UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen will fall to Anderson Silva at UFC 148 in what will be his second missed attempt to steal the division crown from Silva.
The two fighters will meet July 7 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand to decide who walks away with the UFC middleweight championship in hand, and who goes home with plenty of questions to be answered.
Sonnen and Silva met nearly two years ago in August 2010 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif. Sonnen had Silva right where he wanted him before getting lured into a triangle armbar in the fifth round to lose the championship fight via submission.
Sonnen has made believers out of many, winning his last two fights since the loss to Silva, but meanwhile, his opponent is 14-0 since making his UFC debut in 2006. Silva has defended his middleweight title nine times since he claimed it almost six years ago.
Silva, 37, is fighting on another level and has been since he came to the UFC. Sonnen is a tough fighter and a legitimate challenger in the middleweight division, but his last five losses have all come via submission, showing a glaring weakness in his game.
Silva feasted off Sonnen’s defensive shortcomings in the first meeting at UFC 117, and he’ll do the same when both men meet again this summer.
Silva has only had two of his 14 career UFC fights go to a decision. His knockout power is no joke, and if he doesn’t put Sonnen to sleep on July 7, he will find a way to put him in a compromising position where he is forced to tap.
There is a reason why Anderson Silva is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and on July 7 against Chael Sonnen, he’ll prove it once again.
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