UFC 117: Detailed analysis of Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen I
Posted on July 5, 2012, 06:01 AM by Bryan FontezHere we go ladies and gentlemen. Potentially the biggest rematch and fight in the UFC’s history happening this Saturday. It’s easy to pick your favorite, but not always easy to understand the strategy and thought process that goes into a fight. I took the time out to re-watch and analyze the first bout between these two, and found some information you might find interesting. As a little bit of a treat to whet your appetite for this weekend, let’s take a look back with a round by round analysis of what each fighter did right or wrong, and make sense of what happened the first time these two met in the octagon.
Round 1 - Sonnen backs up his talk
Both fighters march directly to the center of the octagon to engage. Chael used exceptional head movement, timing and distance. Looking back it truly seemed like he did his homework on Anderson’s style of striking. He stayed out of his striking range, changed levels and took advantage of Silva’s hands being low. Strange display of either poor striking defense or simply overconfidence from Anderson Silva in this round.
Although the takedown attempts were telegraphed and not very strong in technique, Chael was able to bring the fight to the ground due to Silva’s lack of effort in defending the takedown, which allowed Chael to shine in his strongest area. Anderson did land a takedown momentarily but Chael was able to shrimp out, grab a hold of a guillotine, use it to escape and get back up.
By pinning the wrists and arms down with both his hands and knees, Chael was able to frustrate Silva and open up his defense, allowing Chael to unleash a barrage of strikes from the top on multiple occasions.
Nothing good to say about Silva in this round really, he was dominated in every position and had no answer. Poor head movement, low hands and a lack of effort is what made him lose this round.
Round over, Chael gets up quick and back to his corner, Silva gets up slowly, stays on his knees at first to catch his breath and recuperate before going back to his corner… WOW what a round! Possibly even a 10-8. Silva showed little effort for most of the round, some poor defense in general and seemed to pose little to no threat.
Round 2 - Anderson Silva struggles to keep the fight standing
Both fighters storm out ready to get it started again. Anderson looks upset and seems to have shifted his pace into high gear. He lands a hard leg kick that almost buckles Chael. Anderson poorly times an odd flying knee attempt, Chael grabs the leg, puts him on his back, and he’s back to work.
More of the same from Chael in this round. What’s interesting here is that although Chael was getting the better of the striking exchanges in the first round, he chose to bring the fight to ground much more quickly this time around. Not necessarily a bad strategy, but with so much success on the feet I would have been interested to see what he was capable of if he continued to strike with Silva. With that said, the takedown is also more than likely his first instinct whenever available. So the action is understandable.
Chael showcased a lot of creativity in this round, switching from hammer-fists to punches, body to head, back fists to front, using an elbow to the thigh as a diversion then following up with a hard right to the face, and in situations where Silva knew what was coming he would try to Ground and Pound in unpredictable ways to keep him guessing. When Silva held on and gave him few options, he utilized palm strikes to the ears and body slammed his head into the ground, which may be unconventional but are valid and perfectly legal techniques in forcing your opponent to break his grip.
Chael also showed his tenacity in covering the mouth of Silva in between strikes, a valid technique proving that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win and gain the advantage. (Although disrespectful in the minds of some).
Chael was able to land some serious bombs in this round by posturing up and avoiding Silva’s defense while creating distance temporarily. He was also able to land consecutive blows on numerous occasions at one point landing what I counted to be 12 shots before Anderson decided to do anything about it. Whether damage is being done or not is irrelevant. An elite fighter should never allow their opponent to hit them that many times in the face without defending or answering back.
Again not much good to say here about Silva. He landed a sneaky elbow from the bottom, landed some creative but weak monkey kicks (BJ Penn style), he went for some decent submission attempts including a triangle choke that Sonnen smartly turned out of and an armbar that was easily avoided. Anderson avoided some damage at times, but ultimately he was unable to escape from Chael’s solid wrestling base. Anderson posed little threat again and showed very little urgency to get up, strike back or to finish his opponent. Another round for Chael Sonnen in the books.
Round 3 - Sonnen continues to bulldoze Silva
Chael runs over to Anderson. Silva unloads on him, blistering right hook, right straight, left cross barely misses. Silva keeping his distance, bouncing around. Throws a spinning heel kick that’s diverted by Chael. Chael closing the distance throws a sloppy left hand that misses in order to setup a telegraphed takedown that he lands successfully. Silva does little to stop him. Again.
