Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
What used to be a road block has now become an open road for Chael Sonnen, a man who fell to former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva twice and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. With Silva now out of the picture, Sonnen once again has an opportunity to fight for a title, but the likely hood of that happening is still miles away.
Sonnen can just about talk his way into any fight, it’s a given. He did so against Jones to earn a title shot, and then against Silva (both times). Now with a new champion in Chris Wiedman, opportunities are a plenty for Sonnen. Being 2-3 in his last five fights doesn’t seem to hurt Sonnen too much; two of those three loses were to Silva and Jones, and the other was to former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans at 205. He is currently ranked 13 at middleweight in the UFC rankings, but he is one comment away from landing a fight against a top contender.
The fight everyone wants to see in Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva, which will hopefully be officially booked soon. After that, Sonnen needs to move on to bigger names if he captures the victory.
Sonnen capturing a title shot this year is still a long shot. The middleweight division has moved on while Sonnen was bouncing back and forth, trying to figure out which division he wants to reside in.
Fighters like Francis Carmont, Luke Rockhold, Ronaldo Souza and even Lyoto Machida have jumped in front of him in the pecking order. The UFC even has the likes of Tim Kennedy above the former title contender, but with Silva out of action and a new king reigning over the division, there is still hope alive for the “American Gangster.”
Anthony Cloud is a MMA Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Google or like him on Facebook.
