Chael Sonnen thinks he would’ve defeated Anderson Silva by decision on Saturday if their exhibition boxing match had traditional scoring.
After years away from competition, Sonnen ventured into the boxing ring for an exhibition fight against longtime rival Silva, who was participating in what would be his combat sports farewell in Brazil.
It turned out to be a glorified sparring match, with Sonnen and Silva trading light shots to the head and body over five, two-minute rounds. The exhibition had no judges, so after time expired it was deemed a draw and both men had their hands raised. Sonnen acted surprised by the outcome and played ignorant to the lack of judging, then afterward told the media he thought he deserved to win.
“I thought I won the first three rounds,” Sonnen told reporters in a post-fight scrum (H/T: MMAFighting.com). “He let me win the first one. He always lets me win the first round. That’s like one of his strategies. He feels you out. He lets everybody win the first round. And I did the same thing in Rounds 2 and 3 that I did in the first round. But I slipped somewhere in the fourth round, then they brought the doctor in at some point because I had a bloody nose or something. It’s like, come on. You’re making this look way worse than it is. It’s three rounds to two. I thought I won that fight.”
Despite being a different sport and ruleset than previous meetings, Saturday’s matchup marked the third combat sports encounter between storied rivals Sonnen and Silva.
Silva defeated Sonnen by fifth-round submission at UFC 117 in August 2010 to defend his UFC middleweight title in a bout that will be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame fight wing later this month.
They would have a rematch at UFC 148 in July 2012, which Silva won by second-round TKO. It’s been more than a dozen years since then, but Sonnen said he’s hung on to the results of those two fights, and is proud this one was less definitive.
“The last two fights, whether I like it or not, were stoppage losses,” Sonnen said. “So a draw is a big step in the right direction. On the other hand, of the six completed rounds I’ve had with Anderson Silva, I won all six. He has never won a round against me. That’s a reality. Tonight he won rounds. Big deal for me to get a draw – big deal for him to win a round.”
According to Sonnen, this venture into the boxing ring will not be a one-off. The 47-year-old said a boxing match with Jorge Masvidal is in his future once Masvidal has his showdown with Nate Diaz on July 6, and Sonnen was pleased to get some experience under his belt before that happens.
“I’m boxing Jorge Masvidal,” Sonnen said. “I got called out for that fight. I agreed for that fight. This was all part of the training process, and I learned some stuff tonight.”
