Carving a legacy as the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, it’s fair to say that Anderson Silva has had countless big wins in his career, but his last victory, a knockout of his arch nemesis and biggest money-making opponent, Chael Sonnen might have been the sweetest.
Sonnen came tantalizingly close to dethroning the UFC middleweight king in their first meeting at UFC 117.
The champion was taken down and beaten up for four rounds but when the self-proclaimed American Gangster took a breather with literally minutes on the clock, he paid for it. Silva cranked on a triangle armbar that forced the end of the fight and elicited arguably the biggest ovation in the sport’s history.
At UFC 148 they went back to the well one more time. In the near two years that had followed Sonnen had insulted his friends, his Country and did anything to get the champ’s attention.
It began looking like a severe case of deja-vu, Sonnen reverting back to his bread-and-butter scored the takedown and went to work with his ground-and-pound, dominately taking the first frame. The second frame was a different story, after his takedown attempts being fenced off Sonnen threw a spinning back elbow, a move not typical in the Oregan-native’s arsenal. Fatal mistake.
Silva pounced with a knee to Sonnen’s face before unloading with a series of unanswered strikes before referee Yves Lavigne was forced to step in and call a halt to the action.
Tomorrow night he enters a fight that he has to win. Everybody expects Stephan Bonnar to be obliterated by the 185-pound king, the slightest slip on a banana peel and we could have the biggest upset in this sport’s young history.
