Sonnen & Florian’s ‘keys to the fight’

During last nights episode of ‘UFC Tonight’ on Fuel TV, analysts Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen gave their take on this weekend’s UFC middlweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman:

Kenny Florian on how Weidman can win the fight: “Weidman can legitimately win this fight. If you look at his style and the problems he can present to Anderson. He’s not only a wrestler, but he can strike, as Mark Munoz found out. If he gets you on the ground, he has some lovely attacks with his D’arce choke and his guillotine choke. He sets it up as his opponent tries to get back to his guard and back to his feet.”

Sonnen on fighting Anderson Silva: “I had over 30 good, positive minutes in there with Anderson Silva. But the one thing I found out the hard way is you cannot take your eye off the ball. You cannot relax. He’s too dangerous. He has so many tricks in the bag. He can catch you at any time. Chris Weidman, above all else, just needs to stay focused, stay in the moment, stay in position, and take it one second, one minute and one round at a time.”

Florian on Silva’s keys to the fight: “The key is his lateral movement. He needs to circle away from that pressure like he did against Okami. He’s going to have to use his classic faints and fakes and Chris Weidman needs to be careful going forward. Anderson has used the cage so well, which allows him to prevent the takedowns. You give Anderson Silva one opening and he can take advantage of it. He’s able to create something out of nothing.”

Sonnen on Weidman’s keys to victory over Silva: “If Weidman wants to have success, he needs to use pressure. He needs to come forward, close the distance and get his hands on him. He drags his opponents down for as many minutes and as many rounds as they’re in there. When he goes for takedowns, he always hides them with punches first. He’s good with ground and pound, he’s able to pass the guard and he’s able to look for those submissions.”