Anderson making unsuccessful attempts at the odd submission here and there. He looks for a kimura which Chael intelligently uses to take his back, showcasing his superior grappling yet again. Chael shows intelligence and strategy as he seems content with riding the back looking for strikes, as opposed to sinking the hooks in. Then again, why make it a Jiu-Jitsu fight when you’re dominating the scorecards and winning with your wrestling? He follows up landing countless knees to the thighs of Anderson.
Chael was relentless in his top control, he continuously put both his weight and consistent pressure on Silva, while he grinded him down with elbows and hands in the face. If you’ve ever rolled with someone putting elbows and hands on your neck and in your face… It’s extremely frustrating and uncomfortable. Not necessarily painful, but it will zap your will and focus eventually.
A barrage of strikes were landed by Chael on multiple occasions in this round. If Anderson had any intention of winning on the score cards, he needed to defend himself at all times and answer back before Chael could tally up his unanswered strikes into the double digits. At one pointed I counted Chael landing 33 consecutively unanswered right hands before Anderson decided to defend with his palm and roll to escape.
As Chael turned up the pace to fifth gear towards the end, Anderson did begin to look for the triangle/armbar a little more, but he simply wasn’t’ aggressive enough.
Most importantly! Anderson was beginning to get comfortable on the feet and landed a few shots early. With that kind of advantage at this point in the fight, he needs to do whatever it takes to keep it there. But in retrospect he allowed a very poor and telegraphed takedown attempt put him on the ground, where he hasn’t been able to do much. If Silva wants to accomplish anything against Chael he would need to stay off of his back.
Another round with Chael finishing strong.
Round 4: Sonnen has won the decision
Anderson came out swinging recklessly with haymakers and sloppy kicks. But when you’re as talented as he is, you can sometimes get away with that stuff and make it work. By this point Chael was fairly tired, he took a good shot that dropped him and for a moment it looked like Anderson could have potentially been well on his way to finishing this fight. Due to his aggression Anderson was able to turn the tables and obtained top control temporarily.
While on top, Anderson threw a few 12-6 elbows to the body, not sure if that’s legal.
Immediately Chael showcased his toughness, heart, endurance, unwillingness to lose and again his much superior grappling skills, with a huge reversal to regain top control, and yet again Anderson has no answer and does nothing to stop him. Chael continues where he left off, doing what he does best with everything he has left.
Anderson once again was content with simply holding on and not providing any threat or attempt to escape. Although at one point he tries to use his butterfly guard to reverse or shrug him off, but Chael is defending well, keeping his weight distributed evenly and maintaining a high guard staying away from any potential submissions.
After starting tired, Chael somehow continued a relentless pace in his striking while on top. Landing countless shots to the head and body again, none of them too heavy but definitely doing some minor damage and landing decently.
Chael makes his first big Jiu-Jitsu mistake in this fight and it’s clearly due to exhaustion. He sits back in low guard at a distance in an attempt to throw haymakers, free from Anderson’s hands stopping or defending him. He goes back into a higher guard, but make a mental note of this mistake, as it was the precursor to his eventual loss in the fifth round.
Chael getting really busy here, landing body-body-head-head-head-head, these are hard shots and Anderson’s doing nothing.
Silva was clearly beginning to get desperate, throwing a lot of elbows from the bottom and beginning to actively look for the triangle in sneaky fashion. The elbows are working though, because Chael is definitely bleeding more than before.
Another round scored for Chael, but surprisingly Silva was able to do more visible damage from the bottom.
Round 5 - And still, the undisputed UFC Middleweight champion of the world…
For the last time Anderson came out at a high pace to meet Chael. Both threw a few strikes, Chael landed on the back of the ear, but for the most part Anderson slipped and Chael took advantage, obtaining top position immediately. Anderson again with no chance defending the grappling of Chael, as he simply jumped into Silva’s guard and went to work.
More of the same here… Chael doing what he does best.
Anderson had his guard very easily passed TWICE in this round. Both times Chael established side control and both times he put himself back into half guard where Silva managed to hip escape and slip him back in to full guard.
Anderson tried harder in this round more than ever to escape and push Chael off, he also kept reaching for his own leg indicating that he was looking to pull it towards him and lock up a triangle.
Chael began to turn up the pace and throw what looked to be almost everything he had left, he kept a high pace from the top, but Anderson kept his cool and maintained his composure.
