If you heart is still racing after last night’s ‘I’ll never forget when’ bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, you’re not alone (although if that sh-t doesn’t settle down within an hour or two…it’s probably time to head to the ER). Really, and be honest, after getting punished for 4 rounds did you really think Silva would pull off that Hail Mary triangle-choke?
At any rate, Silva fan or not, Sonnen enthusiast or hater, the bout will go down as a classic. Of course, due to the over the top pre-fight trash talk from Sonnen, fans were likely always going to recall the outcome. In fact, it’s probably on account of Sonnen’s verbal assault that most people were riding the edge of their seat from the opening bell.
At the post fight presser Sonnen offered a few good zingers about having a rematch with Silva, but things were relatively ‘civil’ in comparison to the pre-fight banter. Not surprisingly, Silva maintained that he holds nothing against Chael, despite taking verbal abuse from him the likes of which the sport has rarely seen. One interesting comment from Silva was in regards to finishing the fight by submission (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quote)
“I’ve been training jiu-jitsu for a long time,” said Silva through his manager/translator, Ed Soares. “Out of respect to [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira, I wanted to finish this fight via submission.”
Now maybe we’re just desperate to stir the pot here, but that couldn’t be a veiled comeback at Sonnen’s recent dismissal of Silva’s black belt under the Nogueiras could it? Something about a punching bag? Here’s hoping the rematch comes sooner than later.