Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen Results: Things We Learned from Spider's TKO Win

Anderson Silva is the greatest of all time. Almost everyone knows that to be true, but we learned some other things from his win over Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 last night.

Nothing is more revealing than a post-fight interview, or sequence, that follows a bout where trash talk has played a major part in the hype. You find out a lot about an athlete's true character and spirit.

Last night was no different.

Here's what we learned from the fight.

This Was Truly the Biggest Fight in UFC History

There have been other major fights, but because of Silva's legend, Chael's mouth/charisma, and the history of their first bout, no other fight had as much clout.

Take a look at who showed up:

Obviously this isn't just about the world's best basketball player making an appearance. Per ESPN's Josh Gross, UFC 148 set an MMA record for gate receipts in Nevada.

It could easily be argued that other fights were more important to the sport, but from a marketing and commercial standpoint, none were bigger.

Sonnen Is Ken Norton to Silva's Muhammad Ali

Why not Joe Frazier? Well, because Frazier was a truly great fighter in his own right that had three amazing battles with Ali. 

Norton was a very good, but not great fighter whose style gave Ali fits. Some argue that Ali never really beat Norton, despite officially losing 2-of-3 fights. Both losses were controversial and very close.

Sonnen was certainly defeated in both fights with Silva, but there was a sense of dissatisfaction and doubt in each win.

He dominated Silva through four-and-a-half rounds in their first meeting, only to be submitted in the waning moments. Last night, he dominated the posturing of the first round.

Then in the second round he made a critical error with an elbow that lead to Silva pounding him out.

Though Silva won again, I'm not convinced that Sonnen can't beat Silva. Sonnen isn't an all-time great, but stylistically he would be a tough out for Silva every time they met.

The Spider Is a Class-Act

After all the bitter words that were exchanged, and the weigh-in that almost gave us a prologue to the fight, Silva was a gracious winner.

He could have said: "I told you I was going to destroy him," and no one would have batted an eye. After all, it would have matched the spirit of everything that led to the fight.

Instead he was complimentary, and even invited Sonnen to a barbecue at his house.

Wow, what a turn around, and what a warrior.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay