Randy Couture: Silva vs. Sonnen II features a reverse in strategy
Posted on June 28, 2012, 01:37 PM by Mike Drahota
Former UFC multi-class champion Randy "The Natural" Couture weighed in on next weekend's blockbuster Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch. Couture obviously saw the effectiveness of Chael Sonnen's wrestling in their first title fight and knows that he must stick to this to win the rematch. He goes into detail by noting that the strategy in the fight will only be a reverse from their first outing, stating the following:
"It's kind of odd. Normally I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get the same outcome. If you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by triangle choke with two minutes left. He didn't really win the fight. He got his ass whooped - literally - for four-plus rounds, but it's almost like he was the guy that won. He wants it to go the same minus the triangle." - via MMAFighting.com
Sonnen no doubt wants the epic rematch to play out the same as the first fight, minus the triangle. He is never bashful about his view that this will be a fistfight where the toughest man will win, but it remains to be seen if he can do so while avoiding his kryponite - submissions. Couture believes that Sonnen did not let up in the fifth round at UFC 117, but that he may have been fatigued. Couture sees the triangle as Sonnen's Achilles heel, as he has been caught in it on numerous occasions. Sonnen is on his way to superstardom, perhaps he would have gotten there sooner by avoiding submissions while inside his opponent's guard. Couture acknowledged this, but also noted how effective Sonnen has been as of late.
So, Couture thinks that Sonnen can win using a similar gameplan as UFC 117, only of course avoiding the last-minute submission this time around. Much time and talk has passed since their epic first meeting. Who will emerge victorious in Las Vegas on July 7th?
Further Reading: UFC Primetime: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen Video Preview
"It's kind of odd," Couture told MMA Fighting at his Xtreme Couture facility recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Normally I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get the same outcome."
"If you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by triangle choke with two minutes left. He didn't really win the fight. He got his ass whooped - literally - for four-plus rounds," Couture continued, "but it's almost like he was the guy that won. He wants it to go the same minus the triangle."
Former UFC multi-class champion Randy "The Natural" Couture weighs in on next weekend's blockbuster Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch. He goes into detail by noting that the strategy in the fight will only be a reverse from their first outing, stating the following:
"It's kind of odd. Normally I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get the same outcome. If you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by triangle choke with two minutes left. He didn't really win the fight. He got his ass whooped - literally - for four-plus rounds, but it's almost like he was the guy that won. He wants it to go the same minus the triangle." - via MMAFighting.com
So, Couture thinks that Sonnen can win using a similar gameplan as UFC 117, only of course avoiding the last-minute submission this time around. Much time and talk has passed since their epic first meeting. Wo will emerge victorious in Las Vegas on July 7th?
Further Reading: UFC Primetime: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen Video Preview
"It's kind of odd," Couture told MMA Fighting at his Xtreme Couture facility recently in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Normally I would say that the onus is on the guy who won the first fight to anticipate the changes the loser is going to make and get the same outcome."
"If you look at Anderson and Chael, Anderson won by triangle choke with two minutes left. He didn't really win the fight. He got his ass whooped - literally - for four-plus rounds," Couture continued, "but it's almost like he was the guy that won. He wants it to go the same minus the triangle."
Comments
chasing a guy for 4 and a half rounds and still unable to become the champion..."doesnt matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning's winning." - Dominic Toretto (The Fast & the Furious)
Randy Couture and Cheatie were made for each other. If you don't believe me, just Wiki both of their records. Thanks but no thanks for your opinion, Randy.
If you wont accept Randy Couture's opinion than we really shouldnt even remotely accept your opinion either.....ever.
Does a reverse in strategy mean Chael won't take steroids this time?
