MMA Fantasy: What if Chael Sonnen had defeated Anderson Silva?
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen is one of the most heated rivalries in UFC history. The duo faced each other twice inside the octagon and despite great performances, Sonnen failed to dethrone the middleweight great. But what would happen if Sonnen defeated Silva in their first fight? Let's explore.
At UFC 117, Sonnen dominated Silva on the ground for the majority of their five-round fight. The American was a couple of minutes away from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when Silva sneakily trapped him in a triangle choke and forced Sonnen to tap.
Had Silva lost the first fight, it is realistic to believe that the UFC could have set him on a long and painful path to the title shot. Silva became a formidable force in the MMA world due to his creative striking and unmatched finishing ability. But performances immediately preceding the first Sonnen fight had significantly damaged the Brazilian's reputation.
Silva's outrageous performance against Demian Maia did a grave injustice to the UFC's Middle East expansion plan. Then-UFC president Dana White had lambasted 'The Spider' for the "embarrassing" performance and even refused to put the belt around his waist after the fight.
The consensus and White's remarks suggest that Silva had fallen out of the UFC's favor. Therefore, the promotion would probably have put him on the sidelines if he suffered a lopsided decision loss against a massive underdog like Sonnen.
That said, it's important to note that the first fight against Sonnen was Silva's seventh title defense. He was already one of the most dominant champions in the promotion's history and a huge pay-per-view star. As a result, Silva would likely have gotten an immediate rematch against Sonnen anyway.
Assuming that Silva faced Sonnen after a lopsided defeat, the momentum and confidence level would probably have made all the difference.
In the actual UFC 148 rematch, Silva was aware that he could weather the storm while Sonnen had experienced that 'The Spider' could turn the table and put him away at any second before the final bell.
Therefore, despite dominating the first round, Sonnen appeared to be the less confident fighter heading into the second and was viciously knocked out with a knee to the body and follow-up punches.
But if Sonnen had secured a dominant five-round decision win in the first fight, Silva would have likely found it difficult to cope with the pressure after an unsuccessful Round 1 in the rematch and accepted another prolonged beating, altering the course of the UFC middleweight division's history.
But admittedly, there is no end to the number of possibilities regarding the outcome in such scenarios.
Chael Sonnen looks back at his rivalry with Anderson Silva
It is safe to believe that the decline of Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen's careers started after their rematch. While Silva lost the title to Chris Weidman in the following year, Sonnen went 3-5 in his subsequent professional MMA fights. The duo have spoken highly about each other numerous times and acknowledged the rivalry as an important part of their careers.
While speaking to TheMacLife in September 2022, Sonnen said about his rivalry with Silva:
"Every great memory I have in the sport, I did the sport for a long time. All my great memories involve Anderson Silva. I think I was one of the guys along Anderson's career but he was 'The Guy' in my career. Anderson keeps me alive. I mean, when Anderson keeps competing, he keeps getting those matches, I now keep getting in their matches, right? When Anderson stops [fighting], it's going to be very painful for guys like me."
Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (0:20):
Sonnen will have an opportunity to get his revenge, albeit in a different sport, nearly 12 years after their rematch. He will fight Silva in a boxing fight scheduled to take place on June 15 in Sao Paulo in front of 600 invited guests.