Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 148: Takeaways from UFC 117

UFC 148 is finally here, and it promises to be one of the biggest nights in MMA history.

While there are many great stories that can come from tonight’s card, the biggest will be Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II.

Both men have talked plenty of trash, but now is the time to back it all up.

The first time Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen met was at UFC 117.

In the first bout, Silva was dominated for the majority of the fight for the first time in his UFC career but found a way to comeback and submit Sonnen in the fifth round.

Here are the key takeaways from their first fight.

What We Remembered About the Fight

This fight was without a doubt one of the greatest in MMA history.

No one had dominated Silva as Sonnen did.

Silva had lost rounds before and even lost fights outside the UFC, but no one had ever beat him up like Sonnen did.

After four-and-a-half rounds, many thought Sonnen had the fight won. But Silva proved his heart and caught Sonnen in a submission.

What We Learned About Sonnen

After all of the trash talk that Sonnen did in the first fight, he actually went in and proved that he was not afraid of Silva.

Sonnen was really close to walking out of UFC 117 as champion, but he simply got caught.

If Sonnen losses tonight, he may be best remembered as the man who nearly beat Anderson Silva.

He may also be remembered as the guy who will tap to armbar or triangle choke, as UFC 117 was his eighth submission loss.

What We Learned from Silva

We learned that Silva is both a true warrior and that, for a brief time, he was human.

Although he has since had spectacular finishes against Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami, Silva’s greatest win may be the submission to Sonnen.

Silva fought through adversity for five rounds and still walked out with the UFC title.

What Happened to Sonnen

While we thought Sonnen was going to get a rematch with Silva, his drug tests showed that he had high levels of testosterone in his system. 

Sonnen was eventually suspended and missed over a year of action. 

He returned to action in October of 2011 and defeated Brian Stann. At UFC on Fox 2, in January, Sonnen defeated Michael Bisping to earn another shot at Silva.

Although he's been away from action, Sonnen has never stopped talking. 

What Happened to Silva

After facing the toughest challenge of his career, Silva fought Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. 

Silva scored one of the greatest knockouts in MMA history when he hit Belfort with a front kick to the face. 

He then returned to Brazil in his next fight, against Yushin Okami. Silva dominated Okami on foot and scored a TKO victory in the second round. 

While we expected Sonnen to talk trash leading up to this fight, Silva has been much more vocal and fired up for tonight's bout.