Just before the end Anderson held Chael’s arms down and close into his own chest, signifying the beginning stages and setup of a triangle and/or armbar.
There it is!! Remember that mental note I mentioned? Chael makes the same mistake again, content with sitting back low in Silva’s guard and swinging, not realizing or caring that Anderson is holding his right arm down at his waist. As a diversion Anderson allows Chael to throw a few unanswered strikes with his left hand taking Chael’s mind off the fact that he’s left his arm there carelessly, and BAM! He instantly throws the left leg over the shoulder across the back of the neck, pulls to sink it up and it’s over. Anderson Silva somehow barely wins by a miraculous finish. Never gets old!
Conclusion
I never fully realized how bad Anderson Silva’s wrestling, grappling and takedown defense was, until I re-watched and analyzed this fight. At times he looked like a high school kid unsure of what he was doing against a wrestler who’d been at this for years. He simply had no answer for pretty much every wrestling technique Chael imposed. As Dan Henderson and a few others have done in the past, Chael was able to do what he wanted with Anderson once he got his hands on him and bring the fight to the ground at will. In fact, if you want to talk Jiu-Jitsu, Anderson Silva who is a Black Belt under the Nogueira brothers had his guard passed easily on multiple occasions in this fight. Not to mention Chael avoided 4.5 rounds of black belt level submission attempts as well. With that said, Chael’s grappling skills in general demand a certain amount of respect.
This was a very poor showing by Anderson Silva in general, but like Chael he proved that he has no quit and can find a way to win. Silva did show some small flashes of skillful brilliance however, potentially putting himself in the position to finish Chael early in the fourth, making the odd submission attempt and sneaking in shots that did damage here and there. However on too many occasions was Silva content with getting hit in the face. Chael landed many of those strikes simply because Silva allowed him to do so and didn’t bother stopping him. On 3-4 separate occasions I counted unanswered blows in the double digits. With all due respect to the champion, that is no way to win a fight, and it is not in the work ethic of a true champion.
Chael won by doing exactly what he said he would do, he got into a fight with Anderson Silva. Not an MMA bout, but a fight. It’s obvious but at the same time very surprising how much homework Chael actually did leading up to his fight with Anderson. Even though he puts on this character we know as “Chael P. Sonnen” to hype the fight, underneath is a very intelligent fighter, who outclassed, out-strategized and out-worked his opponent in every way. Looking back, I take nothing from Anderson’s previous accomplishments and skills, but I’ve concluded that the only reason Anderson won, was because Chael made a small mistake due to exhaustion. Chael found more success both on the feet and the ground. At the end of the day, it was still Silva who pulled off the triangle, but had Chael cut down his pace and kept his head straight, he’d be defending his title right now.
It’ll be interesting to see what strategy each fighter employs this time around. Anderson couldn’t have improved his takedown defense drastically enough to stop Chael’s wrestling completely, then again I’m not entirely sure Chael can get away with employing the exact same strategy again either. At the end of the day, let’s just hope this fight produces a definitive winner without any of the controversy.
Enjoy the fight!
Photos taken courtesy of Ryan McKinnell for examiner.com
Comments
Very nice written article, although i have to ask where did you see any controversy?
There was a little with the tap, since it wasn't super clear at first and there was initially some confusion. And also the very fact that the champion was beaten for the entire fight for the first time in his career and then barely won is controversial in itself.
Why has no one mentioned that on the main card Silva has beat a fighter in each of those fights: Maia, Griffin, Cote and Sonnen. This is impressive and shows how good Anderson is and how many good fighters he has victories over.
Sonnen on the other hand has lost to Maia, Griffin and Silva. This might make you rethink your opinion if you were going for Chael on this one
I didnt see any confusion in the tap, I saw Silva holding a few extra seconds on purpose.
Chael only trapped once. That is confusing. I would never let go before three taps and the ref saying STOP. Sometimes guys will do one tap to trick you into letting go in the hopes that the ref doesn't recognize it. If Anderson had let go he might have lost the fight.
I agree,
Chael clearly tapped and his remarks prove it. Chael said "I thought if you tapped it goes to the judges and you lose only that round"
Not only is there the tap, but there is the verbal cues as well that the ref will often go by in addition to an uncertain tap.
Chael defiently didn;t violently tap like some fighters that get caught, however if you look at the submission and it appears tight, look at the fighters grimace and then see a tap then you stop the fight.
