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<h3><a href="/go=news.detail&gid=440409" target="_blank">
Sonnen: Takedowns key to Weidman winning
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<p>Chael Sonnen was one round away from beating Anderson Silva in their first match, and he won the first four rounds using takedowns, which he believes is the key to Chris Weidman having success in his rematch with Anderson Silva:</p>
UFC TONIGHT Host Chael Sonnen on Silva vs. Weidman: “Anderson Silva is the favorite in this fight. You could say in the last one he got caught. What people miss, he was getting dominated before the knockout in the last one. Anderson has a big gap to close.”
UFC TONIGHT Host Kenny Florian on Anderson Silva’s keys to victory at UFC 168: “Anderson needs to go back to what he knows. He’s got to be on his wrestling game and to keep the range. Leg kicks from the outside will help him keep the range. If he does get taken down, he’s got to work from the bottom, or get back to his feet. And he can’t be cocky.”
Sonnen on Weidman’s keys to victories: “It’s the takedowns. He was a college all-American in wrestling. He’s got to move forward, he can’t back up. He’s got to land the takedown, and have ground control. He’s got to look for a submission, but watch out for Silva’s submission attempts.”
Sonnen on Silva’s clowning: “That’s how he sets you up. He’s like the Medusa; he freezes you and gets you to turn to stone, then knocks you out. He did that to stop the take downs in the first fight.”
Silva is probably going to clown again this fight. People are going to think he's not taking things seriously but this is one of the main ways he can keep the fight standing. ... by trying to provoke
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
He'll drop his hands for sure but I doubt he's gonna fake the stanky leg again. This time he'll actually counterstrike when he dodges Weidman's punch instead of playing some sort of knockout tag with no offense.
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
He'll drop his hands for sure but I doubt he's gonna fake the stanky leg again. This time he'll actually counterstrike when he dodges Weidman's punch instead of playing some sort of knockout tag with no offense.
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
He'll drop his hands for sure but I doubt he's gonna fake the stanky leg again. This time he'll actually counterstrike when he dodges Weidman's punch instead of playing some sort of knockout tag with no offense.
Fake the stanky leg?
Yeah, if you re-watch the fight. Slightly before the punch that puts him down, he gets hit and fakes the stanky leg...
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
He'll drop his hands for sure but I doubt he's gonna fake the stanky leg again. This time he'll actually counterstrike when he dodges Weidman's punch instead of playing some sort of knockout tag with no offense.
I'm a Weidman fan and I thought he was gassing too. He sure seemed to be. Could've been ring rust but when he tried to take Anderson down twice, failed and seemed tired I thought that was it.
I hope he doesn't try to stand with Anderson like that again. I don't think Anderson will go so overboard with the clowning this time. I think he can sub Anderson on the ground with less danger.
You honestly think they werent both gassed? Haha I am not a fan of either one, but when they both stood up out of that heel hook, they were both tired. Chris made it happen and kept going, good for him.
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
I'm actually a big believer in the whole mystique aspect that some fighters get. When you're so dominant for so long, you develop this "aura" of invincibility - you can see that opponents are already mentally defeated.
Look at a prime Chuck. During his reign, he knocked out every dude he fought. Every one. It was just common knowledge that if you stand with Chuck, you're gonna get dropped. You can see the desperation with which fighters are trying to close distance and take him down because they don't want to stand with him. This, in turn, gives Chuck and even greater advantage on the feet because they're not even really trying to fight him there.
Same with GSP. People bitch about boring fights, but his opponents are typically just as much at fault. You can see fights like Koscheck or Shields where they are clearly in there trying to simply survive - to not get dominated like everyone else.
Once that aura is gone, it's hard to get back. Guys like Chuck and Fedor - once they lost, it was downhill. Fighters didn't fear them like they did before. That makes a big impact on the mental game.
Not only that, but we've seen it plenty in MMA and boxing: Once a guy, no matter how good his chin was before, gets brutally knocked out like that, he usually gets brutally knocked out again.
As great as Silva's chin was, I think Weidman cracked it. I see Chris getting the early takedown, landing some GNP, boucing Silva's head off the mat a few times until he is out. Once you get KO'd like that, you're never the same.
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
He'll drop his hands for sure but I doubt he's gonna fake the stanky leg again. This time he'll actually counterstrike when he dodges Weidman's punch instead of playing some sort of knockout tag with no offense.
maxbrothersinc - Silva will clown again. It's his thing and the key to winning this fight. Question is, since he go KOed, will it have less of an effect and mystique?
I'm actually a big believer in the whole mystique aspect that some fighters get. When you're so dominant for so long, you develop this "aura" of invincibility - you can see that opponents are already mentally defeated.
Look at a prime Chuck. During his reign, he knocked out every dude he fought. Every one. It was just common knowledge that if you stand with Chuck, you're gonna get dropped. You can see the desperation with which fighters are trying to close distance and take him down because they don't want to stand with him. This, in turn, gives Chuck and even greater advantage on the feet because they're not even really trying to fight him there.
Same with GSP. People bitch about boring fights, but his opponents are typically just as much at fault. You can see fights like Koscheck or Shields where they are clearly in there trying to simply survive - to not get dominated like everyone else.
Once that aura is gone, it's hard to get back. Guys like Chuck and Fedor - once they lost, it was downhill. Fighters didn't fear them like they did before. That makes a big impact on the mental game.
