>He may be the champion but it’s going to be do-or-die for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight king Anderson “The Spider” Silva when he faces contender Chael Sonnen on UFC 117, to be broadcast live this Sunday (August 8), 10am (Manila time) on Balls Channel (SkyCable ch. 34).
UFC President Dana White has threatened to drop Silva from the UFC if he fights the same way he did during last April’s UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. Instead of being aggressive and gunning for a knockout, Silva circled his opponent Demian Maia for five rounds, throwing taunts and insults, which upset not only White and referee Dan Miragliotta but even his own manager Ed Soares.
“I’m telling you right now, if he acts like that again in the ring, I will cut him. I don’t care if he’s the pound for pound best fighter in the world. I don’t care if he’s the middleweight champion,” said White.
Silva remains the favorite against Sonnen, an experienced wrestler who has won his three last bouts against fighters Nate Marquardt, Dan Miller, and Yushin Okami, who recently beat Filipino-American Mark Muñoz. In various interviews, Sonnen guaranteed he would bring Silva to retirement.
The winner of the Silva-Sonnen fight will face former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort in a matchup currently targeted for November. Silva was supposed to have fought Belfort at the UFC 108 in January 2010 but the match up was postponed twice more due to injuries on either fighter.
Will this be Silva’s last dance at the UFC or will he show the world again how a real middleweight champion fights? Find out on UFC 117 this Sunday (August 8) at 10 am on Balls Channel. Catch the replay at 5:00pm on Balls with a same-day replay on Studio 23 at 10:00pm.
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