Chael Sonnen dominates Anderson Silva for nearly this entire bout. “Is it too early for Chael to start celebrating,” Joe Rogans asks rather rhetorically after the wrestler scores yet another takedown near the start of the fifth and final round. At that point, a victory seems inevitable.

“You know what; you could never count out a guy like Anderson Silva,” the commentator ponders as Sonnen continues to win the fight, “Let’s see how much he’s got left; what kind of weapons he can pull out of his arsenal.” Those are words that, in hindsight, would stand among Rogan’s wisest.

What Silva pulls out is a triangle (“Triangle!”) choke with just two minutes left on the clock. Sonnen struggles to free himself but eventually taps; it takes a video replay to confirm it; which must be devastating for him. Silva, now 12 and 0, remains champ by the slimest of margins.

my rating : 4 of 5

2010

video review : Anderson Silva versus Chael Sonnen at UFC 148