UFC 148 Results Recap: Anderson Silva defends title, Ortiz retires with a loss
The monumental rematch between Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and arch-nemesis Chael Sonnen began as we may have expected, with Sonnen looking for the double leg early and securing it. He spent the rest of the round in top position, scoring some strikes on Silva and looking for a few submissions to no avail. As the second round started, Sonnen pushed Silva up against the cage. He appeared to have gone for a spinning backfist, as he was previously seen training. This one was wild and found no home, as Silva landed a knee to Sonnen’s body. The longtime champ followed Sonnen to the ground with many strikes to earn the TKO in round 2.
The epic victory by Silva is another defining moment in the long career list of Silva. Perhaps no other fight has been hyped this much in UFC history, and the great champion Silva cemented his legacy as the greatest UFC fighter ever. One of the true champion’s best victories, Silva earned his record tenth-straight title defense. It will be quite interesting to see who, if anyone, will challenge the king Anderson Silva at 185 lbs. any time in the near future. For Sonnen, two years of hype and speculation has been ended in decisive fashion.
Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin came out striking immediately in the first in Ortiz’s farewell bout. Griffin looked for the headkick often. Ortiz used his wrestling to take Griffin down and land some his patented ground-and-pound elbows. Ortiz rocked Griffin early on in the second, and appeared to tire himself with the initial barrage. Griffin responded well with some accurate boxing of his own in a close round. In the third, Ortiz rocked Griffin again and scored another takedown. Griffin got up and the two fighters spent the rest of the fight trading blows. Griffin threw and landed more overall strikes. Ultimately, Forrest Griffin took home the unanimous decision victory in a close fight that drew boos from the crowd.
Cung Le and Patrick Cote traded some good strikes early and often. Le used his accurate kicks to score points, and opened up a cut on his opponent. Cote returned the favor early in the next round. Cote ate a hard right hand, and the second round became a striking war full of strategy. Cote landed some knees while Cung Le continued using his kicks. Two trip takedowns by Le in the third sealed up the decision victory for him.
Demian Maia looked to take Korean judo expert Dong Hyun Kim down early. Maia took his opponent’s back and slammed Kim to the ground, apparently injuring him and ending the fight in the very first round. It was later revealed that Kim had cracked a rib. Maia makes a successful debut at Welterweight in only 47 seconds.
Former UFC Featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes came out smoking versus Cody McKenzie, rocking the submission specialist with a thunderous body shot. Mendes earned the stoppage after some ground-and-pound strikes early in the first round.
Ivan Menjivar and Mike Easton kept the fight standing in the first round. Menjivar utilized many headkicks, but Mike Easton landed the most effective one of the round. Not a ton of damage was done by either fighter. More of the same continued in the second, with Easton landing a flying knee. The boxing picked up the pace in the final round. Mike Easton nailed a single leg takedown, and took home the unanimous Decision.
UFC 148 was the most anticipated card of the year, and it delivered with a great title defense by Anderson Silva. Former Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz lost a very close fight to longtime foe Forrest Griffin, and will now take his place in the UFC Hall of Fame.
UFC 148 Full Results:
Main Card:
Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via R2 TKO (ground strikes)
Forrest Griffin def Tito Ortiz via Unanimous Decision
Cung Le def. Patrick Cote via Unanimous Decision
Demian Maia def. Dong Hyun Kim via R1 TKO (injury)
Chad Mendes def. Cody McKenzie via R1 TKO (strikes)
Mike Easton def. Ivan Menjivar via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary Card:
Melvin Guillard def. Fabrício Camões via Unanimous Decision
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Gleison Tibau via Unanimous Decision
Constaninous Phillippou def. Riki Fukuda via Unanimous Decision
Shane Roller def. John Alessio via Unanimous Decision
Rafaello Oliveira def. Yoislandy Izquierdo via Unanimous Decision
LowKick.com Awards:
Finish of the Night:
Anderson Silva‘s finish of rival Chael Sonnen in the second ended all the trash talk and hype quickly. While he was mounted in the first round, he showed he was never in trouble with his powerful, precise striking to beat the number one contender. Silva proves he is the best champion the UFC has ever seen.
Performance of the Night:
After being destroyed by Featherweight champion Jose Aldo his last time out, Chad Mendes needed to rebound strongly. He did just that by quickly destroying Cody McKenzie in the first round.
Upset of the Night:
Former UFC Middleweight title challenger Patrick Cote had won 3 out of 4, while opponent Cung Le looked quite unimpressive in his UFC debut, losing to Wanderlei Silva by brutal knockout. He looked better the second time around, utilizing accurate striking to win by decision.
