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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
It's not taking long for a fight between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva to come together, and it could be taking a prominent spot on a card this summer. According to Dave Meltzer this week in a new episode of Wrestling Observer Radio (subscription required), Sonnen's call out of Silva on Tuesday's UFC Tonight program was very much for a reason.
"The Wanderlei Silva thing was something he was told to do because they are looking at- I know that the idea is Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen as one of the top matches on the August 17 show in Boston. That's what they are looking for," Meltzer said (transcribed by MMA.TV). "As far as a TV main event... Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann is to me, is like the greatest TV main event in UFC. It drew phenomenal ratings for Fuel...it was almost double the highest rated show in the history of the channel. And what a match. That probably was UFC's best match of this year... Wanderlei has got a certain charm and is very over and Chael is a personality
"...If you are thinking of a good TV main event, that's it. Thats a good one to have. And again, Chael will cut the promos to build it up and it will be very good. I don't know if the match will be great but its definitely the right mix to build a television main event."
The August 17 event will be the UFC's debut on Fox Sports 1 and that network's launch day, and UFC President Dana White has promised the "best television card" the UFC has ever done.
Penick's Analysis: This fight being on the Fox Sports 1 debut would make sense, but not as the headliner. And though Meltzer's suggesting it could be the right headliner, I think being "one of the top fights" on the card is more accurate. As a co-headliner it would be just fine given what they could bring to the build, but if the UFC is promising the "best television card" they've ever done, a title fight is going to have to be a part of this event. They've done some major fights on TV in the past, and having Chael Sonnen headline a card off of two straight decisive losses isn't going to equal any of those major TV cards from even this year, let alone past years.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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