Watch Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen full fight video, a five-round exhibition boxing match between UFC legends and long-time rivals Silva and Sonnen.
Silva vs. Sonnen took place on June 15 at Spaten Fight Night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 49-year-old Silva and 47-year-old Sonnen faced off for the third time after two legendary UFC clashes. “The Spider” defended his UFC middleweight title in 2010 with a comeback submission in the final minute at UFC 117, and then knocked Sonnen out again in the second round at UFC 148 in 2012. Silva vs. Sonnen 1 will be inducted into the fight wing of the UFC Hall of Fame during International Fight Week prior to UFC 303.
You can watch the full fight video of Silva vs. Sonnen 3 above.
Round 1: They both take to the center. As expected, Silva looks the more polished boxer. Sonnen crouches low and lands body shots at very unnatural angles. They grapple, the ref steps away. Silva lands a jab, Sonnen goes back to the body, Silva leans against the ropes and lands a combination. The ref warns Sonnen for clinching, they grapple again. Sonnen lands a head clinch, the ref steps away again. Silva lands a light left to end the round. Both fighters look composed, to say the least.
MMAFighting scored the fight 10-9 for Silva (probably)
Round 2: The fight starts, and both fighters are coming in with a bit more force than the first. Sonnen keeps going for the body, while Silva lands a jab and a right. Sonnen cranks in again, but gets another warning from the referee. Short uppercut from Silva, followed by a duck-under left. Sonnen throws a windmill combination, but it just doesn't land.
They stand in the pocket and trade light punches, Silva lands a good left, Sonnen lands a right but it just doesn't reach it, they both head to the center of the ring and the bell rings.
MMAFighting scores the fight 10-9 for Silva, 20-18 overall
Round 3: Silva expands his offensive arsenal a bit more in round three, still not throwing as hard, but landing solidly. Sonnen lands a double underhook to push Silva into the corner and does it again as he leaves. Silva tries to reverse, but the ref separates them. Silva jabs, Sonnen to the body, Silva blocks and counters with jabs and short rights. They battle tensely in the corner for a while until the ref decides enough is enough. A four-punch combo from Silva lands, followed by a hard shot to the body. Sonnen tries a hard inside attack to the body. Silva avoids a big punch and the bell sounds.
MMAFighting scores the fight 10-9 for Silva, 30-27 overall.
Round 4: Sonnen comes out and tries to corner Silva, but Silva is butterflying. Short uppercut from Silva, Sonnen grapples and breaks away. There's about 15 seconds of movement, neither man throwing a punch, then a short uppercut from Silva, followed by a three-punch combo and a dig to the body, but neither man is throwing anything ferocious. Silva lands a punch, Sonnen falls to the mat. It's unclear if he actually got knocked down, but Silva was landing most of the punches by the end of the round.
MMAFighting scores the fight 10-9 for Silva, 40-36 overall
Round 5: No knockdown, so it's time for the fifth round. Both fighters throwing punches. Silva is bouncing around and looking pretty energetic. Silva waits for Sonnen to come at him, then he launches a combo. Sonnen charges and gets tangled up in the ropes. The ref waits about 10 seconds before stepping away. Blood is coming out of Sonnen's nose and a short timeout is called to clear it up. Okay.
In the last 20 seconds of this fight, Silva threw two jabs, circled around and hit Sonnen about nine times but got no response. Sonnen had his hands up and looked like he'd fought five rounds. Silva looked like he hadn't fought at all. It's a nice nostalgia fare, but it's never a knockdown or a drawn-out fight.
MMAFighting scores the fight 10-9 for Silva, 50-45 overall
After the final bell rang, Silva and Sonnen hung up their gloves, and Silva, donning a sleeveless hoodie, walked over to Sonnen's corner to shake hands with the coaches and give Sonnen a hug.
Final result: The exhibition ended without a winner
Post-match: Silva expressed his gratitude to the Brazilian fans as this was billed as his final match for Brazil.
