UFC 117 is complete and all I can say is WOW!!  Sonnen talked a lot of smack leading up to his match against Silva and many people said “yea, right like he has a  chance”. Many thought Sonnen was just trying to get in Silvas head, some even said “well, he has got a chance” while still thinking in the back of their minds Silva will destroy Sonnen. What many people did not realize is that Sonnen meant what he was saying, Sonnen talked the talk, and tonight, he walked the walk. 

Sonnen came prepared and once he got Silva in the cage, he backed the talk up for four and a half rounds. Sonnen landed more shots in the first round then Silva has taken in his entire UFC career. Unfortunately for Sonnen, we found out that Silva has a ton of heart and was able to fight through the adversity. The champion managed to sink in a triangle choke that forced Sonnen to tap out in the fifth round.

It was a spectacular performance by Chael Sonnen and for the first time Silva did not look unstoppable. Chael Sonnen made a mistake towards the end and Silva capitalized on it. I can only imagine how Sonnen must feel losing when he was only minutes away from a victory. I would have no problem if the UFC gave Sonnen an immediate rematch but for now it looks as if we will have to wait until after Vitor Belfort gets his already promised shot at the champion.

 

Silva speaking after securing the victory.  ”Chael had a hell of a fight tonight, I knew that I was losing the first four rounds.” 

Sonnen had this to say about his loss  ”It was a tough fight, he’s a tough guy. I came in second. What can I say? They gave me my chance and I came up short.”

 

Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves entered the octagon in a rematch from 2006 to determine who would be the top contender and get a shot at the 170lb gold after the scheduled GSP vs Koschek  matchup..

Fitch did what he had to do, taking down Alves and eliminating the ability of Alves to work his superior stand up skills. Fitch worked for a few submissions but was never able to end the fight. Fitch never really hurt Alves, but he clearly dominated where the fight took place and earned a unanimous decision victory .

Clay Guida, was as always the energizer bunny, he bounced in and out while keeping a furious pace against  Rafael dos Anjos until he was able to make the Brazilian tapout midway through the final round.  The tapout was not from a submission by Guida  but appeared to be from a combination of the constant Guida pressure and that Anjos may have had his jaw broken in the 1st round, basically dos Anjos quit.

UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes was out to prove that he still has what it takes to remain relevant in the welterweight division, taking on  Ricardo Almeida a world class Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt .

Hughes proved his point, instead of immediately trying to get a takedown he came out looking to work a striking game and caught the ”Big Dog” with a short left in the first round that sent Almeida to the canvas.  Hughes quickly moved in and secured a north-south choke and about twenty five seconds later Almeida was asleep dreaming of happier days. It was nice to see Matt Hughes back in full form winning in a fight that many expected for him to lose.

Junior dos Santos and Roy Nelson met in the center of the octagon to determine who would face off against the winner of the  upcoming bout between UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and undefeated Cain Velasquez later this year.

Dos Santos came out and landed some big shots on ”Big Country” early and often.  He had a vicious uppercut that connected on Nelson’s jaw on numerous occassions.

Nelson survived and proved to all that he can take a shot and I doubt anyone will doubt his heart or the strength of his chin anytime soon.  Nelson was looking for a one-punch knockout and fired off big shots when he wasn’t getting pummeled by Santos but he just didn’t have the speed, skillset, or conditioning to pull off a victory. Santos was unable to finish Nelson but went on to win a definitive unanimous decision victory.

Read More about Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos

In preliminary action, Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve got back to his winning ways. After having his lower lip nearly seperated from his mouth in the first round, Struve came out in the second with a come from behind knockout of Christian Morecraft.

Special fight bonuses for UFC 117:

Each of the fighters below received $60,000 extra for their performances in addition to their  base salary.

Fight of the Night — Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

2 Submission of the Nights — Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes

Knockout of the Night — Stefan Struve

Great event, it was nice to see Anderson Silva actually in a fight for the first time in his UFC career, both him and Sonnen won me over as a fan.

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