ANDERSON “Spider”Silva overcame adversity to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight crown after a submission victory over challenger Chael Sonnen in UFC 117 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
Silva, the pound-for-pound king of the UFC, was outclassed by Sonnen most of the fight, with the former wrestler taking down Silva and pummeling him.
However, in the final round as Sonnen unleashed his devastating ground skills, Silva sneaked in a triangle choke that forced Sonnen to tap out with still 3:10 left to play.
Silva is now on a 12-fight winning streak, the most in UFC history, and successfully defended his title for the seventh time. He improved to 27-4, while Sonnen fell to 26-11-1.