Rewatched Silva/Sonnen UFC 117

[jessebradley12]

This fight definitely showed a true display of heart. Silva's ability after being beat for 4 straight to come back and submit was crazy. A lot of fighters may have given up by then.

One thing that does frustrate me is how some people talk about Silva like he's a reincarnation of Jesus or something then say that broken rib was the only reason it lasted that long.

Just a thought.

 

[Islam Imamate]

Other than the one punch in the first round which was the only time he rocked Silva, I don't see how people say Chael won standing

Most of the fight was Chael on top and he had his moments standing against Silva. I don't remember AS doing anything significant on the feet aside from the knock down in the fourth.

Fights like that one are what convert your casual viewer into a die-hard.

I think a lot of the fun of that fight was the context. We were watching a trash talker back up his words against the p4p best fighter in the world only to see victory snatched away 2 minutes before the final bell.

 

[BLACKLAC**]

Does anybody else feel that Chael doesn't get the credit or respect he deserves?

He's a roid cheat.

He gets too much respect as is.

 

[Bolan]

As I watched the fight tonight, I had the added knowledge of Silva's injury and Sonnen's cheating. Which, in retrospect, seemed mostly non-influential.

Roids and a rib injury and non-influential to a fight? There is a reason why Anderson looked so crappy in that fight and why Sonnen looked so good. That's certainly influential. Vitor is considered the 'fastest hands' Anderson ever faced and he Matrix'd him. Sonnen isn't known as even a decent striker and he landed a record number of punches on Silva.

 

[K1HerosNakamura]

Sonnen is really the best thing to happen to this sport in years.

 

[K1HerosNakamura]

Does anybody else feel that Chael doesn't get the credit or respect he deserves? He is legit. I can't stand when people bring up the Jeremy Horn losses.Their is no shame in getting beat by Jeremy. Jeremy holds victorys over Chuck,Forrest,Court Magee,Josh Burkman,Dean Lister and others.

Chael indeed doesn't get enough respect

 

[The Apostle]

Sonnen tested higher than Overeem with a 16:1 Testosterone ratio before the fight. Silva came in with an injured rib. Than was forced to give up by getting caught. He won the battle but lost the war.

Was his level higher before or after he skipped town to avoid the first few tests?

On topic: I think Chael wins the stand-up with Anderson because he brings it. Not in a just bleed way but I believe Anderson is so used to guys being fearful and timid that he just has his way with them.

Like if you listen to Rogan in the Silva/Franklin fights he says something like Anderson likes to feel guys out for about a minute and then start throwing strikes. If you watch Franklin in the re-match, he waits. Forrest was throwing weak jabs not wanting to fully commit. Sonnen gets after him and doesn't wait. I just think Silva is not used to getting attacked.

 

[PaulRFC53]

Silva was off balance not rocked.

You can see in someones eyes when they are hurt and he was fine.

 

[PunchFaceToWin]

See my signature as to how I feel about this discussion

There is nothing subjective about whether a bomb exploded or didn't explode.
Whether a fight is won is highly subjective by nature. Sometimes it's in-debatable, sometimes it highly is.
That sig is very short sighted.

 

[The Apostle]

But it's all for nothing, because he lost. To me, none of that really strikes me as amazing. It would have been more amazing if Sonnen knew how to finish a fight.

Even if he did, the win would have been for naught because of him pissing hot.

So you're saying that a loss is a loss but a win isn't a win? Hmm. I'm thinking you just don't like Sonnen.

 

[lefthighkick01]

"steroids" dont improve technique and sonnen out striked silva in the 1st fight

Yeah i have always thought Sonnen was a better striker then Anderson

 

[boca de sacola]

I think AS underrated Sonnen.. No ribs and no escuses. He got lucky for that triangle choke, because he tried the same position many times and Chael defended very well.

 

[WanderLogun]

Just inspired me to re-watch it too

Brilliant scrap, Silva doesn't look himself throughout the fight, and he actually only starts working for a triangle in the 5th shortly before he gets it, despite having Sonnen in the same position in earlier rounds.

Maybe he thought that Sonnen would have the strength to power out, or slam him or something, I'm not sure.

