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Chael Sonnen looks back on his first fight with Anderson Silva and a crucial error which he believes led to his loss.
Chael Sonnen almost scored a historical upset against Anderson Silva during their first fight in 2010. “The West Linn Gangster” led through nearly five rounds of action, only to be forced to submission in the last two minutes of the fight.
But there is more to the story according to Sonnen, which he spoke to Burt Watson about on MMA Junkie’s “Legend 2 Legend” YouTube series. One key detail he disclosed was his inexperience in five-round fights up to that point.
“OK, so that was my first time in the fifth round. I had been scheduled for two other fights that were five-round contests in the WEC, we never saw all five rounds, though,” Sonnen explained. “So it was my first time in the fifth round.
“The reason I bring that up is when you talk about running out of gas, I can tell you I was for sure very tired. Now, I don’t ever remember having a fight in my life where I left with any energy. I used it all, and I’m used to being tired. But this maybe was another level.”
Another revelation he made was a crucial error committed by one of his cornermen.
“I do remember one thing, which was in the fifth round – which I had never been to before – the corner had told me before the round that it was the fourth round, that we had two rounds to go,” Sonnen recalled. “And I only bring that up to you because I have often wondered would I have done something different if I knew there was only a minute left? A minute left and I’m gonna be the world champion as opposed to a whole other round.
“That isn’t an attempt to blame the corner, I’m just sharing a story with you about that specific moment.”
Ultimately, Sonnen admitted losing track of the rounds he fought. He also cleared the air on what submission hold that really got him to tap.
“I did lose track of the rounds. I didn’t really know where I was and he hadn’t hit me that many times, but every time he hit me, it affected me,” he said. “So between all of the chaos that goes on, (I) lost track of the rounds and it was a choke – it wasn’t an armbar – that made me tap. I didn’t really know where I was.
“It’s one of these things that, when you start to go out, even if it’s for half a second, it could be five minutes. It’s kind of like when you go to sleep at night. Have I been asleep five hours? Have I been asleep five minutes? You have to look at a clock.
“It’s kind of one of those strange moments and I’ve never seen the fight.”
Sonnen got another shot at Silva two years later. That fight became a much shorter affair, ending via TKO inside two rounds.