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UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the seventeenth UFC event of the year. The card consisted of eleven bouts, with six televised live on pay-per-view, four preliminary bouts on FX, and one on Facebook.
The card's main event featured UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva defending his title against Chael Sonnen in a highly anticipated bout. The contest was heavily promoted, featuring International Fight Week, as well as the preview show UFC Primetime.
Regarded as the most notable weigh-in event in the history of combat sports, it was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All fighters on the card made their required weight. Silva threw a shoulder at Chael Sonnen. The move (which connected with Sonnen's face) led to a tense moment when the two had to be separated by UFC president Dana White. It was later reported by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that Silva would not be sanctioned for his actions.
The fight was a rematch of the main event at UFC 117, also a contest for the UFC Middleweight Championship. In that match, Silva (after losing four rounds on points) made Sonnen submit to a triangle choke with 1:50 left in the fight. Sonnen landed 320 strikes against Silva, more than any other fighter since UFC 5 (when Royce Gracie landed 355 strikes against Ken Shamrock). Silva had only absorbed 166 strikes (combined) in his previous 11 matches. With the win, Silva retained the UFC Middleweight Championship, his undefeated record in the UFC, and extended his winning streak to 13. The bout received the Fight of the Year award at the 2010 World MMA Awards. After UFC 117 Silva defended the title twice, with KO and TKO wins over Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami respectively. Sonnen is also undefeated since UFC 117, defeating Brian Stann and Michael Bisping and setting the stage for the most-anticipated rematch of the year.
After Sonnen's win over Nate Marquardt in early 2010, Sonnen became a polarizing figure due to his criticism of Silva and overall trash talk (including comments directed towards Silva's manager, teammates, coaches, wife, and home country of Brazil). Silva remained relatively quiet until a UFC 148 media call in June 2012, when he stated through an interpreter: "Chael Sonnen's going to get his ass kicked like he's never gotten his ass kicked before. What I'm going to do inside the Octagon is something that's going to change the image of the sport. This is going to be violent and I am sorry. I'm going to make sure that every one of his teeth are broken, that his arms are broken and his legs are broken. He's not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that. He will need a plastic surgeon afterward. And I know that he's listening, so the game's over. No more shit-talking. It's on now." This caught some by surprise, who perceived his remarks as out of character.
As the fight finally took place, Sonnen quickly took the champion down in the first round and maintained a dominant position throughout, eventually gaining full mount while attacking with ground and pound. One cage-side judge scored it a 10–8 round as Silva was credited with zero strikes. Sonnen connected with 76 strikes from the top position in the opening round and held a 22-to-15 edge in significant strikes against Silva. However, Sonnen was unable to inflict substantial damage to the champion, and as the fight resumed Silva was repeatedly admonished by the ref for holding Chael's shorts. Being unable to score a takedown due to Silva's takedown defense, Sonnen failed to connect with a high-risk spinning back fist strike, leaving Sonnen in a scooting position for Silva to land a knee to the chest, then with punches to stop Sonnen with a TKO at 1:55 of the second round.
