Yes, Anderson Silva's trash talk towards Chael Sonnen (pictured) was all the buzz today, but isn't that what Sonnen has wanted all along? (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
It's all the buzz.
Anderson Silva absolutely went off today (June 25, 2012) during the UFC 148 conference call, which was a promotional tool for next Saturday's (July 7, 2012) main event against Chael Sonnen in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Silva said everything from "beating Chael like his parents should have" to "Chael will need plastic surgery when I'm done with him," even promising Sonnen would "have his arm and legs broken and would not be able to leave the Octagon under his own power."
This is everything fans and media have been hoping Silva would say ever since Sonnen started his trash-talking campaign back before their 2010 fight at UFC 117.
But this huge shift in pre-fight talk begs one very interesting question...
Has Chael Sonnen's incessant trolling finally gotten inside Anderson Silva's head?
Look back at the pre-fight build for the original UFC 117 bout. In the conference call before that title fight, nearly all of Silva's answers were one word, he said that Sonnen's pre-fight talk was "funny" and he refused to respond to anything that the challenger had to say.
Hell, the champion even was slow dancing with Ariel Helwani.
That is no longer the case
Whatever it is, whether Sonnen went too far with his criticism of Brazil, the Nogueiras or perhaps his comments about patting Silva's wife on the ass and having her make him a medium rare steak, Silva is a completely different animal in the build to this bout.
Even Dana White was astounded, stating:
"7 years in the UFC and I've never heard Anderson talk like this before!!!"
"The Spider's" talk is a promoter's wet dream, but that doesn't mean it's always the best thing to happen for a fighter. Fighters are usually at their best when they are less wound up and fully mentally prepared.
If Silva has ever showed emotion, it's been during a fight. Perhaps the best example of this was the UFC 112 bout against Demian Maia, an atrocious main event in which he taunted, danced and goofed his way to a unanimous decision victory after taking offense to some of the things Maia had said before the bout as well as his upbringing.
Could this be another case where Silva's emotions get the better of him? Perhaps this is exactly what Chael Sonnen has wanted all along. It always seemed like the Republican ex-realtor had been slightly perturbed that Silva practically ignored everything he had to say before.
Something tells me that "The Gangster from West Lynn, Oregon" was smiling when he hung up the phone today.
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