I think Chael tapped once and then reached to support his arm to prevent damage and by that time 2 seconds had passed and then he continued to fight because as it was stopped he wasn;t tapping at that precise moment.
I think that's exactly what Chael was looking for. He even continued on fighting as if it never happened, seemingly a mixture of disappointment and shadyness all mixed up in one.
@ Evan..... You serious about that statement? You dont believe Sonnen was going out and hadn't known he tapped? Happens a lot to people. The only shady thing about that debacle was the fact that Silva tried to continue the submission even though the referee intervened already.
Refs tell you not to stop until they tell you to stop. Even if Silva didnt believe Sonnen tapped, the referee has been telling you to stop so stop.
"Evan..... You serious about that statement?"
Yes.
"You dont believe Sonnen was going out and hadn't known he tapped?"
I'm sure he wasn't going out, as he tapped when Anderson took pressure off the choke to adjust to his arm before the submission came. He tapped to his arm about to be broken.
"The only shady thing about that debacle was the fact that Silva tried to continue the submission even though the referee intervened already."
Bullshit. Sonnen tried to immediately pass back to side control once SIlva finally opened his legs, and SIlva held on to the arm and screamed at Josh about Chael tapping. While at the same time Chael looks up at Josh saying what, and why?
Sonnen takes his head out from between Silva's legs literally 2 seconds after Josh stops it. Anderson holds on to the arm there, because he feels Chael is trying to roll back around to side control.
@Evan, you are obviously delusional and baised then. You take your theory as literal and run with it as if it was fact.
That triangle looked very tight. Add on the exhaustion Sonnen had from 23 minutes of fighting and going out is entirely logical.
The shady part being on Silva's part is legit because your whole argument is based on having your head in your ass and believing your theory only.
So yeah, go have a guy apply a triangle after you do a long workout and get punched in the face about 60 times. Then come back and tell me your theory again
Yep, so biased that I've been looked at as a Chael lover on this very thread. Right. Because you are the unbiased one when it comes to Chael Sonnen.
"That triangle looked very tight."
It did look somewhat tight, just not tight enough for a choke to be implemented.
"Add on the exhaustion Sonnen had from 23 minutes of fighting and going out is entirely logical."
Exhaustion from fighting, and having the blood choked away from your brain for enough time to make you pass out are different things. Plus the evidence is right above us. He didn't tap until the pressure was put on the arm.
"The shady part being on Silva's part is legit because your whole argument is based on having your head in your ass and believing your theory only."
Not the one buddy. You're as biased as they come when it deals with discussing Chael Sonnen. Nobody can claim an unflattering idea about him before you come running to defend him. The same people who you bash as being all over Silva are exactly what you are when it comes to Uncle Chael.
My heads on straight when it comes to MMA, always has been apart from discussing one person (Hendo). Your heads been up Chaels ass for years now.
"So yeah, go have a guy apply a triangle after you do a long workout and get punched in the face about 60 times. Then come back and tell me your theory again "
No need. I can just watch the video above. Here I'll do a PBP for you just make it easier: The triangle gets clamped on at 2:03 then synched in at 2:01. He then keeps the tight triangle in for about 8 seconds, and in this time Chael panics a little but still has the composure to stick his leg over Silva's body. As Sonnen continues to pressure the triangle on the right side, Silva swtiches from pulling the head down to focusing on the arm. As he extends the arm Chael faintly taps with his right hand twice then grabs his left arm. The overhead view at this juncture shows that Silva's left foot has already started to slide down his right leg instead of being locked in under his knee. Less than two seconds later Chaels head is outside of Anderson's leg, and Anderson is yelling at Roshenthal what is probably a mixture of "he tapped" and "@%#$$^%" while still holding on to Chael's arm. Immediately after that the camera moves to the other side showing Chael still positioned over Anderson staring up at Josh Rosenthal saying "what" and "why".
The disappointment directly after it happened is apparent, but not just because he lost a fight he was dominating. It's clear he realizes after tap and subsequent move from his legs that escape was a possiblity, and he might have thrown in the towel too soon.
The last part is obviously just a theory. Before that is not.
Very interesting article, and very detailed it must have taken you a long time, well done indeed. However I disagree with one thing, you say silva would not have been able to drastically improve his takedown defense. I think he has practiced takedown defense religously for the last 2 years, everyone knew his weakness but silva was exposed that night, i think/hope he has really really put effort into his wrestling and employ the cro cop method sprawl n brawl!
