It would appear that UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen’s coach, Scott McQuarry, had planned on appealing to to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the grounds that the “American Gangster” was hit with an illegal thigh to the face during his UFC 148 bout with Anderson Silva. McQuarry’s mind has ostensibly changed while his heart certainly has not. McQuarry will instead file an appeal to the UFC to have an immediate rematch between the two take place as he told Jonathan Snowden.
“At the point of impact, Anderson had his hand locked in the cage and his feet left the ground. We believe his intentions were clear.
We started the process of filing a complaint with the Nevada Athletic Commission. We believe the knee that Anderson Silva threw was illegal with the clear intent to strike the face. And it did in fact connect with the face. Chael bit his tongue and needed eight stitches.
We’re going to ask for a rematch. We deserve a rematch. If the only way Anderson Silva can win is by cheating, we need to keep a closer eye on Silva before and during a fight. And we need a rematch now. Legal knee or illegal knee, there’s enough doubt with all the fouls to warrant a rematch.”
There you have it, Sonnen’s coach will be angling for a third meeting with the Brazilian. Meanwhile Chael, himself, and the rest of his camp have said nothing on the topic, his manager, Mike Roberts, even denied the claims by saying, “someone is making it up.”
If we may be honest for a few moments, McQuarry doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Analyzing the knee (Gif courtesy of Zombie Prophet), one can see that Anderson’s hand was posted on the cage after his feet left the ground, not locked, most importantly, his knee landed on the chest of the challenger at the point of impact.
Pursuant to the Unified Rules of MMA, posting on the cage is not illegal, grabbing it is. The rules also state in section 15, article A:17, “kneeing the head of a grounded opponent” is a foul. Silva’s knee landed squarely on Sonnen’s sternum. Finally, filing an appeal based on “intent” is utter foolishness as there was no foul committed on impact. If a foul was not committed, an argument that a strike was intended to be a foul is moot.
If there is a case to be made, it should be pointed out that Anderson once again rubbed excess vaseline from his face onto his chest, which he’s made a habit of doing (and Lavigne wiped him off to be sure). Silva grabbing Chael’s shorts would be the strongest point to use in an appeal, although Sonnen admits that he “grabbed his shorts right back”. If he does plan on filing an appeal to Zuffa brass, he should definitely rethink his approach as the strike in question was 100% legal, despite what he feels “The Spider’s” intent was.
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