TLG
06-25-2012, 02:27 PM
Chael Sonnen will beat Anderson Silva in a battle at UFC 148 to hand Silva his first loss since 2006. The Oregonian wrestler is the only one to give the Brazilian Muay Thai specialist a run for his money in the past six years.
When they first fought, it looked like Sonnen had Silva's number and was going to win the fight had it gone the distance. However, the Spider wound up winning with a triangle arm bar just minutes before the fifth and final round ended to steal the victory.
Since then Sonnen has had much better submission defense in his fights versus Michael Bisping and Brian Stann. Expect the Sonnen's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be much better as well. He has been working on it much more and could very possibly submit his competition in the rematch on July 7.
There are questions about Sonnen's doping history, but he has been permitted to fight despite undergoing testosterone replacement.
Silva has since shown no signs of declining, and the overall matchup has been excellent between the two fighters. They are both great wrestlers and submission artists, but Silva has more power in the striking game and could end up using that to draw the fight out.
However, once Sonnen gets "Spider" on his back, expect the fight to take a slower pace. There is a tendency for both fighters to utilize the guard while on their back, and as a wrestler, Sonnen won't like being on his back. It's ingrained into wrestlers that when the shoulders are on the mat, a loss is imminent.
So expect the self-proclaimed People's Champ to try and turn any time he is on the mat on his back into a standing position. He will utilize the commanding position to dominate the fight and should win through judging at the very least because of an improved Brazilian Jiu Jitsu technique that has been noticed by his teammate Vinny Magalhães:
"Chael makes fun of a lot of things," Magalhães said during a recent interview. "But he picks stuff up really fast. And the stuff that we worked on, I can guarantee you if he has the chance to use it in the fight, he will do it. If it's a submission, if it's a guard pass, whatever, I guarantee you he can do it. If he gets the chance, he can catch Anderson with something."
Due to this, Sonnen will be using his top notch all-around game to win the fight against Silva. Whether it's by a submission, knockout or even judges, Sonnen has the advantage in this fight and should give Silva a loss on July 7.
Both men will be complementary to each others styles and should look exceptional in their second battle. By the end of this fight, the only thing people will be clamoring for is a third fight. But the rubber match should have Sonnen heading into it with the belt instead of Silva.
When they first fought, it looked like Sonnen had Silva's number and was going to win the fight had it gone the distance. However, the Spider wound up winning with a triangle arm bar just minutes before the fifth and final round ended to steal the victory.
Since then Sonnen has had much better submission defense in his fights versus Michael Bisping and Brian Stann. Expect the Sonnen's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to be much better as well. He has been working on it much more and could very possibly submit his competition in the rematch on July 7.
There are questions about Sonnen's doping history, but he has been permitted to fight despite undergoing testosterone replacement.
Silva has since shown no signs of declining, and the overall matchup has been excellent between the two fighters. They are both great wrestlers and submission artists, but Silva has more power in the striking game and could end up using that to draw the fight out.
However, once Sonnen gets "Spider" on his back, expect the fight to take a slower pace. There is a tendency for both fighters to utilize the guard while on their back, and as a wrestler, Sonnen won't like being on his back. It's ingrained into wrestlers that when the shoulders are on the mat, a loss is imminent.
So expect the self-proclaimed People's Champ to try and turn any time he is on the mat on his back into a standing position. He will utilize the commanding position to dominate the fight and should win through judging at the very least because of an improved Brazilian Jiu Jitsu technique that has been noticed by his teammate Vinny Magalhães:
"Chael makes fun of a lot of things," Magalhães said during a recent interview. "But he picks stuff up really fast. And the stuff that we worked on, I can guarantee you if he has the chance to use it in the fight, he will do it. If it's a submission, if it's a guard pass, whatever, I guarantee you he can do it. If he gets the chance, he can catch Anderson with something."
Due to this, Sonnen will be using his top notch all-around game to win the fight against Silva. Whether it's by a submission, knockout or even judges, Sonnen has the advantage in this fight and should give Silva a loss on July 7.
Both men will be complementary to each others styles and should look exceptional in their second battle. By the end of this fight, the only thing people will be clamoring for is a third fight. But the rubber match should have Sonnen heading into it with the belt instead of Silva.