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ZBro16 · 08-14-2013, 09:41 AM

Meh... Freddie Roach. He does a great job of hyping the guys that he trains. So much so that I believed GSP was going to knock out Koscheck. And Shields. And Diaz. I take that with a grain of salt.

I have gotten so pumped for recent fights for Shogun for many reasons, and the only time I have been thoroughly satisfied is the Machida fight. (I'm not convinced that Machida's chin is the greatest - he hardly gets hit and is very elusive, and the one time I remember him getting clocked is Shogun)

In my humble assessment, here are the keys to the fight that brought me to my prediction.

1) Gas tanks.

Let's be real here - Sonnen goes 200% for the whole fight from the opening bell to the final buzzer. While Shogun looked like he held his own cardio wise against Hendo (and I'm a big fan of Hendo), it was against a 40+ year old Hendo who is known to fade after the first or second round as of late.

Sonnen has never gassed in his recent UFC run. Sure he's been clocked a couple times, but he never gives up. While he seemed to show a bit of trouble in the Bisping fight toward the end (I think he was hurt), I don't think he has any trouble with Shogun from a cardio standpoint.

2) Grappling.
Forrest Griffin. Mark Coleman. Jon Jones. Dan Henderson. All of those men have taken Shogun down during his UFC tenure. Sonnen trains with Henderson and has fought Jones. Shogun had trouble with Brandon Vera. Shogun can take a beating, but let's be real here - in the grappling game, Sonnen has his way with him up and down, and it will only get easier as the fight progresses.

3) Striking and Durability

Lest we forget - Shogun's knees are nearly shot, and that affects EVERY aspect of his fight game. Punches, kicks, grappling, TDD... all of it. That also affects his ability to keep his cardio up during training. If you have ever had hurt knees, it's borderline impossible to train effectively from a cardio standpoint. He fades quickly. On top of that, Sonnen can take a shot, and you can bet he will eat a couple to secure a takedown. Sonnen at a lot of strikes from Anderson. I don't see Shogun hitting all that much harder than Anderson. Shogun doesn't cut much weight to get to 205, while Sonnen has said himself that he walks at around 235 (for either MW or LHW), while Silva walks at around 220-230. The weight won't be an issue.

I'm really looking for a lopsided decision here.

08-14-2013, 09:41 AM	#837 (permalink)
ZBro16 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 370 Drives: A Z. Rep Power: 14	Meh... Freddie Roach. He does a great job of hyping the guys that he trains. So much so that I believed GSP was going to knock out Koscheck. And Shields. And Diaz. I take that with a grain of salt. I have gotten so pumped for recent fights for Shogun for many reasons, and the only time I have been thoroughly satisfied is the Machida fight. (I'm not convinced that Machida's chin is the greatest - he hardly gets hit and is very elusive, and the one time I remember him getting clocked is Shogun) In my humble assessment, here are the keys to the fight that brought me to my prediction. 1) Gas tanks. Let's be real here - Sonnen goes 200% for the whole fight from the opening bell to the final buzzer. While Shogun looked like he held his own cardio wise against Hendo (and I'm a big fan of Hendo), it was against a 40+ year old Hendo who is known to fade after the first or second round as of late. Sonnen has never gassed in his recent UFC run. Sure he's been clocked a couple times, but he never gives up. While he seemed to show a bit of trouble in the Bisping fight toward the end (I think he was hurt), I don't think he has any trouble with Shogun from a cardio standpoint. 2) Grappling. Forrest Griffin. Mark Coleman. Jon Jones. Dan Henderson. All of those men have taken Shogun down during his UFC tenure. Sonnen trains with Henderson and has fought Jones. Shogun had trouble with Brandon Vera. Shogun can take a beating, but let's be real here - in the grappling game, Sonnen has his way with him up and down, and it will only get easier as the fight progresses. 3) Striking and Durability Lest we forget - Shogun's knees are nearly shot, and that affects EVERY aspect of his fight game. Punches, kicks, grappling, TDD... all of it. That also affects his ability to keep his cardio up during training. If you have ever had hurt knees, it's borderline impossible to train effectively from a cardio standpoint. He fades quickly. On top of that, Sonnen can take a shot, and you can bet he will eat a couple to secure a takedown. Sonnen at a lot of strikes from Anderson. I don't see Shogun hitting all that much harder than Anderson. Shogun doesn't cut much weight to get to 205, while Sonnen has said himself that he walks at around 235 (for either MW or LHW), while Silva walks at around 220-230. The weight won't be an issue. I'm really looking for a lopsided decision here.