MMA Addict

August 7, 2010. UFC 117. Watch Anderson Silva’s hand 19 seconds into this clip. With just 2:35 separating him from his first UFC loss, a simple grab of Chael Sonnen’s wrist sets up one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Anderson Silva was the reason I fell in love with MMA years earlier. I was a diehard fan of The Spider, and watching him fight felt like watching someone who had mastered a sport nobody else had completely figured out. Then came Chael Sonnen. Months of some of the greatest trash talk in sports history, followed by nearly five rounds of backing up every word. 19 minutes and 53 seconds of control time. 320 strikes to Anderson’s 64. Anderson’s legendary UFC run was just 110 seconds away from ending in one of the most dominant upsets in MMA history. And then, the ‘Hail Mary’ of triangles. I was in high school, and I just remember running around my house like an absolute lunatic. But then came the confusion over whether Chael had actually tapped. But I’ll never forget reading Chael’s lips as Josh Rosenthal explained the stoppage. “I believe you.” After 23 minutes of being dominated, Anderson somehow found a way. Some sporting moments you remember for what happened and others for how they made you feel. I’ll never forget how this one made me feel. Peak sports.