Wow. I really like Randy and respect him very much but that is one of the dumbest things anyone has ever said. I agree that Sonnen needs to anticipate the changes the winner, AS has made (implied not stated) but to say that AS didn't really win?!?!? The kind of beating Chael put on AS doesn't kill or finish someone. A triangle choke can, if held, kill someone and breaking someone's arm with an arm bar can make them quit or allow one to take advantage of their imposed limitation to finish them off. Silva had BOTH locked in. I would say that makes him the winner no matter how you think of it.
In other words, the old man has said some of the most asinine, egregious things anyone has ever heard. Do you still think the one day wheelchair ending for mr Cheatie would do it for us? lmao. My answer is still yes. R.I.P, Cheatie.
Look, everybody knows Anderson won. It is indisputable. What people are trying to say is compared to say, the Forrest Griffin fight with Silva, Sonnen did well. Against the world's best fighter that is something....Ergo, Anderson needs to be more worried next week than ever. That's all.
true...I was about to write sth. similar...but then again, if it was a street fight, they wouldn't have stood them up between rounds. so you never know what would have happened.
still I predict anderson to destroy chael this time.
if you're trying to talk about real world death, then what if there was no ref to pull Chael off after every round? then his beating certainly could kill Anderson. And in less than 25 minutes. The separate rounds and 1 minute break in between, greatly set fights apart from the real world. So it's just as ridiculous to talk about how a submission ends a fight. everyone knows that. but no one thinks about what could happen if Anderson doesn't get rescued every 5 minutes and get a nice break.
@chael4president1
Pillow Punches don't kill. That is like arguing that petting my cat too long could be fatal. If AS didn't get "rescued" as you call it, Chael would have been subbed sooner. Time favours the BJJ guy when the guy on top hits like a chick.
But that is not what Randy said.
Well, not all fights are going to end the same way, would you agree? The A.S / Cheatie's first fight, in my humble opinion, has done nothing but proved me how great of a Mixed Martial Artist A.S truly is. To be honest with you, my bro used to dislike him more than anything up until that fight took place. Now, he is a huge supporter of A.S.
"cheatie", that infantile sh*t is getting old fast.
You cant make a comment without putting that in there, thinking your cute or funny. Truthfully it makes you look like a 5 year old and personally I dont care too much who wins but I will watch anyways.
I apologize If the word "Cheatie" has made you so upset, Mr Entity.
@ Entity
YOU are calling someone "infantile" LOL You are still using the old "you're a girl" insult we used to throw around in kindergarten! ROTFLMAO!
thats what he implied, i also think he implied that he took more way from Silva then Silva took from cheal
by that reckoning the 4 fights Randy won by sub are now losses so thats 15 wins out of 30 fights.
Did Randy get 4 come from behind subs?
If not then apples and oranges buddy.
Nice try though.
what im saying is a win is a win ....Silva was injured and Sonnen was cheating ....Silva still won ,he found a way like a champion should and won.
Now if Sonnen had any power in his strikes then he would have been able to knock Silva out but time and time again he put him down and couldnt finish....he will never be champion.
Why is Lesnar's come from behind submission win widely discredited?
But Silva's is revered?
Both guys got dominated but ended up submitting a tired opponent.
Anyways....
Nobody has knocked Silva out or even badly rocked him. Now I will agree Sonnen doesnt have power in his hands but even if he did, I am not sure if Silva can really be KO'd.
Hopefully Vitor gets another shot because he is the only one that can test that.
Silva was injured Daddy
@highlife LOL at calling me daddy :]
@IChokePeople
If you think sonnen wasnt tired in the 5th round....my god you must be blind
LOL at broken rib, UFC doctors wouldnt allow someone with a broken rib to compete. Nor would a guy be able to compete at all with a broken rib.
Silva at most had a boo boo on his rib but nobody comes to the cage 100%.
Keep reaching though
I didn't say he wasn't tired. He wasn't gassed and he wasn't slowing down. That is different. Learn the king's English.
He was slowing down a lot, Chael is a work horse so he was able to muster up punches but they were lazily thrown. He was exhausted. No man can throw 300+ punches and grapple with Silva in his guard and still have expendable energy left.
