An awesome event which let us all know never to switch off when an Anderson Silva fight is around. Chael Sonnen made a promise saying he would be the one to retire “The Spider” and put up a hell of fight to prove he is the best, and he nearly did just that, only to concede defeat in the last round being caught in the great triangle-chokehold leaving no choice for the wrestler but to tap.

This fight for me was quite an interesting one. Majority of the match/rounds saw Chael topple Anderson Silva with such seemingly ease, ending up seeing a ground game going on. I was fuming a little over the fact Anderson was not looking like he was giving much effort, despite coming out quick in each of the rounds he faltered back to the ground constantly. The amount of rabbit punches Chael was landing, along with hard hits to the Brazilian I was starting to regret my choice in Silva.
But then you realize the style of fighter he has been all the time we watch Silva, he’s an entertainer and has a lot of patience on his hands knowing the right moments to seemingly pounce. Round three he landed a hard hit on Chael to open up his eye and blood spill looking nasty, and eventually just like that in the fifth round Anderson managed to sweep in and wrap his legs around Chael locking him in to win the match and still keep the title.
What makes this more amazing was that Anderson went into this match with a broken rib and was told not to fight. Had the rib not been broken the match could have maybe been a little different in maybe seeing a more stand up fight, but this is in no disrespect to Chael Sonnen, even when he does deserve some the guy came out fighting and promised something entertaining which he delivered. He had Anderson hurt and looked to have won this had it all gone down to the judges – IF the judges were decent this time round that is. With the win, Silva improves to 27-4; Sonnen falls to 26-11-1

Other matches made the event just as great. Jon Fitch, who was aiming for a win to grant a title shot in the Welterweight division, just got the wish after his unanimous victory against “The Pitbull” Thiago Alves.
Alves was not really looking as ferocious as he normally is, coming off from a lay off it seems of 6 months and losing a fair amount of weight along the way. Fitch was solid in stand up – something Thiago normally is – before dumping the Muay Thai expert on the ground. No matter how many times Thiago got back to his feet, he was sent down to the mat again giving Fitch total control.
Alves was getting moments to shine, but Fitch wasn’t having any of it, and when it came to the third round Alves only had one job left to do – finish the fight. More aggression was seen in Alves but his strikes were to no avail, and Jon Fitch sent “The Pitbull” back to the ground. Scores were 30-27 across for Fitch giving him a unanimous decision win, and no doubt with that he’s looking forward to the outcome of Kosheck and George St. Pierre and ready for whoever.
With the win, Fitch improves to 26-3 with 1 NC; Alves falls to 22-6.

Hughes vs. Almeida was the quickest fight of the main card, one round, showing Hughes absolute experience and power against the excellent Ricardo.
Despite a more forward approach compared to the cautious one Almedia’s mentor, Renzo, made, Hughes still managed to control it in mere seconds, showing no frustration and pushing forward himself, eventually sprawling a takendown attempt and converting it into a chokehold. The hall of famer still showing just what he can do best, and may even still be giving hints he’s up for a title fight himself, in time. With the win, Hughes ups his record to 46-7; Almeida falls to 12-4.

My fight of the night: Dos Santos against Roy Nelson. This got everyone on their feet just cheering for just about anything, eventually seeing another fighter earning a title shot himself. Dos Santos was an absolute powerhouse but went up against a fighter this time round he would not be able to knockdown. Three grueling rounds saw Nelson just not giving in, but Dos Santos giving his all, a fight which was a lesson to learn for Santos and a bigger fan base for “Big Country” Roy Nelson.
Within the first three minutes of the first round, Dos Santos was in control landing an uppercut which rocked Roy Nelson, followed by a storm of hardcore punches. Still, Nelson survived the first round, and then the next two. Barely breathing heavy Dos Santos just gave and gave but Nelson wasn’t toppling, and despite thinking fatigue would end the fight in the third round, both men were still standing and Dos Santos especially was still giving the beatdowns.
With the win, Dos Santos improved to 12-1; Nelson falls to 16-5.

Clay Guida made it two wins in a row in lightweight action, forcing Rafael Dos Anjos to submit in the third round due to an injured jaw. Not surprisingly, the bout got off to a fast start, with Guida scoring early with a hard kick to the head that produced a ‘so what’ gesture from Dos Anjos. After failed takedown attempts from both men, the fighters decided to keep it upright, and they each scored with hard blows that drew oohs and aahs from the crowd. With 40 seconds left, Dos Anjos got the first takedown of the match, but Guida’s solid defense allowed him to get back to his feet before the end of the round.

Crowd favorite Guida gave his fans something to cheer about in round two, as his movement, quick 1-2s, and solid takedown defense kept Dos Anjos from getting into a rhythm. By the second half of the round, Guida was bleeding from the nose as Dos Anjos began getting closer with his strikes, and “The Carpenter” responded with a takedown that allowed him to stay in control on the mat for the rest of the round.

After some quick striking attacks to begin the final stanza, Guida emphatically slammed Dos Anjos and smothered him against the fence. In the process, Guida placed his shoulder against Dos Anjos’ jaw, and with no place to go, the Brazilian tapped out at the 1:51 mark, with a jaw injury suffered in the first round from a Guida punch believed to be the culprit.

Guida improves to 27-8 with the win; Dos Anjos falls to 14-5. At the time of the stoppage, Dos Anjos led 20-18 on one scorecard and was even 19-19 on the other two.

3 out of 5 then from me, if you watched the event, what did you think?