(L-R) Anderson Silva hits Chael Sonnen with a knee during their UFC middleweight championship bout at UFC 148 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 7, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Donald Miralle for UFC.com)
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White handed out just two “Fight Night” bonuses as part of UFC 148, awarding defending UFC champion Anderson Silva, as well as to co-main event combatants Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz an extra $75,000 for their efforts.
“Knockout of the Night” went to Silva, while “Fight of the Night” went to Griffin vs. Ortiz, and with no submission win on the card, no “Submission of the Night” was awarded.
UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II went down at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with bouts airing live on pay-per-view, FX television, and via streaming video on the web.
White also announced an attendance of 15,016 through the gates for a total of approx. $7 million, which sets a new “live gate” record for a UFC event in the United States.
Earning “Knockout of the Night” was UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who only needed two rounds to finish Chael Sonnen instead of five from their first meeting almost two years ago. After spending almost the entire first round on his back after a Sonnen take down, ‘The Spider’ was able to stuff his opponents attempts in the second round and was able to open up with his striking. After a failed spinning back-fist by Sonnen, which left him slipping and falling to the mat, Silva rushed in landing a knee to the mid-section spelling the end. Silva would follow that up with punches from the top, leaving a curled up Sonnen helpless until the referee stepped in.
Their trilogy-bout in the books, and ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s’ career riding off into the sunset, “Fight of the Night” went to Griffin and Ortiz for their three-round performance. Griffin would land a more significant number of strikes in the rematch, throwing close to forty-two leg kicks (FightMetric.com says 15 landed but during the broadcast it said something like 42) too Ortiz’s two in the fight. Ortiz did land a couple of heavy hands to Griffin’s chin, sending the first TUF winner to the mat twice. In the end the judges would see it for Griffin who earned scores of 29-28 across the board for a unanimous decision win.