So, after a bit of drama, the rematch between Paulo Filho and Chael Sonnen will in fact take place on March 26. The rematch is supposed to end the controversy that surrounded the last match.
The thing is, Sonnen lost that match—outright. I understand that he was dominating up until that point, but he got caught, plain and simple.
We all remember Sonnen’s fight with Babalu, and more specifically the leg lock that caused Sonnen to grab the fence and scream—it was a regular highlight for the show UFC Unleashed. And we should all remember that that fight didn’t end there.
However, Chael Sonnen was about to lose his freaking arm. You can say what you want about Filho’s standup and conditioning. When someone like that gets you in a tight armbar, you either tap out or lose the ability to move any part of your arm below the elbow for a while.
Having said that, I still feel this rematch is a good idea. Had Sonnen elected to keep the fight on his feet, he most likely would have continued to beat on the Brazilian and could have taken him down when he was already stunned. That would have left a great opportunity for the finish.
During the fight, Frank Mir (not the best at post-fight interviews), questioned Sonnen’s continued attempts at ground-and-pound on an opponent who’s only strength was on the ground.
Sonnen has the reach, boxing skills, and takedown defense needed to beat a guy like Filho. Hopefully he uses that in the rematch, and puts a blemish on Filho’s misleading record.
I have to disagree. That was a bad stoppage. In a regular fight maybe it’s OK, but in a championship fight that Sonnen was easily winning to that point, the ref should have given him every chance to survive the last few seconds of the round and continue, especially when Sonnen clearly said no, he did not want to quit.