Squirrelfighter

I believe Big Nog said in an interview after the fight that when Silva hugged him before going into the cage he said in his ear, "I'll win by triangle choke." But I may be wrong.

To OP. Its the differene in their grappling styles, as most have said. Sonnen's doube leg is one of the best. Mayhem Miller fought him in the past and said that Sonnen's shot off a punch is almost impossible to sprawl, and Miller's TDD is pretty good.

Maia has used the double and single leg-trip technique before. And with success, but he's far better at the body lock throw, or sweep takedown. Which was almost an impossibility against the guy with the most dangerous Thai clinch in MMA.

Do I think Silva wanted to go to the ground? No. But I think he is a realist and knew Sonnen would put him on his back anyway.

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Dtwizzy2k5

Wrestling is all about setups. Chael set up his incredible shots with good striking on his feet. He landed a lot of punches on Silva standing up which allowed him to set up his takedowns. Maia, on the other hand, didnt stand a chance on his feet and was afraid to even engage with Silva. This is the main reason why he wasnt even able to come close to taking Silva down.
That, and the fact that Sonnen's TDs are way better than Maia's

zarny

It's called wrestling.

AlphaDawg

Derp derp

Sonnen is an NCAA Division I wrestler and an olympic alternate. Maia isn't.

/End thread

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HitOrGetHit

GSP has none of those credentials and is one of the best, if not the best wrestler in MMA today. Past credentials don't prove who is the better MMA wrestler.

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UFC 161 vBookie Competition

mastodon2222

Silva looked off that night to me...granted, Chael has a great shot but I will wait for Silva v. Sonnen II before I make up my mind whether Sonnen can control the fight like he did in their first fight. Silva v. Sonnen II could play out very different.

pacmantyson

that and sonnen is a lot stronger than maia, which has probably already been posted. i'm sure some people will credit that to roids. i don't have an opinion on that.

AlphaDawg

Yup. Sonnen being an NCAA I wrestler and olympic alternate has nothing to do with how good his wrestling is.

I should make a thread next asking why an ADCC champion like Werdum was able to submit Fedor and why Brett Rogers couldn't, because I honestly have no idea.

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mastodon2222

GSP is a freaky exception - the way he throws around Div I All American wrestlers is amazing.

SideWays222

I hope this post was a joke?? Wtf...

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