You could definitely be right. But Anderson clearly stated in the countdown show that he's no wrestler and that he's been strictly focusing on his Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai for this fight.
And like he also said... When he was playing soccer as a kid, Chael was wrestling. That's respect right there. He's basically saying "Of course Chael's better than me at wrestling".
So we'll just have to see what happens my friend!
Chael has the best takedowns in the UFC, its a gap Silva will never be able to close, but im sure he is working hard on that TDD regardless
@ Bryan did you mention the time Sonnen went for the arm triangle in your analysis? I was skimming through for it but didnt see it.
He did the double knee jump over like he did to Stann to get the arm triangle but didnt have it deep and abandoned it while Silva tried to defend against it.
It looked to me that if he muscled Silva down a bit he could have applied it or at least synched it deeper to get Silva
It was a close attempt
I'd go with third best, and only a little bit better than Cruz.
Best Takedowns in the UFC:
1. GSP
2. Jones
3. Chael
4. Cruz
5. Edgar
GSP
Chael
Edgar
Jones
Cruz
I have:
Evan tanner as the best VERBAL TAKE DOWNS !
How did I get that wrong ?
I meant to say Evan Holober as the best Verbal Take downs !
Any one of those 5 is awesome. I kinda like Edgar higher now after you put him there.
cain gotta get a shout in the top 5 surely?
Very good but no. Doesn't have the resume the other guys do in their careers yet of taking down high caliber people.
Evan H....Cain has to be up there though for damage on the ground.
Oh definitely up there in terms of MMA no question. The thought was about purely takedowns, and he would definitely fall in there at #6. As for damage on the ground he's gotta be top 5. The work rate he has for a HW makes his GnP amazing.
predator: after big foot, he has a strong case...! thinking exactly the same
Im glad someone agrees especially since cain aint one of the giants in the HW division, remember how he controlled and destroyed big ben, big foot, these guys outweigh him by like 30 pounds, none of the other wrestlers have to worry about that, apart from edgar they are all probably the biggest in their division
Cruz and Jones are up there in size for their divisions. Edgar is definitely not, GSP is nothing more than average size now for a WW. Chael is also just average.
Wrestling at HW is never the caliber of the lower weight classes. That's why a lot of the time lighter guys are able to outwrestle bigger people. Just take a look at the past few national champions in the NCAA, they're all smaller-ish guys for the division.
Cain is definitely up there, no question. The top 5 guys have just proven in in MMA against more top tier competition (wrestling wise).
In the first minute of round one, Anderson looked his typical sharp self until Chael landed that straight right.
Then in round four Anderson had Chael in trouble on the feet but I think he just gassed and couldn;t finish. Anderson however still did damage with his own elbows that opened up Chael
Even though Chael hit anderson with many hard shots, there were way too many rabbit punches doing no damage in the later rounds.
For the amount of time Chael had Anderson on his back, he wasn;t able to capatalise on any big cuts to try and stop the fight.
I think Anderson can win this next fight simply because Chael gave everything he had and anderson survived. He will learn from the first fight and be more dangerous I think
You just forgot to mention steroids and broken ribs in that analysis ...
Sonnen wasn't on roids, he was on the horse meat.
He was analyzing the fight. There was nothing about steroids, or broken ribs during the actual contest.
Evan's right I simply analyzed the fight, however I did intend to mention the rib thing in specific with a side note stating that I don't buy the excuse.
Anderson was punched in his ribs hard, many times and on many occasions, and yet I never even saw him flinch once. And on top of that, soo many fighters have gone into fights with worse injuries and found ways to win. Franklins arm was broken and he knocked out Chuck Liddell, JDS' knee was screwed up and he knocked out Cain Velasquez.
The rib story holds no water with me. And at the end of the day, it's no excuse for Anderson's horrible takedown defense.
" ...soo many fighters have gone into fights with worse injuries and found ways to win .." and so Anderson did.
I also took the time out to re-watch the first fight last mont and this time I was observing Chael behavior.Excuse me sir but nothing to compare with the Bisping fight when he was not under performance enhancer.
Bryan-
I'm still waiting for our resident doctor Bruce Lee to provide a medical certificate for Andersons ribs.
He was under the same performance enhancer during the Bisping fight.
