Chael Sonnen moves to LHW; will take on Forrest Griffin

Quote :

Chael Sonnen is gunning for a new title in the UFC and his pursuit starts in December against a former champion.

Following a loss to Anderson Silva in July at UFC 148, rumors began to circulate that Sonnen was considering a move back to 205lbs.

The Oregon native has fought at light heavyweight several times in his career, and there appeared to be a few options available to him if he returned there for his next bout in the Octagon.

It looks like he found the right prize worth pursuing.

Sonnen co-hosted UFC Tonight on Tuesday evening and announced that he would be returning to 205lbs to face former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in December.

“I’ve watched him win the world championship, I’ve watched him etch his name in stone as a guaranteed future Hall of Famer, you and I and the whole world together watched him be a large part of creating and changing the industry that we have today. He’s one guy Jon Jones hasn’t fought, he’s beat two world champions in his last three outings, and on December 29th I will be taking on Forrest Griffin,” Sonnen stated.

The bout between Sonnen and Griffin is actually a rematch of a fight the two had back in 2003 during the famous IFC Global Domination tournament. Griffin submitted Sonnen with a triangle choke in the one-night tournament, which Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral eventually won.

The former middleweight title contender has never been short on words when it came to any fight or potential match-up, and it’s no different as Sonnen returns to the 205lb weight class.

His sights now appear aimed directly at UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but first he’s paying respect by going through a former title holder to earn his way.

“Well, it’s not a matter of Forrest Griffin, I get very frustrated that Forrest’s name is left out of the conversation. This is a guy whose beat everybody, he’s never even been in talks to fight Jon Jones, he’s coming off a fight with Tito Ortiz, one of the most decorated light heavyweights of all time and a Hall of Famer. They go out have a ‘Fight of the Night’, an awesome performance, and still he gets overlooked,” said Sonnen.

“Sure I could go up to 205 and I could take Jon Jones’ belt away the same as I could take his candy on Halloween, he’s a little punk kid, I could snatch it away all I want, but there’s something to be said in sportsmanship for earning your shot, and on the 29th of December, I’m going to go through Forrest to do it.”

First he’ll look to rectify his original loss to Griffin from 2003, and then he will look forward to moving up the ranks at light heavyweight.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/chael-sonnen-rematches-forrest-griffin-in-return-to-light-heavyweight-in-december

Sounds like it could be a really good fight, IMO.
I would think that Forrest's size and strength could somewhat nullify Sonnen's wrestling, but Forrest won by triangle their first fight, so apparently Sonnen got him to ground in that fight. Then again, that was a long time ago, so.........

I have no idea!

Wow... that is gonna be an odd site... They seem so far off in size... we'll see I guess...

Yeah, Forrest is a big LHW, and Sonnen can obviously make and compete at 185. I imagine it will look like Franklin vs Forrest, but Sonnen has that world-class wrestling that Franklin lacks.

I don't know, but something tells me that Forrest is gonna work-horse a decision out of this fight. That's basicly his thing nowadays; winning not by outwrestling or outstriking his opponent, but by just out-dogging them. It doesn't always = a win, but I think it will in this instance.

ehh, i would have much rather have seen Weidman/Sonnen. This fight doesnt excite me at all. Atleast Weidman/ Sonnen could have proved some thing. 1. does weidman really deserve to be considered a #1 contender 2. Is chael still in the running to another crack after a few more big wins and taking out weidman would have helped alot and then have him face either Bisping/stann winner or Belfort/Belcher winner. If he gets by all that why not give him another crack or hell if nick diaz is really serious about a move to 185 then let that fight happen. Both coming off a loss and want to get into a title picture. Forrest/Sonnen just has nothing to gain from it. If sonnen wins great you beat a guy who has no chance at taking the title again any way and is probably only a few fights away from retirement as well. If forrest wins okay you beat a guy you are a lot bigger than and is known for not having any real ko power behind him. neither win sounds that impressive to me.

I don't see Sonnen's ever getting another MW title shot, at least not as long as Anderson holds it. He got stopped twice by Silva. I'm not saying that to shit on Sonnen, it's just that's typically how things have played out in the past.

I might be going out on a limb here, but does anyone else think that maybe this move is more about Sonnen continuing to intelligently market himself than it is about whether or not it was a good move physically?
I mean, since he lost to Silva a second time, the well is pretty much dried-up for Sonnen in the MW division in terms of his self-promotion. He really doesn't have any more ammo to keep going in the MW division with his trash-talking, and I think he knows it (which is why he has been quiet about Silva). What's he gonna do, relentlessly blast mid-upper tier fighters at 185 for the next 3 years? Nah, what's the point?

Now if he moves up to 205, there is a whole new well for him to drink from. He's already putting in work on Jon Jones. if he can get by Forrest and maybe win another fight- all while continuing his verbal assault on Jones- you don't think maybe people will be screaming for Sonnen to get a title fight against Jones, just like they did for him to get a shot at Silva?

I never knew they fought before, nice triangle choke win by forrest!

I like the move.
Honestly, there is nobody I want to see him fight at MW.
Maybe he will be more exciting to watch at LHW as he won't really have the ability to old guys down on the ground and "grind" out decisions.

Triggerman99 wrote:

I don't see Sonnen's ever getting another MW title shot, at least not as long as Anderson holds it. He got stopped twice by Silva. I'm not saying that to shit on Sonnen, it's just that's typically how things have played out in the past.

I might be going out on a limb here, but does anyone else think that maybe this move is more about Sonnen continuing to intelligently market himself than it is about whether or not it was a good move physically?
I mean, since he lost to Silva a second time, the well is pretty much dried-up for Sonnen in the MW division in terms of his self-promotion. He really doesn't have any more ammo to keep going in the MW division with his trash-talking, and I think he knows it (which is why he has been quiet about Silva). What's he gonna do, relentlessly blast mid-upper tier fighters at 185 for the next 3 years? Nah, what's the point?

Now if he moves up to 205, there is a whole new well for him to drink from. He's already putting in work on Jon Jones. if he can get by Forrest and maybe win another fight- all while continuing his verbal assault on Jones- you don't think maybe people will be screaming for Sonnen to get a title fight against Jones, just like they did for him to get a shot at Silva?

Thats a damn good point.

I love this one ... Battle of the TRT mutants....

I just had a thought.... If two Testosterone deficient men sign a contract to fight... why would they need to engage in TRT for the fight?

For the fans!!!

Prediction-

-Sonnen somehow manages to hold down Forrest and win a UD.
-He continues his verbal war with Jones leading up to and after the Forrest fight.
-Inexplicably, he is granted a #1 contender fight in his next fight. Not because he has earned it, but because he talked about Jones' kids or girlfriend or mom in a manner in which Jones grew angry enough to ask Dana to make the fight happen.
-The #1 contender fight is against someone- by design of Dana's doing- Sonnen has a very good chance to beat based on stylistic mismatch. Maybe Bader or Rich Franklin.
-Sonnen loses.
-Someone else fights and loses to Jones.
-In the meantime, Sonnen beats a mid-level guy (Thiago Silva or Brandon Vera).
-Sonnen is inexplicably granted a title shot, because he has not shut up about Jon Jones, and Jones has not learned to ignore him and still wants the fight.
-The fight happens, and Jones almost kills him.
Sonnen moves to HW, and starts talking shit about the HW champ, who is at this point Alistair Overeem.
-Within 18 months, Sonnen has talked his way into a HW title shot.