We all know what happened in UFC 117; I would just like to tweak a little our perception of lay-and-pray.
Chael Sonnen was making good of his boast to “punch a hole” in Anderson Silva‘s head most of the way, till The Spider unleashed his web and submitted his almost-conqueror with less than two minutes remaining in their title fight.
What Sonnen displayed for four-and-a-half rounds was definitely no “hump-fest”; it was, on the contrary, a spectacle of unmitigated ground-and-pound galore. (Never mind whatever he was taking that made him as indefatigable as the Energizer Bunny, drumming on Silva’s bald noggin.)
It was without a doubt one of the most exciting fights in MMA history, ending with a thrilling come-from-behind victory via Silva’s arm triangle choke-arm bar submission over his game challenger.
And so, Silva walked away with the UFC Middleweight Championship belt for the 10th straight time, without a discernible hole in his skull.
Now what if Sonnen, no doubt assured of his lead in the judges’ scorecards—with the lopsided beating he was delivering to Silva—decided to protect his advantage in points into the decision win?
And, propelled by his hunger for the title, along with the honest (pun intended) additional paycheck courtesy of the winner’s purse, opted to, well, lay-and-pray instead for the two-minute remainder of the fifth and final round?
Would we have forgiven him?
Should not all the adrenaline he elicited from us fans during the first four cantos suffice as compensation for the eventual boring tactic he employed into crowning himself “The New UFC Middleweight Champion of the World”?
Just passively defending in Silva’s guard, wisely drifting through the last 120 seconds at less risk for his inevitable career milestone?
Well, it didn’t happen.
He was hell-bent on winning in dominant and destructive fashion and got caught in that fateful second of abandon.
I’m even giving him the benefit of the doubt that he intended to finish.
Although he knew he was no power-puncher, he was earnestly hoping the accumulation of head strikes would take its toll somehow and daze Silva for a referee stoppage.
Here’s additional food for thought from former WEC Champion Miguel Torres, after losing to Demetrious Johnson in UFC 130:
“My trainer, Firas, wanted me to hold position more and not attack submissions so much because going into it, we knew he was a good scrambler and he’s really short, has short limbs and a short, stocky neck.
“I wanted to attack. I wanted to put on a show for the fans. I didn’t want to lay on the guy and not do anything. Maybe in hindsight I should have done that.
“I know what to do for my next fight. People might not like it. It might be a little boring, but the biggest thing is to secure a win however I can. If that means laying on somebody or just holding them down, it’s going to have to be that way.”
In closing, allow me an analogy and a couple of questions:
If you’re the leading marathon runner who’s only a hundred meters from the finish line, and your closest rival is a good one kilometer away from you, shouldn’t you just relax your pace and cruise to the top of the podium?
Why sprint?
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