And in fact he's STILL on the same performance enhancers, because he's gone through the process legally.
The only issue was with him submitting the proper documentation.
Actually, Silva's broken rib and Chael's use (or not) of illegal performance enhancers is integral to analyzing this fight. Why was Anderson's grappling and take down defense so poor when he has displayed superior grappling and TDD in the past?
No its not at all. It's analyzing the fight as is, nothing more and nothing less.
To the second question: Chael is the best wrestler, and top level grappler Silva has faced in MMA. Simple.
Whatever makes you feel better, EH. Well, the last I checked Steroids did play a major role in the first fight. Fighting 5 fighters at once, in my opinion, would definitely not be a walk in the park for most fighters in MMA. It may just be me, but I honestly don't see what some of you still see in that guy as a person/fighter. Unfortunately for Dana and the UFC, this guy's racist remarks and antics may come back to hunt them in the future. Furthermore, Dana W is just so fortunate that Anderson is not an american fighter because if he were, the UFC would have a lot of explanation to do for some of those over the edge moronic actions his so called cash cow/imbecile has exhibited. I'm all for hyping a fight, but mentioning your opponent's wife and mocking his country and culture should have been intolerable.
And still the nut huggers find a way to make excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse after excuse
He forgot because Anderson is not American .....had he been there would be a totally different spin put on things.....don't forget to most on here if you're not a yank what you do don't count and its impossible to be any good at anything.....remember these guys worship Chael even though he is a steroid cheat,a fraudster and does damage to the rep of the UFC internationally .
The only thing that comes to mind for your comment is a quote from the movie Billy Madison that I'll tweak a little bit to fit this situation:
"Mr. life, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this thread is now dumber for having read itt. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Fontez lives and is from Canada, you ****ing moron
Yep! Toronto baby!
joined at the hip Hunter....you f&*^%wit
LMAO love that movie! "He called the shit poop!!"
when you grow up it will make more sense ..now run along kid.
Whoa you called a 27 year old military veteran a Kid, all while being completely illiterate in your original post. TWO THUMBS UP SHERLOCK!!!
Respect to you as a vet, I have family in the UK forces .
You called me a moron and illiterate ,what does (whoa) mean?
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whoa
Google search is a wonderful thing.
Good article!
Anderson must have been so sore after that fight....
Almost 300 shots thrown.
Fights like that don't keep you young
Fail to mention in the coclusion the fact that Chael was 14x the man he should be in that fight (fact) and AS broken ribs (speculation).
14 times the man? That doesn't make much sense. He's still one guy with 4 limbs a heart 2 lungs and a brain. He's not a mutant or a super human.
I'll buy that it's cheating to an extent, but the only advantage it would have given him is a small strength, energy increase, and a decrease in healing time. And again I don't see that as an excuse because Anderson is lean and has somewhat frail of a frame to begin with. I guarantee you that 90% of his opponents are physically stronger than him.
But strength, isn't what wins fights, it's just an amplifier. I'm a slightly overweight 185 and I've submitted 240lbs muscle heads. THAT my friend is the beauty of Jiu-Jitsu and MMA in general.
Wow, respect for taking the time to put together this break down.
I can't disagree with any of the facts that you have provide us with because they are just that facts.
I do however have my own opinion on the conclusion. Someone in an early comment mentioned that we shouldn't take into account the fact that Chael had elevated levels of testosterone or that Anderson had injured ribs.
Has anyone heard of Ben Johnson? We thought he was the fastest man alive? He was on his way to fame and fortune. That is of course until he was found to have elevated levels of testosterone. Than he failed to ever be as good again. Chael had a huge advantage with this substance in his system - it is true.
Injured ribs play a part when it comes to TDD.
For those who Say Silva came up with a "rib injury story" later on - go watch "like water" a Doc made leading up to the first fight - clearly the ribs were an issue before hand and was mentioned directly after the fight.
If you want to get theoretical than allow me to share my version. Chael has gone and insulted the Nogueira Bro's and their style of martial art.
In" Like Water" Anderson explains that he owes the Nogueira for his career in many ways. Their style has always been known all the way back to pride days - to weather the storm and than in the last moment sub their opponents - hence the way their faces look.
Anderson applied the same method of fighting. In the end what was the first thing he did?
Put on his Noguiera gi. He has never done that before. I think he was out to pay respect to them.
It is easy for people to see someone get out classed in the stand up because if you make someone miss and hit them at will it's obvious.
