Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen: Head-to-Toe Breakdown

After being dominated for four-and-a-half rounds by Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, Anderson Silva pulled off arguably the greatest comeback in UFC history.

With just a little under two minutes remaining in the fifth and final round, Silva caught Sonnen in a Triangle Armbar allowing him to remain the UFC middleweight champion.

Following the fight, UFC fans across the globe couldn't believe what their eyes had witnessed and demanded for a rematch between the two.

And, the fans will finally get what they've asked for as UFC President Dana White recently revealed that Sonnen will in fact be Silva's next opponent.

So, the following slides display the head to toe breakdown of the highly anticipated rematch.

Lets take a look.

Striking

While Silva may be one of the best strikers of all-time, he didn't appear to be in his first matchup with Sonnen at UFC 117.

Sonnen rocked Silva more than once in the stand up, as it was one of the first times the middleweight champion was truly exposed.

Of Sonnen's 26 career mixed martial arts victories, he's knocked out his opponent only seven times while Silva's connected on 18 knockout blows in just 31 wins.

And, while Sonnen may have gotten the best of the striking in their first meeting, it's hard to deny just how good of a striker Silva is when he's on the top of his game.

Advantage: Silva

Clinch

The Muay Thai clinch is just another one of Silva's specialties that enabled him to gain the reputation as the greatest fighter on the planet.

Over the years, Silva has developed one of the best clinches in all of MMA, as he unloads his vicious knees when he has his opponent in this situation.

On the flip side, Sonnen hasn't displayed an overwhelming effective clinch game, as he's more likely to take his opponent to the ground and unload his ground and pound skills.

Advantage: Silva

Takedowns

Would you believe that over the course of Silva's UFC career, he's only taken his opponent down a total of three times?

In fact, Silva's been taken down much more than he takes his opponents down.

And, Sonnen proved to be the better take down artist as he took Silva down at will when they squared off with one another at UFC 117.

In Sonnen's last five bouts, he's taken his opponent down 20 different times.

Advantage: Sonnen

Wrestling

Many UFC fans across the globe believe the reason Sonnen was so successful in their first bout was due to his constant engagement with Silva.

It was one of the first times in Silva's career that an opponent actually attacked him, took him down and ground and pounded his way to dominance through four-and-a-half rounds.

Sonnen is not only one of the best wrestlers in the middleweight division, but the entire UFC.

And fortunately for Silva, he hasn't had to demonstrate effective grappling skills, as he usually remains on his feet before knocking his opponent out.

Advantage: Sonnen

Submissions

Over the course of their mixed martial arts careers, Silva and Sonnen haven't had the need to demonstrate effective submission skills.

That was until two minutes remaining in the fifth and final round at UFC 117.

With time quickly ticking off the clock, Silva connected on arguably the greatest submission of all time, choking Sonnen out via Triangle Armbar.

And, while their submission victories are nearly identical, the edge goes to the world champion.

Advantage: Silva

Conditioning

It's hard to determine which mixed martial artist is better conditioned, as neither have showed signs of slowing down in their most recent bouts.

However, when a Sonnen bout goes the distance, he's walked away victorious 15 times in just 16 fights.

Silva on the other hand displayed exceptional cardio, as he continued to remain in his bout at UFC 117 and came from behind to pull off the victory.

While this category is as even as it gets, it's difficult to deny Sonnen's ability to go the distance and maintain the pace the way he does.

Advantage: Sonnen

Result

So, the real question every UFC fan wants an answer to is...

Who is going to be the UFC middleweight champion when all is said and done?

While Sonnen undoubtedly dominated Silva the last time they met, fans can be assured that they'll see a different Silva this time around.

However, look for Sonnen to have the same game plan in taking Silva to the ground and exploit his weaknesses.

But, when action begins, Silva will be much more prepared than his showing at UFC 117.

Result: Silva by Round 3 Submission