Sonnen-Silva & the Lengthy Tradition of Trash Talk

Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg I: UFC 45, Nov. 21, 2003

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The Hype

Leading into his fifth title defense, Hughes’ career roughly paralleled that of another powerful wrestler -- Tito Ortiz.

Like Ortiz, Hughes parlayed college-level grappling into an imposing style for MMA. He took opponents down, seemingly at will, and smashed them into oblivion with an educated ground-and-pound. After taking apart the highly regarded Hayato Sakurai in a one-sided slaughter, Hughes destroyed former champ Carlos Newton in a rematch. After dispatching Gil Castillo in one round, he outpointed then-unbeaten Sean Sherk. At that point, Hughes’ domination was an assumed result, so much so that he barely trained for fights.

Enter Frank Trigg. The brash challenger -- a talented wrestler himself who admittedly peaked after college -- brooked little fear of Hughes. Trigg spoke openly about how he was going to take it to Hughes, which clearly triggered the champ’s displeasure. The two went back and forth, going on the record about how they simply did not like each other and were going to settle it. Given the increasingly one-sided nature of Hughes’ reign, it was the promotional shot in the arm the UFC and his career needed.

The Fight

To his credit, Trigg came out and did exactly what he said he would: He took it to Hughes, scoring a semi-takedown in the opening seconds of the bout. Such an approach, given the context of the time, would be roughly equivalent to a Silva challenger coming out and attempting a spinning backfist as a first strike.

In a dizzying series of moves and counter-moves, the two traded positions on the mat until Hughes, after no small degree of trouble from the talented and equally strong Trigg, secured the challenger’s back and locked home an epic, standing rear-naked choke. Trigg tapped as the two men fell to the mat in what was a classic ending.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson: Pride Final Conflict, Nov. 9, 2003

The Hype

By 2003, Silva was a wrecking machine whose combination of reckless aggression and wham-bang striking made him more feared in Japan than Godzilla. In fact, Silva’s hit list resembled a graveyard more than a roster. He had destroyed the great (and undersized) Kazushi Sakuraba three times, dispatched respectable challengers like Guy Mezger and Dan Henderson and held heavyweight bomber Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic to a draw in their first bout.

Jackson, meanwhile, was the perfect foil. The cocky American displayed equal amounts of power and physical dominance. His in-ring staredown with Silva leading up to their fight remains one of the seminal moments in Pride history. Finally, Silva seemed to be facing someone equally badass and equipped for destruction.

The Fight

In a rollicking back-and-forth affair, Jackson did well early, only to get jobbed by a questionable standup. Silva rebounded, secured his vaunted muay Thai clinch and drove home a series of face-numbing knees before the bout was stopped. In this showdown of dual Alpha males, the fight lived very much up to the hype.

The rematch was similar, with Silva once again delivering shattering knees from the clinch to secure the stoppage.

Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock: UFC 40, Nov. 22, 2002

The Hype

The granddaddy of smack-talk bouts. Leading into their showdown -- which played a huge role in helping jump-start MMA from a niche sport into mainstream consciousness -- Shamrock and Ortiz were perfectly cast, with a back story that boiled with all sorts of tasty subplots.

A dominant champion, Ortiz had in Shamrock the kind of veteran opponent who brought with him the perception of old-school cachet and a nicely marketable resume (Chuck Liddell, a gifted contender at the time, was largely relegated to dusting off tough contenders while he waited for his shot at Ortiz). Shamrock, a UFC 1 alum, was 38 years old, but he figured strong and athletic enough to trouble Ortiz, who’d blasted through a series of overmatched challengers in addition to a decision win over Wanderlei Silva.

But what made this bout awesome was the smack. Simply put, Ortiz -- who’d lost to Frank Shamrock in addition to his legendary double-bird salute to Shamrock’s Lion’s Den crew after beating Guy Mezger -- went to war in the press and with whomever else would lend him a willing ear, notebook and/or microphone. Finally, it came to a head at the prefight press conference, which is so many kinds of awesome, you’ll just have to watch it to appreciate it.

The Fight

Walking around the Mandalay Bay before the event, you could smell the testosterone like few other big-time fights. People were taking sides clearly delineated by their attire (team T-shirts spelled it out). You were wary of proffering your opinion on the main event; it was probably the closest thing MMA will ever come to the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry in terms of fan animosity.

The match itself was a blowout. Ortiz pounded Shamrock over three rounds, finally forcing the aged legend to throw in the towel. The atmosphere, however, was electric, as the young lion settled the argument in convincing fashion.

To his credit, Shamrock took a terrific beating. His fans, however, wore exceptionally glum looks. It was like wandering around a nuclear holocaust that night at the Mandalay Bay -- Shamrock zombies galore. A definite bummer, unless you were a Tito fan, naturally.