Sonnen was definitely tired.
@ DaddyNoStroke
BECAUSE LESNER ONLY GOT THE SUB AFTER HIS OPPONENT COMPLETELY GASSED! Silva got his against a guy who showed no signs of relenting or slowing down and he did it with a broken rib.
that also means Randy got beat by Toney.
dumbest comment ever.
you nuthug a cheating average fighter who belongs in pro wrestling and robs honest folk out of there hard earned cash....and im dumb.
You sound like you were crying when you typed that up.
You make it sound like an insult saying someone's so charasmatic that they should have a WWE character made out of it lol.
And by the way, how exactly did Chael rob honest folks out of there hard earned cash? By putting on fight of the year? Is that really your logic?
And yes, that statement says you are very dumb lmao
its called mortgage fraud dumbo
So Silva can dance around and waste hundreds of thousands of people's hard earned money on the PPV he was headlining. Which amounts to millions of dollars.
But Sonnen is the worst guy in the world right?
@ DSL You are stupid to make that analogy. Just plain stupid.
@Ichoke
It makes sense.
Maybe you are too stupid to undestand
If you call wrestling someone to the ground, holding them there, and hitting them with relatively harmless rabbit punches "winning," then yeah, Randy, Chael "won" and "whooped Anderson's ass."
On the other hand, if you call choking someone until the ref has to step in and stop the fight in order to save a life "winning," then Anderson won. And sorry, Randy, but by the rules of mma and common sense... Anderson won.
i dare you to take a few of those "rabbit" punches im more then sure you would be out cold thing is andersion has a great chin and his face reminds me of that of bj pen where he shows very little damage even if you clip him clean
they didnt knock anyone out....ahhh pillows
@jsnwht, I used to think that what you are saying must be true but what we have seen in the last year is lots of video evidence that Anderson can take a f***in punch. He doesn't get knocked out and he doesn't cut. Even Chael knocked him down twice and nothing. It's like fighting a terminator.
So I agree with Crispy - not necessarily weak punches. Go back and watch the knockdown. No weak punches but rather Anderson is one tough son of a b****h.
Punches delivered while standing and punches delivered while holding a guy down involve totally different mechanics. Chael was clearly hitting hard whilst on the feet but the majority of the strikes he landed were on the ground and were really just taps. A guy like lesner can do damage that way but Chael can't.
Putting money on the guy Randy picks to lose, the "Couture pick curse".
Yeah, it is kind of amazing how such a great strategist is so bad at picks.
Exactly, I was hopeful for Chael until now. He's doomed.
lol
STF up you toothless mother****er......Chael did not win the fight!!!...I would rather have a pillow hands man punching me 200 times than being inside a triangle/armbar in a real fight...that for sure will kill you on the spot.....stupid!!!
Can I watch you explode if Chael wins? ( * ) ( * )
Entity my man, for once you are right...if cheater wins it will be my worst ever sports disapointment....i will get wasted!!!
People are blasting him but all Randy is trying to say is that Anderson needs more strategic adjustments than Chael going into the rematch. Given that Chael's strategy worked for 23 minutes, while Anderson's failed, that is an unarguable fact.
Silva did not plan to take a 23 minute beating and then pull of a submission, and he wants to avoid it this time. He needs a completely different strategy to do that.
All Chael has to do is turn that 23 minutes into 25 minutes...which is more a matter of mental and physical conditioning than strategy.
This will be a completely different fight....not because of TRT, not because of AS rib, but because anderson wanted to submit chael, he promised that to Big Nog for all that Chael said about his black belt so AS wanted to fight from his back....now the promise he made is very different.
Randy has been awful with picks for quite some time now.
AS clearly won that fight, what he says makes no sense whatsoever.
This is a very tough fight to pick though, considering how the first one went
Peace..
Maybe Randy sticks to working on his "acting" career, and not so much with the analyzing of fights......