After a few rounds of matchmaking merry-go-round, Chael Sonnen will face Wanderlei Silva on July 5, 2014 at UFC 175. This bout will serve as the culmination of a rivalry currently being played out via The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. Chances are, you already knew that.
However, what you may not be aware of is that Sonnen already has his eyes set on his next opponent: Rich “Ace” Franklin. Last night, Sonnen published a series of tweets expressing his desire to fight Franklin, a former high school math teacher.
No, no, no… The math teacher doesn’t walk away. I put him away. You got one good one left. I’m not asking…
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) April 13, 2014
What would you like me to call u? Mr Franklin? Rich? Richard? Dick? Ace? Just call me the 1 who ended ur career. Now I’ll take a berry blast
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) April 14, 2014
This sort of situation isn’t unusual for Sonnen. In fact, he lined up the Silva fight while prepping to meet broadcast colleague Rashad Evans in the co-main event of UFC 167. If there were any doubts left at that point, the drubbing “Suga” handed Sonnen proved that he doesn’t have what it takes to hang with the UFC’s truly elite anymore.
This presents the UFC with quite a predicament. Where Sonnen ranks among his peers in terms of marketability far exceeds his placement in terms of in-cage capabilities. Fortunately for the UFC, the two men the Gangster from West Linn, Oregon, has next on his docket in are in that same boat.
The Sonnen fight has the general fan-base more interested in Silva than they have been in years. Assuming Sonnen gets past “The Axe Murderer,” a pretty safe bet in this writer’s opinion, a fight with Franklin would be optimal matchmaking for both men.
Sonnen keeps his name in the headlines against a fighter he matches up favorably against. Franklin, who hasn’t fought since 2012, gets to go out with a substantial payday in a bout that’s relatively safe (for his consciousness, that is). Plus, I’m sure Sonnen could work some of his typical promotional magic with Franklin’s past and current (juice shop entrepreneur) professions.
From there, the world is Chael’s oyster. Sonnen’s top-heavy, wrestling-based fighting style will allow him to outperform most of his contemporaries. Speed and chin are the first things to go, but strength and skill are the last. There are a litany of fighters at the proverbial end of their rope out that Sonnen would do well to set his sights on. A “Chael Sonnen Retirement Tour,” if you will.
I have little doubt that any of the trio of recent retirees from the first season of TUF, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, and Chris Leben, could be coaxed into fighting Chael if prodded the right way.
Dan Henderson, fresh off of his knockout win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 38, is looking for an opponent. Hendo and Sonnen are on more than amicable terms, but Chael has showed no qualms about fighting those he considered a friend in the past.
Hell, if Sonnen dared to call out the legendary “Iceman” himself, Chuck Liddell, I can almost guarantee it would outsell any other pay-per-view this year.
Ultimately, the UFC and Sonnen should both do their best to maximize what little there is left of the latter’s career. His skills may be eroding, but Sonnen is still as sharp as any fighter in the UFC and one of the greatest self-promoters in the history of combat sports. In a time when the UFC desperately needs to bolster pay-per-view cards, a proven draw like Sonnen should not be disregarded.
After all, a great mouth is a terrible thing to waste.
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