Great fight, ultimate beat down but amazing comeback

 

[Zangief HW GOAT]

Didn't Silva slip in the 5th? I don't rrockedemember him being actually

 

[GSP Apologist]

 

[Jose Aldo Nova]

Solid post, TS. I admit, I was thoroughly impressed and scared by Sonnen's fight game and implementation in this match. And what struck me the most (pun intended) was that ever though Silva is undoubtedly the better striker, at times he looked a bit clueless with his hands. Fear of the takedown? Baiting? Injured rib? Wanting the sub? Who knows. But this fight is Sonnen's shining hour, and one of the best performances in the UFC against the greatest fighter in the world.

And I agree TS, Sonnen won most of the exchanges here, he simply lost the fight.

Yes, classic fight. I remember watching it live at the bar and going crazy during the finish.

No joke, I was in a room FULL of Silva haters during the fight and was standing the entire time. After being convinced Silva was going to lose in the 5, once he slapped on that triangle, I flipped an infinite amount of birds and cursed out everyone like a drink sailor. That was MY shining moment

 

[bandicoot]

Great point about the striking in the first round, people do tend to forget that. Sonnen's not a great striker by any stretch, but for whatever reason, he's had more success than anyone against Silva, and Silva always looks uncomfortable and out of control when throwing with him. Even in the fourth round of this fight, and the second of the second fight, Silva looked good on the feet but not ANDERSON SILVA good. Another thing I noticed recently rewatching that fight is how close Silva gets to finishing it in the 4th. At the end of his big flurry in the 4th, right before Sonnen shoots for a takedown, Silva throws that same rising elbow that he destroyed Tony Fryklund with. He misses by about an inch, but if that, or a couple other things had landed, he could have won it right there, by TKO in the 4th.

I think Silva looked exactly like himself in the second fight. The guy ducked from a spinning back fist, then death knees the guy in the sternum. Pretty classic Silva stuff.

 

[Manila**]

Just rewatched the first Silva/Sonnen fight and found myself recording notes. Not sure why, but I figure I will share.

First: The resounding thoughts - Silva is incredibly resilient, Sonnen's gastank is deep, and Sonnen's wrestling is top-notch.

So, from my scratchings:

We tend to forget but Sonnen's initial success, right away in the first round, was via a strike. Truly, Sonnen owned Silva as far as striking goes in this fight.

As I watched, it occurred to me why Sonnen's fights entertain while some GSP fights do not despite similarity. Sonnen is so so active. I am not saying that he throws deathbombs but he is constantly throwing something.

I honestly think the first four rounds could have been scored 10-8 in favor of Sonnen.

During the 2nd round, Sonnen kept smacking Silva's ears without response. This is amazing. Not for Sonnen's effort. But for Silva's tolerance. Silva truly proved himself a machine during this fight. Most of Sonnen's strikes were far from devastating. But Silva's durability was, nonetheless, monumental.

During the 2nd and 3rd rounds, I discovered that Sonnen's biggest weakness was his ineffective use of elbows. In fact, I think Silva may have done more damage with his from the bottom. Sonnen is going to need to put some hate behind those elbows should he hope to have any chance against JBJ.

The first, I don't know, 40 seconds or so of the 4th round were great. Like MMA Hall of Fame worthy. That was good, competitive stuff.

And then, in the same round, the most amazing moment of the night occurred (aside, of course, from the submission). Sonnen completed one of the most sick takedowns I have ever seen. It was like a double-legged from the bottom. So, a sweep slash Greco takedown all-in-one. Such an unappreciated moment of the fight.

As the fight continued, I was most impressed by how effective a technique the buttefly guard is when executed by a master like Silva.

And then, let's not forget, the 5th round started with Sonnen rocking Silva. Via striking. I am so impressed with Sonnen's ability to sort of discretely land effective shots. On the feet, and via wrestling, Sonnen clearly won. He just didn't win the fight. It is what it is.


Such a classic bout.

A fair post, but I think Silva staggering Sonnen with an elbow in the 4th means Sonnen didn't 'win' the stand-up as one of Sonnen's big moments was due to a stumble from Anderson, not a great shot by him.

And please, let's never forget that Chael was juiced to high heaven and so carried a massive, massive advantage into the Octagon with him.

 

[MTFFC]

epic fight

 

[Leo462]

hes much more active then he was in that fight.

Sonnen vs Silva 2. Why wasn't he active from the bottom in that fight during the first round?