Long story short this time - no steroids, no injuries(that we know of), nothing for Anderson to prove - I see Anderson going for a quick KO.
If Chael was truly in control than we will see the same as last time but it is obvious he can't KO Silva with a million punches and won't sub him. So Chael will be in danger every round.
This just an opinion.
While I won't disagree with any of those points and they are your opinion the only thing I don't I'll pick a bone with is Chael not submitting Anderson.
Chael is the better overall grappler, wrestling gives you a base that is typically stronger than that of jiu jitsu. I agree Chael probably won't ever KO anderson from on top, but don't under estimate his submissions. He obviously knows the submission game very well and he's been working on them himself. Not saying it'll happen but I would not be surprised if Chael submitted anderson via arm triangle or Kimura.
First off, at no point in that fight did Chael out strike Anderson. His head movement etc wasn't that great either. He landed one good punch that rocked the champ. Other than that and a couple of punches that Anderson just stood and took (that was weird) the striking exchanges were all Anderson's. While the writer does not use the words "out strike", he does imply it by stating that Chael "outclassed him in every way".
Second, How the hell do you "win the fight" by getting finished? Did Todd Duffee win the fight he got KOd in against Mike Russow? No and it would be ludicrous to say he did but for some reason getting subbed seems to count less to a certain segment of the MMA community.
I found the article somewhat misleading and ridiculous.
I simply reiterated what happened with a more in depth analysis. If you think it's ridiculous, then I urge you to watch the fight again round by round and read the article one more time.
I fabricated and exaggerated nothing. I simply told you a more accurate and complex version of what was already right in front of you. Everything I wrote is factual and happened.
If you don't like the facts, well then don't read the article.
I don't agree that it was misleading or ridiculous. There were a few analytic points that I didn't agree with but overall, it was a list of facts.
How is that? It was a near perfect description of the fight.
It was a decent description. He came to the incorrect conclusion in implying that Anderson got out struck and he injected opinion and inaccuracy when he stated that Chael won, among other minor things. I am not saying it wasn't 99% factual or even a bad article.
My comment wasn't directed towards you.
See below about your percieved inaccuracies though.
To me a submissions takes more directly applied and strategic skill then a KO does. Therefore I hold Submissions to be the strongest form of victory.
I'm simply trying to illustrate the point that a submission may have obtained the victory, but it doesn't erase the fact that he fought horribly and took a beating for 23 mins.
Bryan:
Frank Mir's submission win over Nogueria was testament to that...Or even Struves armbar victory...or Kampmann submission win.
all of them in bad positions and coming off with submission win.
He was outstruck on the feet in the first couple rounds. Stats, video, reality.. points to it. There was one point in the fight (the 4th) when the exchanges could be labeled "all Anderson's", and he fell over and still lost that round directly after.
Chael was winning the fight 4/5's of the way through. That's what Bryan continually conveys, and only uses the word "won" in his conclusion (then immediately gives credit to Anderson for showing the heart of a champion and getting the hail mary submission.
Use your eyes. Anderson was doing all of the damage and landing more on the feet.
lol no he wasn't. Anderson barely landed anything on the feet. which fight were you watching?? Cuz we posted the first fight above...
He landed more that Chael did. Go back, watch and count.
Chael outladed him 3-2 in the second round in the 10 seconds the fight was standing. No strike was landed in the third by ether compeitor standing, unless you want to count Chaels shots from behind Anderson while both are in hybrid kneeling position.
And ya he did more visual damage for sure, but with only 3-4 elbows. Does that mean he outstruck Chael? Cuz I have 300 reasons split between the left and right fists of Chael Sonnen saying otherwise.
I've used my eyes, ears, and even fingers to replay certain points from the fight. In the first couple rounds Chael outstrikes Anderson SIlva. There's no opinion part about it either. It's either you are able to put your bias about the situation aside and see what happened, or not.
Anderson lands some good shots on the feet at certain points (especially the 4th), he lands some good elbows off his back, and he also sneaks in an up kick or two that graze Chael. That's not what is in question.
Chael did more on the feet during the first three rounds.
I'll give you round 1. It was close until Anderson got rocked but having just rewatched I will give you that round standing. Rounds 2-3 I am not budging on and taken as a whole AS did not get out struck in that fight. The only way you could argue it your way would be to include ground strikes But that is a different category. Saying Chael out struck AS is like saying Matt Hughes was a striker.
