At UFC 300, a momentous announcement was made. The first epic clash between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen from UFC 117 is set to etch its name in the annals of UFC history. This legendary bout will be enshrined in the prestigious UFC Hall of Fame, joining the elite ranks of the Fight Wing.
Taking place as the main event of UFC 117, the contest took place on August 7, 2010, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, and saw Silva defend his UFC Middleweight Title against Sonnen. Going into the fight, Silva (28-4) was considered one of the best fighters in the world. He won the UFC Middleweight strap in 2006 at UFC 64 by knocking out Rich Franklin. He had already successfully defended it against Nate Marquardt, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Patrick Cote, Thaies Leites and Damain Maia. Silva was favoured over Sonnen, but no previous challenger to Silva had ever trashed talk of “The Spider” like this. He came into the fight with a 26-10-1 record and was fresh from a win over Nate Marquardt, which was named the UFC 109 Fight of the Night.
The Silva/Sonnen contest was the Fight of the Night, with Silva successfully retaining the championship by submitting Sonnen in the fifth round via a triangle armbar. It was an instant classic, and even in defeat, Sonnen was cemented as a star. Although Sonnen never won a title in the UFC, he did participate in several main events.
Silva successfully defended his UFC Middleweight Title twice more, winning against Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami before defeating Sonnen again at UFC 148. It was not until 2013 that he lost his championship when he was knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen for this impending accolade.
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