On Saturday, July 7, Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva will meet in Las Vegas for their eagerly anticipated rematch. We don’t know yet who will come out on top, but let’s imagine a few possible ways in which Sonnen could lose to Silva.
Sonnen knocked out in the first round
It is an embarrassingly one-sided fight. As the bell rings, both fighters rush to the centre, with Sonnen coming out swinging. The champion ducks and weaves in bullet-time and counters with pinpoint strikes: kicks to Sonnen’s body, jabs to his face. “The Spider” has a rhythm and timing we never saw in the first match. Perhaps his broken rib was the problem after all?
In desperation, Sonnen attempts his first takedown, expertly stuffed, as Silva sprawls and follows up with a knee. His confidence builds as Sonnen’s pressure style proves no match for the Brazilian’s reflexes.
And then it happens. Another takedown attempt from too far out, Silva throws a hook, catches Sonnen on the way down, and the fight is over.
As pandemonium breaks out around the stadium, the answer to all our questions is lying flat on the mat.
There was a gulf in class on that night which we’re now wondering why we ever doubted. The first match must have been a fluke. Silva was unprepared, probably complacent. With the pressure on, he rose to the challenge and gave Sonnen no hope.
In the post-fight press conference, Sonnen is conspicuous with his absence. The champion sits centre stage, with his belt gleaming gold before him. All the questions are the same. Silva doesn’t say much. His replies are short and courteous, but there’s nothing left to say now.
All of Sonnen’s talk was just that—talk. Last night showed he had nothing to back it up. Silva’s unprecedented 15-fight winning streak is extended to 16, and the only fighter to ever question his credentials as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time is now a faded star.
Sonnen, meanwhile, is riding an ambulance to the hospital. Alongside him is a big bag of cash. He’s 35 years old and has made more from this one fight than in any fight in his entire career—enough to retire on.
He’s faced and defeated some of the biggest names in his division, and while he won’t go down as among the great, he’s sure to be remembered as having come the closest to unseating the greatest champion of all time…
Sonnen loses to a fourth-round submission
It is a virtual replay of their first encounter. Sonnen thinks he had the formula to unseat Silva. He takes him down at will and rained punches from the top, just like he had the first time round.
But “The Spider” twists and weaves and slips them all. It goes this way for round after round, leaving us all aghast, thinking surely, this can’t be happening again. Surely this time, Sonnen will have learnt enough to not fall for the same stuff twice.
But perhaps, like Silva fan-boys had always contended, this had been his plan all along. It’s Sonnen who is falling straight into The Spider’s web.
And then it happens. Somewhere in the fourth round, like before, Silva catches his arm. He spins his legs around Sonnen’s shoulders and twists Sonnen’s extended arm against his belly. This time it’s an arm bar, and Sonnen taps.
The look of abject embarrassment on Sonnen’s face, as he sits kneeling on the canvas nursing his arm, is pitiful.
Money is no consolation for looking this stupid. What awaits him tomorrow is the doldrums of the division: fighting the lower order far from the hunting pack. He’s shown himself to be a two-dimensional fighter, and despite having faced and overcome some of the best middleweights UFC had to offer, he is not among the greats, not by a long shot.
He could retire now, with what he earned last night. But pride could get in his way. He doesn’t want to go out like this. He can still claim he was winning on points for most of the match, but concede that Silva’s jiu-jitsu was just too good. That could save some face.
But he can forget about ever drawing a crowd to his fights like the ones that parted with their dollars to watch the self-proclaimed greatest fighter in the world. The emptiness of that label is there for all to see.
Silva, meanwhile, has just notched another victory in the longest championship run in the UFC’s history. He’s proved that the last time wasn’t a fluke. By fighting the same fight, he’s shown supreme confidence in his ability and demonstrated what a versatile and highly intelligent fighter he is.
There are others now, still left in the division, but none of them seem anymore remarkable than Sonnen. Now in the twilight of his career, his earning potential is bigger than it has ever been, and he’ll certainly feel that he’s earned the right to pick and chose his next fight…
Sonnen loses a grueling five-round decision
Many are already calling it the fight of the year. The two go at it like lions for 25 minutes, and each round could have gone either way. Sonnen scored takedowns. Silva, pummeled him in the clinch. Both boxed and landed shots that would have felled lesser men.
Through tenacity, experience and a greater range of skill, Silva came out on top in a result no one would question.
But there is no shame on either men. Both came out as warriors, and as the final bell rings, they embrace a bloody mess.
In the post-fight press conference, both men sit on either side of Dana White —Silva with the belt, Sonnen without, just like it always was.
Silva is a relieved man. He knows he came close again. He’s respectful of Sonnen but is wondering how long he can keep doing this. There are many fighters of Sonnen’s calibre snapping at his heels, and he wonders whether he still has desire to deal with them all.
Sonnen’s stock is still high, and he knows it. The match could have gone either way, and a decision like that shows that the gulf in talent between the two is very narrow indeed. But he has been beaten, for the second time, which makes the first near victory that much more painful.
He looks across at Silva thinking how long before he earns another shot. He’s still among the elite of the division but will have to fight his way through the hunting pack to get back into title contention.
There’s a rematch against Michael Bisping that many would like to see. He still needs to fight Mark Munoz, a match that was planned before injury forced Bisping to take his place. Then there’s grudge matches against Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort or even Rousimar Palhares —every Brazilian in his class will want a piece of him.
Yes, his earning potential is still high, and tasty matches can still be made. And who knows? If he beats them all, his path may lead him back to Silva once again.
That’s all in the future. For now, he has a bag of money to spend and time to wonder how much more he’ll earn before his time is done.
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