UFC Simulated Title Fight: Sonnen vs. Silva II

Feature Article

Submitted on: 07/03/2012 by Glenn Wigmore

One of the most anticipated rematches for the UFC is just around the corner, as Chael Sonnen will try and dethrone Anderson Silva after having fallen just short in their first encounter. One has to wonder if Chael Sonnen didn't benefit from not only a minor injury to Anderson Silva in the first fight, but also just the sheer surprise factor of actually throwing strikes at the champ and moving forward. Either way, Sonnen continues to be the mouthpiece for the fight, hyping it beyond a level that it maybe even deserves. I've always thought Sonnen just kind of goes for quantity of verbal barbs rather than quality, but at least he makes people care about these fights.

It seemed appropriate to run a simulation of this fight, so I set the CPUs to do battle in UFC Undisputed 3. I ran the fight at expert difficulty (because I felt the very top level might produce too many transitions), and I also enabled “simulation” settings for a proper stamina representation. I gave the referee assignment to Josh Rosenthal since he had the assignment during the first tilt.

Here's the play-by-play of the fight:

Round 1

Both fighters touch gloves before the fight, and they also give a quick tap as the action begins. Definitely a bit odd for these two. Sonnen out to the centre of the Octagon much like in their first battle, firing baby jabs. Silva with his hands up, defending intelligently. Sonnen quickly with a takedown attempt against the cage, and he has it. Silva controlling the posture, not allowing the challenger any offense. Sonnen goes to side control, but Silva quickly hip escapes and both men are back standing. Sonnen landing some reasonable offense, including two crisp left hooks. Joe Rogan notes that Silva is cut.

Silva getting angry. He fires a right hook to the body and then goes up high with a left jab. He then fires a leg kick followed by a right hook. Head kick by Silva. Sonnen is unfazed, and he responds with some offense of own, including several straight lefts. Silva with a high defense, and he utilizes a push kick to back Sonnen off. Silva grabs a clinch, quickly gaining double underhooks. Sonnen shoots from the clinch and scores another takedown. Both men scramble around on the ground, with Silva eventually taking advantage in Sonnen's guard. Sonnen reverses, but then Silva reverses right back. Silva landing big shots from half guard. Both men scramble, and Sonnen grabs a whizzer and attempts a takedown, but Silva stuffs it.

The champ is throwing all sorts of high kicks and spin kicks. Sonnen finally catches a body kick and brings the fight back down. With shades of their first fight, Anderson locks in a triangle choke, but Sonnen manages to Rampage-slam out of it. Crazy. Even crazier still, Silva scrambles to half guard, and then he locks in an arm triangle. As the round counts down, Silva is locking it in. Sonnen is literally a second from tapping as the bell sounds. Almost ended in the first round.

Round 2

Silva comes out motivated, bobbing and changing levels and then clowning Sonnen with several straights and jabs. Sonnen shoots in, but Silva stuffs it. Silva gains side control on Sonnen's back, but the challenger swims around to double underhooks. Both men crash against the cage, but Silva manages to throw Sonnen to the ground. Without hesitation, Silva goes right back to the arm triangle. Sonnen is doing a better job of defending it this time, but Silva is locking it in further. Sonnen has no choice but to tap. Silva completes his defense, and rubs it in with another tapout.

Decision

At 1:54 of the second round, the winner by arm-triangle choke, and still middleweight champion, Anderson Silva.

Analysis

Interestingly, Sonnen still employed an aggressive strategy, as in the first fight, but Silva was able to weather any significant strikes and get things to the ground. It was a crazy spot when Silva basically had locked in the submission at the end of the first round, but it really told the tale of how things would go. I kind of knew that meant Sonnen was done if it went down there again, and sure enough, that's what happened.

Anecdotally, I ran another simulation just to see how it would go down, and the second encounter provided an almost identical fight to the first real fight between these two, with Sonnen being tapped in a triangle choke with about a minute left in the fifth round after having won most of the fight with wrestling and strikes. In either case, kind of a damning indictment of Sonnen's sub defense.

Hopefully the second fight between these two high-level competitors provides excitement and a decisive finish when it goes down on July 7.

UFC Undisputed 3 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 Joey Sauce @ 07/03/12 01:30 PM

I do simulation and the top difficulty but rarely see cpu vs cpu submissions...is it best to keep it on expert?

