For the better part of five rounds, Chael Sonnen did exactly what he said he was going to do to Anderson Silva, but in a split second, the middleweight king turned the tables.
Stuck underneath the gritty Sonnen, Silva secured a textbook triangle choke and submitted the challenger 3 minutes, 10 seconds into the fifth round of their UFC 117 main event Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Sonnen tapped only once, but it was enough to get the attention of referee Josh Rosenthal, who moved in and halted the bout.
Sonnen clearly won the first four rounds and started with a bang, as he rattled Silva with a straight left hand mere minutes into the match. From there, he controlled the embattled champion with stifling top control and wide-ranging strikes on the ground: punches, hammerfists, elbows and slaps to the ears.
As the two middleweights entered Round 5, the heavily favored champion found himself in an unfamiliar state of desperation, needing a stoppage to retain his title.
With his foe grinding away on top, Silva deftly slid the choke into place. Sonnen tried unsuccessfully to counter the hold but, with no means of escape, surrendered with less than half a round remaining in the fight.
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