UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen 2
When Anderson Silva first faced Chael Sonnen, it was the perfect storm of promotion. Silva had been nearly untouchable for several years, even moving up to light-heavyweight to destroy elite competition. Sonnen was the blue collar wrestler, at the time still a politician while also training for the bout.
Most importantly, Sonnen’s infamous trash talk took advantage of the rising age of social media. YouTube was expanding at an incredible rate, and Sonnen’s soundbites would make the rounds across the web. Sonnen was at right place at the right time in the sport, and the viral nature of his comments raised his profile to the point that he is still one of the biggest stars in MMA despite being only 1-4 in the past five years.
The first match lived up to the hype. Sonnen dominated Silva like no one else had before for over twenty-two minutes. Silva showed his championship mettle and sank a hail-mary triangle choke in the final round to retain his belt. Anticipation for the rematch skyrocketed. Silva was less passive in interviews against the challenger and Sonnen upped his game in taunting the champion.
Things reached a fever pitch when the two finally collided for a second time. Sonnen came out and dominated the first round as he had in their first encounter, leaving many wondering if he would complete the job he began years prior. In the second, Silva stifled the challenger’s takedown attempts. He then found some of the familiar magic that made him the best of all time, avoiding Sonnen on the feet and frustrating him to go for a desperate spinning back-fist.
Silva avoided it calmly and sent Sonnen tumbling to the floor. In a brief sequence, Silva finished the fight and secured the biggest victory of his career. The event did amazing numbers, going down as one of the most successful cards in UFC history.
Anderson Silva had been dominant for several years. He had beaten several legends in his career and spearheaded the UFCs return to Brazil where he defended his title. But UFC 148 stands as the biggest night in the legacy of “The Spider.” He had destroyed his biggest rival and left the entire world wondering when a challenger would arrive who could finally defeat him.