# 2 Jadakiss88 @ 07/03/12 03:49 PM

Actual Sonnen has difficulty defending the Triangle choke and I wouldn't call his lackluster "win" against Bisping a mental lapse. Sonnen punches like a girl, is a very sloppy striker, and honestly Silva underestimated him like he did so many fighters before Sonnen. I see this fight going three rounds Sonnen will probably gain an edge if he attacks fast and takes the fight to the ground, he will probably keep it their throughout the first round but to no avail. Second round is when his poor striking and inability to break through Silva's ground defense will show. Third Round Lights out for Sonnen.

# 3 Phobia @ 07/03/12 04:27 PM

I really enjoy reading these!

# 4 Jukeman @ 07/03/12 08:49 PM

I created UFC 148 in my WMMA3 Universe and here are my results for Silva vs Sonnen II:

Spoiler

Quote:


	- Anderson 'The Spider' Silva vs. Chael Sonnen - From player-controlled event 'UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen II' (from the save game 'Dana White') - Created 03 July 2012 >It's time for the main event of the evening! Anderson 'The Spider' Silva takes on Chael Sonnen in the UFC Middleweight division. >The UFC Middleweight title is on the line. >And here we go! Round 1 >Sonnen feints rushing in, but Silva doesn't fall for it. >Sonnen steps back to avoid a right jab. >There's a short stalemate as both fighters advance and throw strikes, but neither hits. >Sonnen grabs a slow leg kick and goes straight for a takedown, getting it! Silva pulls half guard. >Sonnen throws a few strikes, but is clearly slowing things down so that he can catch his breath. >Silva tries to ensnare Sonnen in a guillotine. >A guillotine choke is applied; Sonnen isn't tapping out though! >It looks like the choke is not perfectly applied, and that is allowing Sonnen to breathe. >Silva finally gives it up and lets go, but may have gassed his arms in the submission attempt. >Sonnen stands out of guard, but remains holding the feet to prevent up-kicks. >We've now passed the halfway mark in this round. >Silva takes a right hand, but it didn't connect well and he uses that moment to stand back up. >Sonnen gets suckered in by a feint, and is fortunate to avoid the barrage of big left hands that follow it. >Sonnen looks like he might be trying to get in close to clinch with Silva. >Sonnen can't get close enough to clinch, Silva keeps him away with strikes. >Sonnen comes in closer, looking to wrestle with Silva. >He pulls Silva into a grapple. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Using his wrestling skills, Sonnen is trying to push Silva up against the cage. >Sonnen can't do it though, and ends up being out-wrestled in the grapple. >Silva is looking to muscle Sonnen back against the cage. >Silva achieves it, pinning Sonnen to the cage. >Time expires and we come to the end of round one. >An extremely close round, could have gone either way, but personally I'll give it to Sonnen 10-9. Round 2 >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Both fighters fire off strikes, neither produces any significant damage. >Having stepped in close to throw their strikes, they end up grappling. >Sonnen throws a few close-range strikes, but Silva smothers the shots and takes control of the grappling. >Using his wrestling skills, Silva is trying to push Sonnen up against the cage. >Silva does it, Sonnen is stuck with his back to the cage. >Silva takes a short step back and prepares to strike. >Standing in the pocket, Sonnen catches an attempted body kick and goes for a takedown, and gets it, into half guard. >Sonnen stands up and backs off, letting Silva stand up as well. >Sonnen feints an attack, keeping Silva on his toes. >Sonnen looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >Sonnen grabs Silva and pulls him into a grapple. >Using his wrestling skills, Sonnen is trying to push Silva up against the cage. >Silva doesn't let himself be driven back though, and gains a dominant position in the grapple instead. >We move into the second half of this round. >Using his wrestling skills, Silva is trying to push Sonnen up against the cage. >Sonnen ends up backed against the cage. >Silva catches Sonnen with a knee strike to the thigh. >Silva breaks the grapple and prepares to launch some strikes at Sonnen. >Sonnen grabs a clinch after avoiding a left jab. >Using his wrestling skills, Sonnen is trying to push Silva up against the cage. >Sonnen does it, Silva is stuck with his back to the cage. >Breathing very hard, Anderson Silva is looking ragged. >We have one minute of the round remaining. >Silva takes a sharp stomp to the foot. >Sonnen gets two quick elbow strikes from the clinch that catch Silva hard before he can cover up. >Sonnen attempts to use some close-range elbow strikes but Silva pulls the clinch tighter, making it impossible to launch them. >Round two is brought to an end as time runs out. >I have to give that round to Sonnen, but only a 10-9. Round 3 >Round three begins! >A feint sets up a body kick from Silva, but Sonnen is able to move out of range in time. >Sonnen looks to be trying to close the distance between them. >Silva ends up grappling for supremacy with Sonnen. >Sonnen is looking to muscle Silva back against the cage. >He does so, and now has Silva pinned to the cage. >Chael Sonnen is looking really tired. >Silva uses his wrestling skills to prevent Sonnen from attacking with dirty boxing. >Sonnen tries to keep him up against the cage with wrestling, but Silva struggles and doesn't let himself get controlled. >Sonnen tries to use dirty boxing against Silva, but his opponent's wrestling skills prevent any damage from happening. >Sonnen tries to use his dirty boxing skills, but Silva uses wrestling to prevent any strikes from being launched. >Chael Sonnen seems to be fighting against exhaustion. >Silva lands a few quick punches to the side of the head. