Anderson Silva‘s dominating run continued at UFC 148, as he defeated Chael Sonnen by second-round TKO to defend his UFC middleweight championship at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
After a slow first round, Silva rocked Sonnen with a knee to the body early in the second. Sonnen appeared to recover, but Silva attacked him again on the ground, raining down a series of vicious punches before the referee stopped the fight.
The victory is Silva’s 16th in a row dating back to 2006 and second over Sonnen during that span. He previously defeated the 35-year-old American two years ago in a thrilling bout that fueled interest in Saturday’s rematch.
Silva continues to amaze by fighting at such a high level for so long. By 37, most fighters are starting to break down from all the wear and tear of a long career, but Silva just continues to dominate, beating every challenger thrown his way.
It’s not like he’s beating up on no-name fighters, either. Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort and Sonnen are among his recent wins. He’s now held the middleweight title for nearly six years, asserting his dominance over the otherwise competitive division.
Now Silva just has to sit back and wait for a new top contender to emerge. He really has nothing left to prove to Sonnen or any of the other fighters he’s recently defeated, so hopefully a fresh face can step up and provide a true test for him.
On the flip side, it’s a disappointing result for Sonnen to say the least. He controlled a large portion of the first bout between the two but was forced to submit in the final round. He later failed a post-fight test due to high levels of testosterone (h/t Josh Gross, SI.com).
After returning from suspension he defeated Brian Stann and Michael Bisping to earn another chance at Silva. It was an opportunity for him to prove his terrific performance in the first fight wasn’t a fluke, but he couldn’t get the job done.
His career record still stands at an impressive 27-12-1 and he has been able to handle all of his mid-tier opponents. Whenever he attempts to step up to that next level, however, he hasn’t had what it takes to get over the hump.
While Sonnen heads back to the drawing board, Silva can celebrate another victory. He’ll lose the title eventually, it just didn’t happen on Saturday night.
And, judging by his performance, it might not happen any time soon.
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