Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: Full results
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, one of the fiercest rivalries in the MMA, saw its final chapter unfold in the boxing realm. The retired MMA fighters fought at the combat sports event in Saulo Paulo, Brazil, on June 15, which included two other boxing matches and an MMA fight.
Silva vs. Sonnen, an exhibition boxing match, headlined the event. Sonnen famously challenged Silva twice for the UFC middleweight title when both were at the peak of their MMA careers. While the American fighter came dangerously close to winning the first fight before tapping out to late submission in their first fight, Silva sealed the deal in the rematch with a second-round TKO win.
'The Spider' had a pronounced advantage in terms of striking during their MMA fights while Sonnen was the more skilled grappler. How he would perform in a boxing match with no takedown threat to keep a check on Silva's striking was the most intriguing aspect of the boxing match.
The fight marked Sonnen's boxing debut and the inexperience was visible from the get-go as Silva landed more efficiently and increased the volume and the pace as the fight progressed.
By Round 3, Sonnen appeared to be fading as the movements became more labored. While Silva landed with increasing accuracy, he appeared to be holding back from landing full-power shots, presumably to preserve energy till the final round. The former UFC middleweight champion appeared to have won all five rounds. However, there was no winner in the exhibition bout.
The co-main event was a clash of Olympic medalists Esquiva Falcao and Herbert Conceicao. Falcao, the 2012 Olympics silver medalist, was the more experienced boxer heading into the fight with a 30-1 record as a professional boxer. The sole loss of his professional boxing career came against Vincenzo Gualtieri in his last outing for the vacant IBF middleweight title.
Meanwhile, the much younger Conceicao had amassed a perfect 5-0 record since capturing the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. All three KO wins on his record came within three rounds. The duo fought in the 10-round professional boxing match for the CNB middleweight title.
In the fight, Conceicao started more aggressively and won the first few rounds. He appeared to be landing more powerful shots consistently and stung Falcao several times. Falcao showed veteran experience and tried to make a comeback in the later rounds. However, Conceicao proved to be the more effective fighter in terms of defense as well as offense.
After 10 rounds of action, Conceicao was declared the winner by unanimous decision and took home the CNB middleweight title.
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen results: Kalyl Silva, Bia Mesquita win
In the super middleweight bout on the undercard, Anderson Silva's son Kalyl Silva fought Paulo Roberto in a four-round fight. The fight started on a cautious note as both men took a more measured approach. However, Silva cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory and also scored the only knockdown of the fight in Round 4.
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu legend Bia Mesquita made her professional MMA debut against Jorgina Ramos on the undercard. the 10-time BJJ world champion imposed her dominant grappling game from the get-go and battered fellow debutant with ground-and-pound strikes. Reeling under the pressure, Ramos gave up her back Mesquita quickly secured a tight rear-naked choke to force a tap and emerge victoriously in her debut.
Check out the full event results below:
Heavyweight - Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (Exhibition)
Middleweight - Herbert Conceicao def. Esquiva Falcao by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-92, 98-91) (CNB Brazil middleweight title fight)
Super welterweight - Kalyl Silva def. Paulo Roberto via unanimous decision (40-35 X 3) (Professional boxing match)
Women's bantamweight - Bia Mesquita def. Jorgina Ramos by submission (Rear-naked choke) (R1, 2:33) (MMA)