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >The referee decides that the grappling against the cage has been going on too long, and he brings them back to the center. >Sonnen isn't drawn in by Silva feinting to his left. >Both fighters go to exchange blows, but neither hits a telling strike. >In close proximity from the strikes they threw, they fall into a messy clinch. >Anderson Silva looks like he doesn't have a lot left to give. >This could be a sign that the big weight cut he undertook is taking its toll. >Sonnen is trying to push Silva so that his back is up against the cage. >Sonnen can't do it though, and Silva gets a more dominant position in the grapple instead. >Silva tries to wrestle Sonnen backward and up against the cage. >Silva manages it, and controls Sonnen up against the cage. >Anderson Silva looks like he is almost out on his feet with exhaustion. >We move into the final sixty seconds of this round. >Silva steps back to achieve some separation from Sonnen and gets ready to strike. >Sonnen dodges a huge left hand thanks to good head movement, and returns fire with a flurry of quick punches. >Sonnen throws a flurry of punches but Silva covers up and takes them easily. >Round three ends as time expires. >Hopefully the next round will produce a little more in the way of action. >That has to go down as a 10-9 round to Sonnen. Round 4 >There's the bell for the start of the round! >Sonnen counters a right jab with a series of quick jabs. >A straight right fails to land and Sonnen is able to fire back with a series of quick punches. >Chael Sonnen looks exhausted. >Silva counters a flurry of punches by hitting a clean jab. >Sonnen counters an attempted body kick with a crisp jab. >Sonnen chooses to move forward and try to take Silva down. >A counter left cross is too slow to catch Sonnen. >Sonnen drives forward, and despite the best efforts of Silva to stay upright, the takedown is completed! >The takedown leaves Silva seated with his back pressed against the cage. >Sonnen fires away with right hands, but Silva controls his opponent's posture well and doesn't take any undue damage. >Silva attempts to secure a choke. >A guillotine choke is applied; Sonnen isn't tapping out though! >It looks like Sonnen must have been able to stop the choke from being fully sunk in. >Silva releases the hold, perhaps having gassed his arms by squeezing for too long. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >The clock runs down as Silva is being smothered against the ground by Sonnen. >Sonnen begins trying to pass the guard. >Silva keeps Sonnen in guard. >Silva secures an arm and tries to ensnare Sonnen in a triangle. >Sonnen defends well against it. >The time is up, and that's the end of round four. >I have to give that round to Sonnen, but only a 10-9. Round 5 >We are back underway! >Sonnen slips past a right jab and counters with a series of quick lefts. >Sonnen steps back to avoid a kick to the body. >Sonnen slips out of the way of a leg kick. >Sonnen counters a weak left kick with a crisp left hand punch. >A jab misses and Sonnen counters with a quick series of punches. >Sonnen counters a right jab by hitting a flurry of quick punches to sting Silva. >We pass the halfway mark of this round. >An attempted body kick misses and Sonnen fires back with a left jab to the cheek. >Silva comes in closer, despite his tiredness, looking to attack from the pocket. >Sonnen now has Silva standing in the pocket. >Silva, who is visibly tired, looks like he might want to get in close and clinch with Sonnen. >Silva grabs Sonnen and pulls him into a Muay Thai clinch. >From the clinch, Silva drives an elbow to the side of the head. >Sonnen has a gash under his eye from that strike. >Sonnen manages to grapple his way out of trouble and into having double underhooks as he clinches with Silva. >We're into the final minute of the round. >The grapple breaks up after a short struggle, and the two fighters step apart. >Sonnen sees a body kick coming and hits a straight left. >We reach the time limit and this fight is over. >I'd say that was definitely 10-9 in favour of Sonnen. >The official scores are being reported now. >All three judges have given 50-45. >The winner, by unanimous decision, is Chael Sonnen! >Official Result: Chael Sonnen defeats Anderson 'The Spider' Silva (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 5). The match was rated as being Decent.

