UFC 148, which took place in Las Vegas last Saturday, is being touted as the biggest event in UFC’s history. For the fighters at the heart of the action, Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva, they are unlikely to fight a comparable match ever again.
Part of the reason is the hype with the two years in the making that the fight generated. After Sonnen came so close to unseating the champion in their first encounter, expectations were heightened that he could pull off something equally miraculous in their second.
Silva’s star status, particularly in his home country, coloured this fight in a way neither fighter will have experienced.
However, it’s true that both their careers are completely different and the significance of their fight will vary for each fighter.
Silva’s history, for starters, is much richer and deeper. He was there in Pride, making a name for himself in Japan while Sonnen languished in much lesser organisations. He entered the UFC and became the middleweight champion while Sonnen spent years struggling in the WEC.
The Brazilian then went on to clean out the middleweight division while Sonnen struggled to put a significant string of victories together.
But fortune and timing set Sonnen up for an encounter with Silva in which he shocked everyone by coming so close to unseating the champion. Not only was this journey-man fighter thrust into contender status, he also simultaneously became the biggest challenge Silva had faced as a champion.
For the two men then, their first encounter proved their toughest test. Sonnen had never fought a man like Silva before, and Silva had never faced a challenger as tough as Sonnen before. The media hype which followed them into their second fight made it the ultimate highlight for both of them.
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