DixieDestroyer
Hall of Famer
FYI...
Sonnen-Stann confirmed for UFC 136
Chael Sonnen might find it a bit harder to cook up a blistering promo for his next bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
More than a year after narrowly losing to middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Sonnen will return to the cage at UFC 136 in October against Brian "The All-American" Stann, the promotion announced this week, confirming earlier reports. The fighters verbally agreed to the bout on Wednesday.
Chael Sonnen, left, almost defeated Anderson Silva last August.
CAPTION
By Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire
A venue hasn't been formally announced for UFC 136. But the promotion has already pegged an Oct. 29 date for UFC 137 in Las Vegas, and has a fan expo scheduled for Houston on Oct. 7-8. Past fan expos have always coincided with fight cards.
The news means Sonnen will finally return to fighting after several months marked by visits to state athletic commissions to explain his use of testerone, and a trip to federal court for admitted money laundering.
Sonnen's suspension in California ended last month. The state initially penalized him last year after tests related to the Silva bout showed Sonnen had testerone levels beyond the permitted range. Regulators later extended his suspension until June 29 because of skepticism about his testimony during a December hearing.
Stann has been on a roll since dropping to middleweight. He recently vaulted into the top 10 of the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus ranking for middleweights after going 3-0 over the past 11 months against Jorge Santiago, Chris "The Crippler" Leben and Mike Massenzio. Santiago and Leben were consensus top-10 middleweights in their own right before losing to Stann; they remain in the top 20.
The clean-cut image of Stann, a Marine Corps veteran who won medals for combat actions in Iraq, could make it harder for Sonnen to formulate the disparaging commentary that has become one of his hallmarks when discussing potential opponents. But in the cage, he presents a style match-up that Stann hasn't seen yet as a middleweight.
Although Massenzio and Leben have wrestling backgrounds, and Santiago is an excellent grappler, none of them have the takedown ability of Sonnen, an Olympic alternate as a wrestler. Sonnen is also a better boxer than Santiago or Massenzio, though he lacks the knockout power of Leben or Stann.
The last time Stann fought a high-level wrestler was February of last year, when he lost to light-heavyweight Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis. Stann dropped to 185 pounds after that bout.
Sonnen-Stann confirmed for UFC 136
Chael Sonnen might find it a bit harder to cook up a blistering promo for his next bout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
More than a year after narrowly losing to middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Sonnen will return to the cage at UFC 136 in October against Brian "The All-American" Stann, the promotion announced this week, confirming earlier reports. The fighters verbally agreed to the bout on Wednesday.
Chael Sonnen, left, almost defeated Anderson Silva last August.
CAPTION
By Mark J. Rebilas, US Presswire
A venue hasn't been formally announced for UFC 136. But the promotion has already pegged an Oct. 29 date for UFC 137 in Las Vegas, and has a fan expo scheduled for Houston on Oct. 7-8. Past fan expos have always coincided with fight cards.
The news means Sonnen will finally return to fighting after several months marked by visits to state athletic commissions to explain his use of testerone, and a trip to federal court for admitted money laundering.
Sonnen's suspension in California ended last month. The state initially penalized him last year after tests related to the Silva bout showed Sonnen had testerone levels beyond the permitted range. Regulators later extended his suspension until June 29 because of skepticism about his testimony during a December hearing.
Stann has been on a roll since dropping to middleweight. He recently vaulted into the top 10 of the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus ranking for middleweights after going 3-0 over the past 11 months against Jorge Santiago, Chris "The Crippler" Leben and Mike Massenzio. Santiago and Leben were consensus top-10 middleweights in their own right before losing to Stann; they remain in the top 20.
The clean-cut image of Stann, a Marine Corps veteran who won medals for combat actions in Iraq, could make it harder for Sonnen to formulate the disparaging commentary that has become one of his hallmarks when discussing potential opponents. But in the cage, he presents a style match-up that Stann hasn't seen yet as a middleweight.
Although Massenzio and Leben have wrestling backgrounds, and Santiago is an excellent grappler, none of them have the takedown ability of Sonnen, an Olympic alternate as a wrestler. Sonnen is also a better boxer than Santiago or Massenzio, though he lacks the knockout power of Leben or Stann.
The last time Stann fought a high-level wrestler was February of last year, when he lost to light-heavyweight Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis. Stann dropped to 185 pounds after that bout.