Sonnen had a game plan and stuck with it. However, Silva seemed to be out of shape.

In a second fight (quick match, not in my save) Silva won by TKO in the 2nd round.

# 5 mmathaifighter @ 07/05/12 10:42 AM

Hypnotized by a doctor? He couldn't have taught him some basic sub defense with he was under? I like Chael because he brings an entertainment value to MMA but I never take anything he says seriously. I remember when he was calling out Brock a couple years ago. Oh and the fact that he NEEDS TRT to compete at this level means either A) he abused it at a younger age to the point his own body no longer makes it and/or B)he needs the advantage so he manipulates his levels to get cleared for it. Either way, if he can't compete without it, he shouldnt be competing at all. I can't hit a curveball so does that mean all MLB pitchers should only throw me 75mph fastballs so I can play because I'm not able to do it naturally?

I should add, I'm not anti PEDs, at all as I get TRT myself and feel anabolics should be legalized and available for anyone over a certain age, for any reason, under a doctors supervision but in the current structure in sports makes that not the case so therefore any athletes that need it to compete should be penalized appropriately. Make it available for all or none.

# 6 Jadakiss88 @ 07/05/12 02:50 PM

Sonnen dominated Silva for 22 minutes and LOST that's a huge HUGE issue when a sports biggest draw is how fast someone can be knocked out. Please if you haven't seen the fight go back and watch the fight. It is rare for someone to drop over 250 more punches and only take 65 and still win but it happened at going into this fight if Sonnen can't finish Silva, Sonnen will not win...

# 7 redsrule @ 07/05/12 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnBoy227


	All of Silva's wins are against strikers. I know u'll say Henderson is a wrestler, but he's more of a striker in my eyes. Sonnan will win this trust me Silva is not who we think he is.

Okami, Sonnen the first time time, Maia, Leites, are all grapplers first. Even Forrest is a better grappler than striker, he just decides to strike.

# 8 mmathaifighter @ 07/06/12 01:35 AM

Don't forget Travis Lutter is the "Michael Jordan of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu" and Anderson subbed him. Haha...good ole Rogan.

# 9 DBMcGee3 @ 07/06/12 12:26 PM

I think in the first fight, to his credit, Sonnen rocked Silva early on and took advantage of that with relentless ground and pound. I see Silva coming in more focused this time and really utilizing his stand-up advantage. If he can get Sonnen frustrated and/or hurt, those takedown attempts will become predictable and eventually I think he'll catch him with a knee or a choke. Super excited to see this guy mad, should be quite a show either way.

# 10 Gotmadskillzson @ 07/06/12 12:48 PM

Sonnen always had poor sub defense.......Damn near all his loses came from submissions. Hell even Forrest Griffin of all people submitted him back in 2003. Hell even Terry Martin of all people beat his butt. And Jeremy Horn beat him 3 times.

# 11 redsrule @ 07/06/12 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gotmadskillzson


	Sonnen always had poor sub defense.......Damn near all his loses came from submissions. Hell even Forrest Griffin of all people submitted him back in 2003. Hell even Terry Martin of all people beat his butt. And Jeremy Horn beat him 3 times.

Forrest has a great ground game. He just decides to not use it 99% of the time. Terry Martin broke his ribs I believe in that fight, and Jeremy Horn has always had a great sub game too.
He does have like 5 losses via triangle which is awful though.

# 12 darksilver2820 @ 07/08/12 03:30 AM

off by a second? Well done.

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