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Anderson Silva’s submission of Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 was one of those iconic finishes that happens maybe one time in a fighter’s career. Silva, less than 200 seconds away from sure defeat, latched on a fight ending triangle choke. By doing so, he improved to 27-4 as a professional, extended the record for consecutive victories in the UFC to 12, and extended the record for consecutive title defenses to seven. For whatever reason, instead of just rewinding and reliving that epic moment in sports history, a vocal grouping of fans want Silva to get in the cage and actually do it again.
By no stretch of the imagination does Chael Sonnen’s 23 minute domination of the UFC Middleweight Champion mandate an immediate rematch. He had a brilliant performance, but the one thing Sonnen couldn’t do to Anderson Silva in those 23 minutes (and there was only one thing he couldn’t do) was finish him. A full 25 minute championship fight is far too long to dance with “The Spider” without getting caught in his web, and eventually Sonnen did, and he himself got submitted. Immediate rematches should be reserved for fights ended either by premature stoppage or an unfathomable decision, not simply because of a good performance before getting stopped.
The UFC’s capitulation to the will of their fanbase is often admirable, but it has certainly groomed a legion of spoiled devotees. Apparently fight finishes no longer please the audience, and only the most dominant of performances will satiate the desires of today's MMA fan. Ironically, fans unsatisfied with Silva’s finish of Chael Sonnen are likely the fans unsatisfied with the supremely dominant performances of UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, which have failed to turn up finishes as of late.
Demand for an automatic rematch for Chael Sonnen, while respectful of Sonnen’s performance, is equally disrespectful of Silva’s comeback. Sonnen, before the fight, questioned the legitimacy of a black belt from the Nogueira brothers, and Silva upheld the integrity of a Nogueira black belt in the only way one truly can -- by absorbing an obscene amount of damage and snatching a victory from the jaws of defeat. I personally shudder to think what might have happened to the brain of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira if matchmakers would have decided to demand immediate repeat performances of vintage Nogueira victories just for kicks.
Chael Sonnen’s performance should keep him on the short list of men willing and able to compete with Anderson Silva in the middleweight division, but by no means does getting submitted in dramatic fashion earn Sonnen yet another championship opportunity. Perhaps one more victory over a contender could justify Sonnen a sixth round against Silva, but unless the UFC decides it wants to take a page out of Strikeforce’s playbook, an actual immediate rematch being decided by pure interest and appeal would somewhat tarnish the championship integrity that the UFC has worked so hard to cultivate over the years.
The outcome of the UFC 117 main event was in no way similar to the debatable decision victory awarded to Frankie Edgar earlier this year or the outright robbery of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua last year. Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen decided their fates within the 25 minutes demanded of them, and one fighter came out victorious. To put that aside entirely and focus on the entertainment that a second Silva-Sonnen bout could bring would be a dangerous precedent for the UFC to set and a giant step in the wrong direction.
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