Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen throwing hands in a boxing ring was never going to look like Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward but the old foes seemed resigned to engage in a glorified sparring session during their boxing exhibition on Saturday.
In a matchup billed as Silva’s final fight in his native Brazil, he still showed off some speed and skill but it didn’t appear that he was going for the kill. Sonnen did his best to hang with the better boxer but really this was two old school legends spending five rounds in the ring together to put on a show.
Because it was an exhibition, there was no winner with both fighters getting their hand raised when it was over.
From the very start, it was clear the once heated rivals were really just having some fun in there. Sonnen’s game plan involved trying to bully Silva around the ring and in return, the Brazilian was snapping off his punches with speed but not much power.
Again and again, Sonnen marched forward but he wasn’t doing much damage offensively. As for Silva, he was sticking a right jab in Sonnen’s face and then circling away as the longtime rivals continued trading shots.
Silva got a little busier as the fight moved into the third round as he opened with several quick combinations as Sonnen ducked his head and covered up to prevent absorbing any serious damage. At times, Silva did set up a good lead jab with his left and followed up with a right behind it but there wasn’t much rhythm as he continued to let Sonnen hang around.
Sonnen did his best to close the distance to use his size to wear down Silva but the Brazilian was still defending well and then firing back on the inside with the more effective punches.
In the fourth, Silva started dancing a bit more, bouncing on his feet and tossing jabs and hooks without really putting any power behind it. His best punch came with a stinging uppercut that appeared to catch Sonnen off guard but it still wasn’t enough to actually rattle the multi-time UFC title challenger.
The pitter-patter shots continued from both fighters as time ticked away in the final round, although Silva did manage to do enough damage to cause some blood come leaking out of Sonnen’s nose. Silva was content to circle away and then launch several punches in succession as both fighters celebrated after the final bell sounded.
Nobody expected a pair of fighters nearing 50 to go in the ring and just slug it out but Silva was able to spend five rounds in the ring with a rival turned friend and also share a card with his son, who picked up a win earlier in the night.
Silva teased his next fight later this year with the location likely set in Abu Dhabi but he hasn’t revealed the opponent just yet. As for Sonnen, he’ll likely return to the broadcast booth before hanging up his gloves for good.