UFC: 5 Greatest Main Events In History

Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor embrace after their classic match at UFC 202
Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor embrace after their classic match at UFC 202

#4 Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen (UFC 117 - August 8, 2010)

Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen exchange blows in their classic bout at UFC 117
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen exchange blows in their classic bout at UFC 117

With the Middleweight Championship on the line, Champion Anderson Silva squared off with contender Chael Sonnen in one of the most famous UFC fights of all time.

Coming into this fight, Silva was undefeated in UFC and had not lost an MMA fight in four years, which meant what took place in the opening four and a half rounds of this bout even more extraordinary.

Sonnen totally dominated the Champion in a way no one had witnessed before. Displaying beautiful ground and pound skills, the challenger wore Silva out with stunning ground and pound that the Champion had little answer to.

In the closing moments of the fourth round, Silva managed to bust Sonnen open with elbows from the ground to pave the way for a recovery in the final round where he was able to escape Sonnen's relentless punches by locking in a triangle choke to earn him an unlikely comeback victory with 90 seconds to go.

Silva was decimated for 22 minutes but somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in one of the most impressive turnarounds you are ever likely to witness.

A true classic of a headliner.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram