• UFC 117

Silva snatches 'legendary' victory from jaws of defeat

Anderson Silva lost the first four rounds against Chael Sonnen © UFC

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Chael Sonnen came within less than two minutes of becoming the first man to beat Anderson Silva in the UFC, but the middleweight champion pulled out a quite miraculous triangle choke to complete the seventh and undoubtedly the most difficult title defence of his career.

UFC president Dana White instantly labelled the fight 'legendary' and stated it would be 'remembered forever' after Sonnen dominated the champion for four and a half rounds, only to then fall short of the finishing line as Silva locked on a desperate last-ditch triangle to snatch victory from the gates of defeat.

Even then the drama wasn't over, with doubts surfacing over whether Sonnen had tapped. Replays showed the American undoubtedly did, but referee Josh Rosenthal hesitated in stopping the contest when Sonnen appeared to fight on as soon as Silva released the submission. It was a fittingly chaotic end to one of the great UFC title fights, and left one word on the minds of everybody in attendance: Rematch.

"Anything is possible," commented White in non-committal fashion after the event. It appears Vitor Belfort may now step ahead of Sonnen in the queue.

What is certain is that Sonnen handed Silva the beating of his career. The pre-fight talk had been of the need for the Greco-Roman wrestler to get the fight to the mat, yet nobody had considered the possibility that Sonnen could rock Silva on his feet. That was exactly what happened in the first exchange of the night as the champion staggered back, totally dazed and with his arms completely incapable by his side.

Sonnen's next move could arguably be seen as his biggest mistake of the night. With the still-upright Silva eating punches at will, it seemed the champion was only on his feet by memory. A knockout was there for the taking, but Sonnen stuck to the gameplan and took his rival to the mat - handing Silva the chance to recover. There he reigned down heavy, heavy bombs on the Brazilian, sending him back to the corner stunned and completely out of breath.

"Chael had a hell of a fight tonight," Silva said in the aftermath. "I knew I lost the first four rounds. Not to make any excuses, but I hurt my rib a week and a half ago and the doctor told me not to fight. But I came in for you guys."

Excuses to one side, Silva was right, he did lose all four rounds, and each followed the same pattern. Sonnen charged out of the corner to command the Octagon, Silva tried to establish range by swinging far more wildly than he ever has before, and Sonnen capitalised with the takedown. Not once did Silva reverse the position from the bottom, and not once did he get back to his feet.

The first hint of a Silva victory did not arrive until round four, when he floored Sonnen with a short elbow, before cutting the challenger badly above the left eye with elbows from the bottom. However, it was the American who still controlled the tempo, and as the fifth stanza arrived, Silva needed a knockout or submission victory.

The great escape looked unlikely when he slipped to allow Sonnen to assume top position once more, but rather than playing it cautious, Sonnen left himself open to the choke by going for more ground and pound. Silva's long limbs locked on, Sonnen tried everything to escape, but then he tapped twice to prompt the controversial end.

"He's a tough guy but I came second," Sonnen admitted graciously, making no excuses for his pre-fight trash talk. "They gave me the opportunity but I came up short. I'm here to be No. 1, if I'm not the best I'll move on in life. For now I have the silver medal."

Whatever Sonnen's next move, he will undoubtedly go down as the first and only man to make Anderson Silva look human. And the next time Silva steps inside the cage will be first time he does so without the air of invincibility that has surrounded him since he entered the UFC 12 fights ago.

In the night's co-main event, a weary Thiago Alves fell victim to a trademark Jon Fitch performance, which inevitably ended in a unanimous decision victory for the American. Grinding away in much the same fashion as he dealt with Ben Saunders in his last fight, Fitch earned a 30-27 decision from all three judges.

Alves entered the bout against the backdrop of yet another failed weight cut, and the last-minute cutting took its toll as he lacked his usual zip in the stand-up. Fitch gave him a two-minute window in the opening round, but it was the AKA man who came out better with two solid hooks to the body of Alves. From there, Fitch resorted to his staple diet of takedowns, top control, and cautious ground and pound. Alves battled back to his feet infrequently, but the end outcome was obvious for all to see from the start of the second round onwards. Fitch improves to a 13-1 UFC record, Alves returns to his gym with plenty of criticism to face after his lack of preparation.

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