The Weekly Wrap: July 31 - August 6

UFC 117 Go-Home Hype

One of the more entertaining pre-fight press conferences in UFC history highlighted a strong week of promotion for the UFC’s debut in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday.

Despite some frown-worthy public statements about Lance Armstrong and subsequent distancing from said statements, Chael Sonnen remained the center of attention. He continued a resonant campaign of catcalls on opponent Anderson Silva, causing several other fighters participating in Thursday’s press conference to burst out laughing at some proclamations. Silva, sporting pink, the color Sonnen has mercilessly mocked him for wearing, appeared to finally strike a counter, grilling Sonnen intensely in a photo-op face off even as Sonnen turned to the face the cameras.

Sonnen, who said he was under the weather much of the week, still dropped inflammatory verbiage, telling Larry Pepe’s ProMMA Radio that Armstrong “gave himself cancer” when discussing his issues with people who don’t own up to their mistakes. He then told ESPN Radio’s Jim Rome and MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that it wasn’t him who made the statements, even when the clip was played for him. Sonnen said Armstrong called him and that they patched things up.

Sonnen was portrayed as not just a sharp-tongued opponent but also as a bit of a sentimental favorite on the “Countdown to UFC 117” hype special that premiered on Spike TV. His 2003 promise to his deathbed-ridden father to win a world championship was highlighted, as was the way his father pushed him to be uber-competitive, once forcing him to move rocks around the yard in a wheelbarrow when he lost in a wrestling tournament.

The “Countdown” special also highlighted Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida, Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves and Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos. Dana White said the Dos Santos-Nelson and Fitch-Alves fights will determine the next contenders for the heavyweight and welterweight titles.

There was some concern mid-week that Alves, who has a history of bad weight cuts, might not be able to make 170, having missed a public workout due to the demanding cut. True to form, Alves missed weight on Friday, unable to drop below 171.5 pounds following two trips to the scale. The bout will go on, with the offending fighter giving up 20 percent of his purse.