That's fine, you don't have to budge on them. You can stay in the exact same opinion. It's just not based in reality. He outstruck him on the feet in rounds 1 and 2. Because of the easy takedown in three no strikes were landed by either. Anderson won the 4th. The 5th Chael lands more, and caps it off with the shot behind the ear that puts the slipping Anderson down.
Chael won the striking. It's not even really an opinion based argument. It's just one side being correct (myself Bryan and others), and the other not.
I think this is a simple misunderstanding.
Please allow me to clarify.
@IChokePeople Chael is the guy in the white trunks, and Anderson is the guy in the yellow and black trunks. Now that you know who you're talking about, watch the fight and USE YOUR EYES again.
Come on Bryan...you know what i mean....but anyway the 14x is just a joke but i think you downplay a bit the advantages of T in a 5 round fight...specailly for a fighter that uses more strengh to take down, control and pound for 25 minutes (not much technique)...anyway I like you already for appreciating the fine art of JJ!!
Well shucks thanks buddy! lol
Just an FYI, and anyone who has been involved in jiu jitsu knows this. When your ribs are injured, your guard will not exactly be the sharpest ever. All it takes to open a person's guard is the right amount of pressure on the right area of the midsection, and when your ribs are bruised, broken or w.e., they are more susceptible to this "reflex" your body does which enables your guard to open to relieve the pressure.
I will say straight up I'm a fan of both these fighters, but if you rewatch the fight, you can infact see Silva flinch when he is trying certain moves, which can be attributed to a rib injury, you said yourself, his head movement was lack lustered, again can be attributed to a rib injury. That being said, Chael dominated the fight for 4.5 rounds regardless and couldnt finish Silva. I really do not see a motivated Silva letting that happen 2 fights in a row and I'll be surprised to see Chael get more than 2-3 takedowns
Analysis of fight #1....
Sonnen beats the P*SS out of Silva for 23+ minutes.
Silva pulls off last minute sub.
End of analysis.
Damn it! I should have passed the article off to you. Woulda saved me soo much time. lol
The most accurate unbiased comment this year.
Silva win too he fast won't risk legasy.Sonan will sleep or tap ha! in 1st or 2st round. Will not make to 3st round ha! feeling tired Sonan? sleepy sleepy nighty night warm glas of milk Sonan? *facepolm* :-) = bak to litle leeges crybaby Sonan
After watching this fight yet again--I still cannot put Anderson Silva as the P4P best fighter in the world. I know this will upset many diehard fans of Silva.
It is not just this fight where he looked bad--but others, including the Maia and Leites fight, and in the Lutter fight--if Lutter was not so flabby and out of shape with zero cardio, Silva would have lost. Lutter has terrible takedowns for a ground expert, yet he took Silva down.
I am not saying that Anderson is not a great fighter--just not the greatest. Weak MW competition has not really tested Silva, especially in the wrestling department.
I can't imagine GSP ever being dominated on his feet or on the ground since he lost to Hughes and Serra long ago. I think quite a few LHW's could defeat Silva.
Chael is good, but he is not that good that he is able to dominate the so-called greatest fighter of all time. This exposed Silva and his record against weak competition. Silva's record is intermittent--he sometimes dominates, and other times he just finds a way to win. Sore ribs do not explain that performance--and Sonnen did not exhibit superhuman testostrone strength in this fight either.
Oh--one more thing--Sonnen did not hit Silva with pillow punches--that is baloney. You could see Silva's head snap with the blows he was taking. Silva has an incredible chin--an amazing chin.
That said, I think Silva learned from his last fight, and he has worked on this TDD and flying knees. I really can't call this fight. I could see either fighter winning.
Sonnen will be juiced--legally this time. And unless he has been tested during training--we don't know that he hasn't been taking high doses ot testosterone--only to reduce the dosage just before fight time.
Tapped or not Sonnen kicked his ass big time.Sonnen's weaknes is submitions if he works on it he is 100 times better figter than Silva he man handeled Silva all rounds.Sonnen is good for UFC becose his fight are not boring like Silva getin booed for every fight for his Chicken run
This AS vs Sonnen I fight is irrelevant. Sonnen was juiced up prior to the fight and was discqualified after. Even if he won that fight, he would have been disqualified and the belt would have been returned to AS.
AS will beat the shit out of Sonnen this time.