It’s August 10th, 2010. Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen collide for the UFC middleweight title at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. On one side, there’s the current middleweight UFC champion Anderson Silva, who’s currently on an 11-fight win streak in the UFC. He beat numerous MMA legends like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin as well as Rich Franklin.
On the other side, there’s the underdog and the number 1 title contender, Chael Sonnen, who has a 26-10-1 record and has beaten famous MMA fighters like Paulo Filho, Nate Marquardt, and Jason Lambert.
The legendary Bruce Buffer announces this UFC 117 main event, and the crowd is on their feet. The fight begins, and Sonnen establishes dominance with his high-level wrestling and vicious ground and pound. From round 1 up until round 4, according to the judges (40-34, 40-35. 40-36), Sonnen was winning the fight.
Then came round 5. At the start of the fifth round, Sonnen knocks down “The Spider” Silva with a ferocious overhand left. Forty-five seconds after the beginning of the round, Sonnen tries to submit Silva with a side choke, but the Brazilian manages to free himself from the American. With 2 minutes left in the round, Silva lands a couple of punches while on his back and gets Sonnen into a triangle armbar. Then, with 1:50 seconds left on the clock, Sonnen taps, and Silva retains his UFC middleweight title.
Silva’s submission of Sonnen is possibly one of the greatest comeback submissions in the history of the UFC. At UFC 300, there was an announcement that this clash between Sonnen and Silva will be inducted into UFC’s Hall of Fame in June 2024.
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