blockbusters:
 
1. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II, July 7
The bad blood here is boiling — at least for Sonnen it is. This middleweight title rematch set for UFC 148 has been nearly two years in the making. Sonnen has been longing for it, and now he’ll finally get his chance to prove his near-victory over Silva at UFC 117 was no fluke. We’d never seen Silva pummeled the way Sonnen dominated him for 20 minutes, until “The Spider” pulled out a miracle triangle armbar submission in the fifth round. No way Silva let’s that happen again, right? Seriously, you don’t want to miss this fight.
 

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By Simon Samano

For FOX Deportes

UFC president Dana White was asked after Jon Jones defeated Rashad Evans over the weekend if he felt the light heavyweight champion had overtaken Anderson Silva as the pound-for-pound best.

White didn’t think so, and neither do I. However, with Georges St-Pierre still on the shelf, and considering all Jones has accomplished in his brief career, Jones has passed GSP for No. 2 on my initial pound-for-pound UFC rankings.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Anderson Silva, 31-4, middle weight champion
No surprise the “Spider” is the top dog, right? I mean, the guy has wiped out his division, not to mention embarrassed Forrest Griffin at light heavyweight a few years back. Silva’s long-awaited rematch July 7 with Chael Sonnen, who dominated the better part of their fight in 2010 before submitting, needs to take place standing up. If it goes to the ground, Silva’s reign as No. 1 could end.

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