“The first fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen was incredible,” said UFC President and CEO Dana White. “This was the fight that made Anderson a star and showed the world that Chael could compete with anyone in the division. This incredible dogfight had everything you want in a five-round title fight, and it will be an honor to induct this fight into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
As the main event of UFC 117: SILVA vs. SONNENwhich took place on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Silva and Sonnen entered the event on win streaks of 12 and three, respectively.
Silva entered the Octagon as the UFC middleweight champion with a 28-4 (11-0 UFC) record that included victories over future UFC Hall of Famers. Forrest Griffin, Rich FranklinAnd Dan Henderson (combat wing); former UFC welterweight champion Charles Newton; former WEC middleweight champion Chris Leben; former WEC heavyweight champion James Irvin; former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate Marquardt; and former welterweight champion Shooto Hayato Sakurai.Sonnen entered the match as the top middleweight contender with a 26-10-1 record (7-4 UFC/WEC) and previous victories against the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion. Renato Sobralformer WEC light heavyweight champion Jason Lambertformer WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filhoand former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nate Marquardt.
The two athletes met in the center of the Octagon, trading punches and kicks to begin the first round. 52 seconds into the game, Sonnen fired a straight left, stunning the champion and sending him back into the cage. Sonnen began to pressure Silva, landing several additional punches and takedowns to control the pace of the fight. With 3:23 left in the first, Sonnen took Silva down and mounted him, controlling the action in half guard and landing punches from top position. Sonnen would move to full guard with 1:45 remaining, remaining on top of the champion until the end of the round. Sonnen landed 31 significant strikes during the round, more than any previous opponent against Silva in a full fight in the UFC.