James Brydon

Chael Sonnen has established himself as a more than legitimate No. 1 contender to the UFC's middleweight title.

Randy Couture continues to amaze people by what he's able to do at his age. But I was even more impressed Saturday night with Chael Sonnen.

Before his UFC 109 co-main event fight against Nate Marquardt, which Dana White confirmed earlier in the week would determine the next No. 1 contender, I wondered whether Sonnen would really be deserving of a shot at the title.

Afterward I wondered if he might actually have a good shot at winning it.

In my live tweeting Saturday, I wrote I was "very tempted to take Sonnen" because I really did believe Sonnen was capable of a dominant performance like he put on. I just didn't think he was capable of doing it against Marquardt. Wow, was I wrong.

Sonnen had a great game plan, and he absolutely frustrated Marquardt with it. Clearly his wrestling, which is the one area he had the clear advantage over Marquardt, was not just better; it was far superior.

Every time Marquardt tried anything, Sonnen found a way to get the fight to the ground and hold him there. (And it was no "lay and pray" tactic; Sonnen continued to work and inflicted real damage.) The few times Marquardt was able to force his way out of it and return to his feet, it wasn't long before he found himself on his back again.

Beyond the wrestling, Sonnen also showed he had a good chin and great resolve, surviving more than a couple tight guillotine chokes. He admitted after he was not going to tap and was just hoping he would hang on.

Hang on he did, and now he's got the champion, whether it be Anderson Silva or Vitor Belfort, staring at him in his near future. And I like his chances.

Let's assume for minute Silva successfully defends the belt in Abu Dhabi. Few will give Sonnen a chance against him, most likely. But let's look at this more carefully. Sonnen presents something that Silva hasn't faced in a while: a wrestler with the ability to stifle his opponent.

And that could be a challenge for The Spider. The last time Silva fought a guy with that calibre of wrestling was against Dan Henderson at UFC 82 two years ago and that was the last time he was taken to the ground in a fight. In fact, Silva was actually down a round against the former Olympic wrestler.

Is Sonnen as good as Henderson? One might want to say no. But people were saying the same thing about him in comparison to Marquardt.

Don't forget Sonnen has already beaten Silva's former training partner Paulo Filho, who at the time was considered almost on par with his fellow Brazilian. That was a dominant three-round decision (even if Filho wasn't at his best that night.)

With a good game plan, could Sonnen duplicate such a performance? Dana White certainly thinks it's possible.

"Chael actually has a very interesting style matchup with Anderson," White said. "And the way this guy has looked in his past few fights, he looks better and better and better."

I can tell you one thing. I am certainly more intrigued by that matchup than seeing a Silva rematch with Marquardt, who has already been destroyed once by the longtime champ.

Now what about if Belfort were to pull off the upset of Silva? White thinks that would still be a good fight for Sonnen. Belfort has never been beaten in the standup, but that's not Sonnen's game anyway.

"(Sonnen) brings something interesting and exciting and brings something different into the fight that people can look at and go, 'Man, if he gets this thing to the ground, this is going to be an interesting fight,'" White added.

Sonnen actually believes a fight with Silva would be the preferable one for him than against Belfort.

"I hope Anderson wins because I think Vitor is a lot tougher fighter," Sonnen said without a hint of jest. "So if I had to choose between the two, I'm going to take the low road and take the easier opponent to get to the championship."

Those at the press conference laughed, seemingly unconvinced he was serious. Because he's quickly developed the reputation as an entertainer, which is another thing he brings to the table as a marketable contender.

He's also a politician who's currently running for a seat in the Oregon house of representatives. And while he takes that role seriously, he doesn't shy away from the quips. Prior to fighting Marquardt, Sonnen had this zinger:

"He won't be in my guard. I'm a Republican. I don't lay (sic) on my back with a man between my legs."

He also knows how to play the politics game when it comes to promotion. After insisting he meant what he said about Belfort being tougher than Silva, he spoke about the level of competition he'll be facing in the near future.

"At the end of the day if you want to get to the top of the UFC, you have to fight tough guys. If you want to be a fighter and get in the cage and be a big deal at the local strip club, go to on Showtime. If you want to fight real guys, this is the place to do it."

White chimed in: "I couldn't have said that one better myself."

One reporter took the opportunity with the final question of the post-fight press conference to ask him about the health care debate in the U.S. Sonnen didn't miss a beat.

"That's a federal bill, I'm just a state guy," Sonnen said. "So let me be a politician and dance around your question a little bit."

There's no dancing around this. Sonnen is the real deal. Champions beware.