Sonnen (right) in his first defeat to Anderson Silva. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Definitely the rivalry between the legend Anderson Silva with Chael Sonnen was one of the main people responsible for breaking the MMA bubble in Brazil. The first confrontation between the two took place on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117, in a fight for the middleweight title (up to 83,9 kg). The American was defeated by 'Spider' after being submitted in the last round.
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The two would meet again in the octagon in 2012 for a rematch. Anderson Silva again came out with his arms raised after knocking out Sonnen in the second round. Despite having lasted less time in the second fight, the American says that it was the first fight against 'Spider' that made him feel more insecure.
In a podcast interview 'Fighting Back', Sonnen revealed that he was never confident for that fight. That's because 'The American Gangster' had never practiced jiu-jitsu until that point in the championship.
“I guess time heals all wounds. But I never had confidence in that fight. I was just on top of him because of the urgency I felt. I didn’t want to stand up with him. When I got to the ground, I was never really that confident. At that point in my life, I had never done jiu-jitsu. In MMA, we trained jiu-jitsu, but I wasn’t a white belt or a blue belt; I didn’t have a belt. I never wore a kimono. It’s one of those things where, if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have skipped the most basic training,” said the American.
Despite the rivalry, Anderson Silva e Chael Sonnen created bonds. The two even made a trilogy, but inside the ring boxing match at the 'Spaten Fight Night', which took place last year in São Paulo. The fight ended in a draw between the two MMA legends.
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