By TXMMA Staff | Photo by UFC.com via Getty Images
American Gangster Chael Sonnen shows he still has life left in UFC on Fight Night 26 main event win
BOSTON, MA, August 19, 2013 – In arguably his best performance in years, Chael Sonnen proves he has more than wrestling in his ground game with a first-round submission victory over former UFC lightweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
The two would trade barbs in a back-and-forth first round that saw Sonnen gain and maintain top position while Shogun defended well for the most part until leaving a late round opening that ended with him tapping out from a guillotine choke at the 4:47 mark of round one.
Chael now moves to 1-0 since challenging Jon Jones and Anderson Silva consecutively in back-to-back title fights.
Sonnen wasted no time taking the helm on his career future after the fight.
Getting on the microphone with Joe Rogan, Chael first dedicated the win to his grandmother who is battling cancer before immediately calling out would-be rival Wanderlei Silva.
“Right here on the UFC’s new home, FOX Sports 1, Wanderlei Silva, 6 feet tall and 205 pounds,” Chael said in classic fashion. “Boy, until I met you, I didn’t know they could stack crap that high.”
Check out the full video below.
Travis Browne upsets Alistair Overeem in heavyweight showdown
In the co-main event of the evening at UFC Fight Night 26, Hawaiian heavyweight Travis Browne was able to cover up from the rain of strikes that befell him from Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem before catching him late with a front kick that would have made Adam Vinatieri proud.
The bout was stopped immediately at 4:08 in the first round with Browne now moving to 15-1-1 with an impressive 11 KO/TKO finishes while Overeem now has falls victim via disappointing KO finish for the second time in a row with his last being to Antonio Silva this past February.
With this win Travis now wins his second in a row since suffering his first and only loss to Antonio Silva back in October 2012.
Results from the rest of the UFC Fight Night 26 Main Card
Elsewhere on the card Urijah Faber overcame a tough first round against Brazilian Yuri Alcantara to grind out the win two rounds to one in his main card bout. “The Immortal” Matt Brown scored the KO of the night in just 29 seconds over Mike Pyle to win his sixth straight in the UFC while former TUF reality star Uriah Hall disappointed in losing to John Howard while Michael Johnson was able to pick up a win over veteran Joe Lauzon to complete the UFC Fight Night 26 main card offering.
Here are complete results from the full night of action at UFC Fight Night 26 below.
UFC Fight Night 26 – Quick Results
UFC Fight Night 26 – Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Chael Sonnen def. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:47, R1
Travis Browne def. Alistair Overeem by TKO at 4:08, R1
Urijah Faber def. Yuri Alcantara by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Matt Brown def. Mike Pyle by KO at 0:29, R1
John Howard def. Uriah Hall by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Michael Johnson def. Joe Lauzon by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
UFC Fight Night 26 – Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Michael McDonald def. Brad Pickett by submission (triangle choke) at 3:43, R2
Conor McGregor def. Max Holloway by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Steven Siler def. Mike Brown by KO at 0:15, R1
Diego Brandao def. Daniel Pineda by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC Fight Night 26 – Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Manny Gamburyan def. Cole Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Ovince St. Preux def. Cody Donovan by TKO at 2:07, R1
James Vick def. Ramsey Nijem by submission (guillotine choke at 0:58, R1