Sonnen and Silva = Epic Moment in MMA History

What an amazing card UFC 117 ended up being, despite the main even not really going the way I had hoped for. I suppose before I continue with the premise of the article, I'll just get something off my chest....God damnit Chael, WTF happened? Please learn how to operate efficiently from half guard, it's the reason Cotoure does not get subbed too often. Getting comfy in a bjj black belt's guard (even if the belt came from a Happy Meal or the Noguiera Brothers) is a very poor strategy. I will say Chael is pretty damned efficient in full guard and is even quite the improviser. The slaps to the ears, I think punctuate that point. Regardless, learing to work for position a bit more instead of just hammering away in full guard may serve Sonnen well.

Chael wasn't the only person resting on his laurels a bit in round five. I had my cell phone out and still have the draft of a text I was going to send Budo. It says "I fucking love it!" Before I hit send, I looked up to see Chael in a full blown triangle choke. He made a valiant effort to escape, but it was not to be. Needless to say, I never hit send, and I learned my lesson for texting during a damn fight.

The buy rates for this card have come in and are quite impressive. Roy Nelson was the first to beat Kimbo, he has the fat guy thing going, a head made of granite, and a TUF championship. Maybe he brought some fans to this card. Legendary Matt Hughes was on the card, and looked amazing. Hughes is a decent draw, but he wasn't even co-main eventing. Anderson Silva, perhaps the greatest champion in UFC history was on the card, but he has never been one to garner a big buyrate and his performance vs Demian Mai left a very bad taste in fans' mouths. Most thought this buy rate would do average at best.

The reason for this amazing buy rate had to do directly with the hole underneath the nose of Chael Sonnen. Relentless shit-talk that bordered between ridiculous and articulate and controversial statements leading up to this fight is what sold it. Not to mention, despite the flash sub in round five, Chael Sonnen did what no other man has ever done. He beat the everliving shit out of Anderson Silva. Even though he has not title, Chael Sonnen comes out of UFC 117 as a winner. He has created what can become an epic rivalry with Anderson Silva. People are critical of fighters who are never really tested, and Anderson without a doubt, answered his critics concerning bravado and heart. He now has a true pariah in the weight class.

Now, let's address Silva's performance. Rib injury or not rib injury, I'd bet Chael Sonnen is capable of winning rounds in dominating fashion with Silva. He can walk through blows, take a beating, and effectively get the fight where he is most comfortable. HOWEVER, a history of dropping the ball and losing fights he is ahead in has plagued Chael throughout his career. His Achilles is certainly submissions created when he tries to posture in full guard. This lead me to believe Anderson was still in this fight the entire time. Not to mention, the fact that rounds begin on the feet also gives him a chance of ending any opponent. Anderson was beaten, humiliated, being shut out, and getting worked over. However, while other fighters may look for a way out, Anderson remained resilient and showed flashed of a sense of urgency to look for a fight ending maneuver. Bottom line is that he found it. Title fights last 25 minutes, and until that round five said 0:00, Anderson Silva was still in that fight.

All I see are pluses to the way this fight went down. Will there be an immediate rematch? I hope so, but I'd also like to see Vitor Belfort fight either fighter. If he can find Anderson's chin, he very well may be able to take that title. I think Sonnen would actually fair very well vs Belfort. It's very exciting to see Anderson challenged at 185. We can now put the dream fight at 205 with Shogun on the backburner.

Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva have shaken up the MMA landscape together. The fight itself parallels the Meldrick Taylor vs Julio Caesar Chavez fight twenty years ago when Taylor dominated the fight right into the final round and was TKO'ed with two seconds left. Meldrick Taylor never recovered from that loss. Chavez stole his soul. I wonder if Anderson did the same thing to Sonnen.