UFC 148 Results
Photo by Paul Hernandez
UFC 148 Results: Anderson Silva KOs Chael Sonnen
By David A Avila
Revenge is a dessert served best with a knee to the chest.
That’s what Anderson “Spyder” Silva thought best when defeating Chael Sonnen in their rematch on Saturday July 7, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
After weeks of taunts and angry statements tossed at each other Brazil’s Silva (30-4) showed fans why he’s the middleweight world champion at UFC 148 and Sonnen (28-12-1) is not. At least on Saturday night.
Oregon’s Sonnen repeated his ground supremacy in the first round, but the following stanza Silva found a loophole and obliterated the brash American with a knee to the chest after he missed with a back fist and fell.
No mistakes allowed when fighting Silva.
Sonnen was able to take down Silva in their second match just like he did in their first encounter. And when he did put Silva on his back the ground and pound was successful in winning him the round. It seemed like a rerun.
The second round proved to be far different. Silva was able to avoid a take down and while Sonnen maneuvered and fired a back fist, he stumbled to the floor near the cage and paid dearly for that error with a breathtaking knee to the chest. A blur of punches followed and referee Yves Levigne stopped the fight at 1:55 of round two.
Sonnen became the 10th consecutive victim for Silva’s reign as UFC middleweight champion and perhaps the best fighter pound for pound in mixed martial arts.
“I want everyone to applaud Chael,” said Silva to the crowd after the fight.
Sonnen was gracious in defeat.
“Hats off to the champion,” Sonnen said.
Griffin beats Ortiz
Forrest Griffin proved busier and more effective against Tito Ortiz and sent the MMA great with a loss in his final fight. The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is retiring after a long crowd pleasing career.
“I’ve been doing this for 15 years,” Ortiz (17-11-1) said.
Ortiz had his moments in the fight but was unable to sustain the initial burst of energy needed to defeat Griffin. In the end, the judges scored it 29-28 on all three cards for Griffin.
“I felt like we had three draws,” Griffin (19-7) said after the fight. It was their third meeting in the Octagon and all were close battles.
Other bouts
Cung Le (8-2) beat Patrick Cote (18-8) by unanimous decision.
Demian Maia (16-4) stopped Dong Hyun-Kim (15-2-1) in 47 seconds of round one.
Chad Mendes (12-1) knocked out Cody McKenzie (13-3) in 31 seconds of round one with a body shot.
Mike Easton (13-1) beat Ivan Menjivar (24-9) by unanimous decision in a lackluster bantamweight fight.
