UFC 117 recap: Silva retains title in one of the greatest comebacks of all time

By MIKE JOHNSTON

Wow! MMA fans across Canada watched in shock as Chael Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva for nearly 25 minutes before appearing to tap due to a late triangle choke, at 3:10 of the fifth round, in what will be considered one of the best fights in recent years. To many people’s surprise Sonnen rocked Silva on the feet early in the first round and dominated action for four and-a-half rounds. However, with less than two minutes remaining in the five-round war Silva locked in a triangle and Sonnen barely tapped once, enough for the referee to stop the bout. This will certainly go down as the best comeback in UFC Championship history and one of the best of all time.

In the co-main event, Jon Fitch proved why he is the undisputed second best welterweight in the world by grinding out a patented unanimous decision victory over Thiago Alves. Alves couldn’t muster anything effective on the feet and was taken down by Fitch in all three rounds. Fitch showed great control and followed his corner’s directions meticulously on route to his fourth straight win. In all likelihood, Fitch’s next bout will be for the welterweight championship.

Opening the night was an exciting heavyweight contender bout between Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson that surprisingly went the distance. Dos Santos won a unanimous decision by picking Nelson apart for three rounds. The fight looked like it was going to be finished in the first round when the Brazilian rocked ‘Big Country’ with an uppercut. But, Nelson stuck around and showed he is in fact one of the toughest heavyweights in the world, despite his physique. Dos Santos will face the winner of Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez.

Matt Hughes proved he is still a threat at 170 by finishing Ricardo Almeida midway through the first round of their welterweight fight. Hughes dropped Almeida with a left hook and quickly locked in a front choke that put Almeida to sleep. A very impressive performance from the UFC hall-of-famer.

Also on the main card, lightweights Clay Guida and Rafael dos Anjos showed speed and excellent footwork. In the third round, Guida scored a big takedown and was trapped in dos Anjos’ half guard. Then, dos Anjos began tapping furiously although Guida did not have a submission locked in. It was clear dos Anjos had an injured jaw. A controversial ending to an otherwise exciting fight.

In preliminary action, Stefan Struve also had one of the best comebacks in recent memory as he picked up a second-round TKO win after being dominated by Christian Morecraft in the first round. Rick Story and Johnny Hendricks also won by TKO during preliminary action. Here are the complete results from UFC 117:

• MAIN CARD

Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via submission (triangle) at 3:10 Round 5.

Jon Fitch def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Clay Guida def. Rafael Dos Anjos via submission (jaw injury) at 1:51 Round 3.

Matt Hughes def. Ricardo Almeida via submission (modified front choke) at 3:15 Round 1.

Junior Dos Santos def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).

• PRELIMINARY CARD

- Rick Story def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:15

- Phil Davis def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

- Johny Hendricks def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:40

- Tim Boetsch def. Todd Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

- Stefan Struve def. Christian Morecraft via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:22

- Dennis Hallman def. Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)