Brian Stann Believes He Can Be The First To KO Sonnen

Source: Bleacher Report

Though they both adopt drastically different approaches to promoting their fights and on the surface seem to stand for possibly opposing ideals, Brian Stann and Chael Sonnen share a strong mutual respect -- strong enough that Sonnen hasn't once insulted Stann, his teammates, or his place of origin. The brash Oregonian has even gone so far as complementing The All-American.

Mutual respect aside, both men are going to leave it all in the cage come fight night, they've made that very clear and Stann recently told BleacherReport.com that he'll even be looking to become the first person to hand Sonnen a loss via knockout.

"Absolutely, I can knock anybody out," Stann responded when asked if he could be the first to knock Sonnen out. "I have enough power to knock anybody out. With the right punch or kick, anybody can be knocked out. There is nobody who can't be knocked out. One of the reasons Chael hasn't been knocked out in his career is because, one he's tough, and secondly he's very good at sticking to his gameplan. You watch all his fights and you'll see that there are very few guys that can defend against his style of fighting, which is to come out, attack you on the feet, create openings for a very good double-leg, single-leg, or body lock takedown, into a very controlling and relentless top game. Chael doesn't just lay on you, he also attacks you when he's on top. It's very difficult to knock a guy out when he's on top of you punching you in the face."

Stann and Sonnen will meet this October 8 at UFC 136, which will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.