Sylvester Stallone KO’s Chael Sonnen
So, for whatever reason, the UFC allowed itself to be a part of Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro's new film "Grudge Match." Don't get us wrong, we love Stallone and DeNiro both and we'll watch this flick about two retired boxing rivals going at it one last time.
But, if the above clip from the movie is any indication, "Grudge Match" takes a few shots at MMA, both metaphorical and literal, while simultaneously cashing in on the sport's cache. Stallone and DeNiro's characters show up to what appears to be a UFC event and are interviewed by play-by-play man Mike Goldberg, at which point they detail why they don't like mixed martial arts.
Stallone's character says it is for girls and DeNiro's character says it reminds him of professional wrestling. Enter Chael Sonnen.
The brash money-weight fighter marches over to the two old boxers and goads them into a fight. Sonnen slaps Stallone's character and then Stallone's character does his best Rocky impersonation and knocks Sonnen out cold with one punch (well, actually, Rocky Balboa never really had one-punch KO power so that was more of an attempt at being clever than an accurate comparison. *End Rocky nerd clarification*).
So, to summarize - the two main characters of the movie belittle MMA and then one of them easily beats up a real, recognizable UFC fighter. What's the up-side for the UFC and MMA in this cameo, exactly? We're hoping that there's more of a well-rounded representation of the sport in "Grudge Match" than what this single scene shows.
It's not that we're opposed to these two characters being opposed to MMA - that makes sense given their profession and ages - it's just that having one of them beat up a younger MMA fighter with ease is a bit of overkill.
On the other hand, given all the trash Sonnen has talked over the years, we're a bit torn. There's a bit of satisfaction in seeing him get cold-cocked, especially if it's just pretend.
Watch the scene above and let us know what you think. Are we being too sensitive about the portrayal of MMA?
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