I was not able to watch the UFC 117 live yesterday so I made sure not to miss the replay.
Anderson Silva - photo from USAToday
I was out with my friends earlier and was just in time for the final event when I got home.
Coming in at the octagon, Anderson Silva had a different aura. He looked different from the usual Andreson Silva we used to see on big fight nights like this – confident, intense and bouncy. Today, he looked mild and seemed a little nervous, maybe all the trash talking and psywar of Chael Sonnen sunked in.
Opposite to Silva, Chael Sonnen looked very much pumped up and ready to wage war. True indeed and backing up his bad mouth, Sonnen wasted no time and brought on the show after the bell echoed on the first round.
He connected some hard shots during the stand-up in the early seconds of the first round and from there on dominated Anderson Silva, until the late rounds. Silva is known to dominate opponents during stand-ups with his superb elbow and knee strikes and precise punches and kicks. Most often he finishes his fights on the early rounds, but not this time.
This time, he is not the aggressor. This time, someone with a good wrestling and ground and pound skill like Sonnen came in very much prepared and took the fight to a different level.
This is the first time that we have seen Anderson Silva being beaten up, round after round after round, taking punches and elbow strikes and mostly lying on his back. I believe that even just the punches he took on the first round would equate to more than the punches he has taken during his entire career.
Silva almost had a good start on the fourth round landing some big shots but again Sonnen took the fight to the ground. Again, at the opening of the fifth round, Sillva was (almost) up to a good start but slipped, hence Sonnen’s takedown.
Losing at all three scorecards during the first four rounds and taking the beating for more than 20 minutes, it was very obvious that UFC will be crowning a new Middleweight champion in a couple of minutes – that is until Anderson Silva found Sonnen’s left arm and set up a triangle choke which tapped out Chael Sonnen.
It was a great fight and I would love to see a rematch between these two fighters to see how Silva would act differently. Anderson Silva is not the most motivated fighter in the UFC and maybe this match would somehow make him move out of his comfort zone.
*After the fight, Anderson Silva mentioned that he had a rib injury and was advised by the doctor not to fight but continued. J
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