Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva engaged in a gentle, sparring-pace exhibition bout in Brazil on Saturday night, with the pair revisiting old times ahead of their upcoming boxing trilogy bout.
Silva, who won by submission and knockout at UFC 117 and UFC 148, respectively, was celebrating his final fight in Brazil at the invitation-only Spaten Fight Night, and he enlisted the help of his biggest rival to close out his Brazilian career with an exhibition bout.
The pair, 49 and 47 respectively, hung up their mixed martial arts gloves more than three years ago but returned to the ring for a light-hearted, five-round, two-minute exhibition in front of American and international audiences.
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen put in lackluster bouts in boxing trilogy
Both fighters found each other weak early on, with Chael Sonnen looking to land punches with little power, but Anderson Silva's impressive movement was still on display, albeit at half the pace it had when they met for the second time in July 2012.
Even if you couldn't find a way to watch the fight, which was only broadcast in Brazil, it's hard to miss, as neither man pushed the pace much, with Sonnen's bloodied nose and slips providing the highlights, and the bout ultimately finishing scoreless.
In the run-up to the fight, Silva had jokingly asked Sonnen to take it easy since it was an exhibition bout, and both fighters appeared to comply with that request in rounds one and two. Meanwhile, “The Bad Guy” kept his pre-fight promise and cheated, frequently holding his opponent's head down and aiming for uppercuts.
By the third round, Silva was in control, his opponent struggling to keep up with his movement and speed, even at 49 years old. By the end of the round, his right hands were landing flat and at will, but a relaxed sparring pace allowed Sonnen to stay in the fight.
Then in the fourth round, he went into his trademark flashy mode, slowly switching gears and landing a series of big uppercuts that sent Sonnen to the ground with 20 seconds left for what was ruled a slip.
In the fifth round, Silva landed a flurry of punches early on, clearly showing his speed at his age and displaying a huge range of skill. Sonnen was able to keep up the pressure, but he ended up with a bloody nose.
And after Silva's impressive finish, Sonnen got to hear the final bell against his biggest rival for the first time in a bout that lasted more than 40 minutes.
Chael Sonnen claims he won his boxing match against Anderson Silva despite the result not coming
As the event was merely a fun exhibition between retired friends, there were no scorecards and the bout was declared a draw – something that was obviously far more exciting for the cocky Sonnen, who had vowed to cheat before the bout and always enjoyed slipping back into the “bad guy” role.
Prior to the fight, the former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title contender made various claims about what was to come, and immediately after the fight, although he was not granted an official in-ring interview, he maintained that he had done enough to win two of the three rounds.
Silva, meanwhile, appeared to call a few rounds “training” as the pair embraced, while Sonnen gave a promo to officials who were filming on their cellphones. The feud between the two ended long ago and the two have remained friends since, but the American spoke before the fight about his chances of redemption.
Ultimately, the pair failed to deliver the same excitement as their rival on Amazon Prime pay-per-view, where Gervonta “Tank” Davis defended his WBA lightweight belt with an eighth-round knockout over Frank Martin in the main event of that PBC event.
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