Fightplan: How Sonnen Can Beat Silva

On Saturday night the self proclaimed fastest white man in the world will challenge Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the UFC middleweight championship of the world.  Sonnen has a huge mountain to climb, but it can be done.

First and foremost, Sonnen has to make Silva respect him in the stand up game.  Chael has to keep his hands high, throw a lot of leg kicks and use a lot of head movement.  The Politician from Oregon should counter Anderson’s straight punches with some hooks and uppercuts.  He really needs to mix up his punches against The Spider to keep the champion guessing a bit.  Once he gets Silva a little off balance and going backwards Sonnen can go for takedowns.  Once Chael gets the takedown, the ground game should be all about control and patience.

Here is a detailed account of what the whole fight should look like.

As soon as the bell rings Sonnen needs to attack Silva and get him back pedaling.  Chael needs to keep his hands high or he will get picked apart.  Mix up his combinations.  For Example:  1) Lead uppercut followed by a straight left and a back leg roundhouse kick.  2) Straight left , right hook, left uppercut and a front push kick.  3) Superman punch off the lead hand, back leg roundhouse kick, lead leg push kick.  4) Feint the jab, right hook, back leg head kick.  5)  Double jab, right hook, pivot, straight left, body kick.  Keep constant pressure on Silva, slip/block his shots and use punch/kick combinations to set up the takedown.  Once the fight hits the mat, land some ground and pound but stay very controlled and patient.  The ground attack should be all about controlling position and keeping Anderson Silva on his back for the majority of the match.

If the fastest white man alive can implement this game plan he has an excellent chance of pulling off the upset.

I don’t think it will happen.  Chael Sonnen will be super aggressive and either get sloppy on his feet or on the ground.  The fight will end by knockout or submission somewhere in the middle of the fight and Anderson Silva will get his hand raised.