All-time great UFC rivalries: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Anderson Silva has had one great rival throughout his career, and there's no mistaking who that man was: Chael Sonnen. The pair had what many consider the greatest rivalry in the history of the UFC middleweight division.

Silva was the unconquerable champion at 185 pounds. Meanwhile, Sonnen was a newer name in the promotion, with a record that hardly inspired confidence over his chances against Silva. Yet, the NCAA Division I All-American's claim to fame came due not only to the strength of his first performance against Silva but also to the lows he was willing to reach with his trash talk.

Their first bout set up one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history, and the pair's entire saga is now chronicled as one of the most heated feuds the sport of MMA has ever seen.

With their final fight having happened in July, it is time for a revisit of one of the all-time great MMA rivalries.

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Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen's road to UFC 117

Over a decade ago, the thought of Anderson Silva losing was ludicrous. The Brazilian was the reigning middleweight champion and well into what would become the longest win streak in UFC history. However, his time under the UFC banner was not without its bumps in the road.

Before August 7, 2010, Anderson Silva's last foe in the UFC was Demian Maia. The fight was marred by controversy. Known as 'The Spider,' Silva took exception to his countryman claiming that he hoped to take one of his eight legs home in victory. It infuriated him.

In his mind, Maia was no one to be speaking about him in such a manner. After all, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist was on a one-fight win streak. However, he was the only title challenger that the UFC could produce while they waited for Vitor Belfort to work his way to a healthy 185-pound frame.

At the time, the UFC had sold 10% of the promotion to Flash Entertainment, a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates, and UFC 112 would take place in Abu Dhabi. If it could not guarantee a fight that would produce fireworks, it would at least have Silva face an opponent that was, essentially, a showcase.

So, Demian Maia was chosen. Anderson Silva was furious and dismissed his merits as a title challenger, making it his mission to embarrass him. When they fought, he was in complete control for the entire bout and was on the cusp of finishing him several times, but he didn't.

Silva simply didn't want to. Instead, he taunted his foe, dancing around in the octagon, before Dana White left his cage-side seat in disgust, handing the middleweight title to Ed Soares, Anderson Silva's manager. 'The Spider,' as expected, emerged victorious but had embarrassed the entire company with his antics.

Dana White famously threatened to cut him from the promotion if he ever fought in such a manner again. However, with Belfort still not ready, Silva was short on challengers, and most of the division remained terrified of him. After all, a fight prior, they had seen his magnum opus against Forrest Griffin at light heavyweight.

'The Spider' finished the former UFC light heavyweight champion with such ease that he looked nothing short of invincible, similar to how Alexander Volkanovski is currently regarded. With no one else available, the UFC booked a sharp-tongued wrestler with the gift of gab to face Silva next.

Chael Sonnen was on a three-fight win streak. But he was no one anyone gave much thought to. His three wins were all decisions, and he had 10 losses on his record. Little did anyone know that he would give 'The Spider' his toughest fight to date. Sonnen was fearless and launched verbal attacks at Silva.

Before the two were even scheduled to fight, Sonnen's trash talk was already in motion, attacking him for his apparent lack of marketability, claiming that Silva was the worst PPV draw in UFC history and that his merchandise didn't sell. This was also the birth of Sonnen claiming Silva only pretended he couldn't speak English.

He even mocked his performance against Maia by claiming that if Silva wished to, he could go dance and be the Michael Jackson of MMA, but he'd first have to relinquish the belt. Over time, his insults grew more personal, and he even targeted Anderson Silva's affiliation with the Nogueira brothers.

By UFC 117, tensions were high, and the fight stunned everyone. The Brazilian was worried about his foe's takedowns but also didn't respect his striking. This led to Anderson Silva being dropped, rocked on several occasions, and concede takedowns that left spectators jaw-dropped.

By the fifth round, Silva was well on his way to a crushing loss, his first in the UFC. But with two minutes left, he caught Sonnen sleeping in his guard with a triangle armbar. With no other recourse, 'The American Gangster' tapped out, admitting defeat.

Though 'The Spider' won, his aura of invincibility was gone. Now, everyone knew he was beatable and smothering pressure was his nemesis.

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The rematch and the aftermath

In the wake of his UFC 117 loss, Chael Sonnen was in damage control mode, especially after a drug test revealed that he had many times the normal level of testosterone expected of a man his age. He was fined, and his initially scheduled rematch with Anderson Silva was canceled as he served his suspension.

After his time away from the octagon, 'The American Gangster' returned with a submission win over Brian Stann, a former U.S. Marine, before calling out 'The Spider,' who sat cage-side, in his post-fight interview. He offered his nemesis a challenge.

If Silva lost, he had to leave the division. But if he lost, he'd leave the UFC forever. He subsequently faced future middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping, defeating him via unanimous decision to earn a highly anticipated rematch with Anderson Silva.

The PPV set to host their clash would be UFC 148, and it was widely regarded as the most anticipated bout in the promotion's history. Despite his prior loss, 'The American Gangster' continued his trash-talking crusade against his Brazilian rival, claiming that he was offering his foe a chance to redeem himself.

And as he had for their previous fight, he made things personal when he brought up Anderson Silva's wife, threatening to slap her buttocks if she didn't cook him a medium-rare steak. This sent 'The Spider' over the edge, and he lashed out at Sonnen with uncharacteristic rage.

The buildup of insults and mockery, whether the targets were his family, his loyalty to Brazil, and everything under the sun, was too much.

Anderson Silva unleashed his frustrations during a pre-fight conference call, promising to hand Sonnen a beating unlike any other. He vowed to break his rival's teeth, along with every one of his limbs, claiming that by the time he was done with him, Sonnen would be unable to walk out of the octagon under his own power. This, however, did little to deter 'The American Gangster,' who simply mocked him by referencing his previous insult to his wife.

So, on July 7, 2012, UFC 148 took place, coming just shy of hitting the one million PPV buys mark, selling 925,000. The first round resembled Sonnen's previous performance against 'The Spider.' He secured a takedown and punished his foe with ground-and-pound, while Silva did next to nothing.

However, in the second round, the dynamic of the bout changed. Sonnen suddenly found himself unable to score any takedowns and made the ill-fated decision to throw a spinning back-fist, which he missed, falling to the canvas. Silva quickly pounced with a hard knee to the midsection, and Sonnen never recovered.

While he worked his way to his feet, a flurry from Silva dropped him again, and several unanswered punches later, 'The Spider' was declared the winner and invited his foe to a barbecue. Years later, Sonnen retired from MMA after a stint at Bellator, while Silva left the UFC to make a brief splash in the boxing world.

He faced Julio César Chávez Jr., scoring an impressive split-decision win, before crossing swords with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, defeating him via knockout in a boxing match. Afterwards, he faced Jake Paul, and during a pre-fight press conference hosted by Chael Sonnen, their rivalry came to an end.

The two were playful and on good terms, with Anderson Silva asking Chael Sonnen why he never turned up to his barbecue, to which 'The American Gangster,' who spent his entire career playing an exaggerated version of himself, said he didn't know if Anderson Silva's offer was serious.