UFC 148
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 12, 1993 |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas , United States |
Key people | Dana White (President) |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events |
| Website | www |
UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II was a mixed martial arts spectacle organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 7, 2012, hosted at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marking the seventeenth UFC event of that year, it showcased eleven fights: six broadcast on pay-per-view, four preliminary bouts on FX, and one streamed via Facebook.
The headline bout featured the Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, defending his title against challenger Chael Sonnen in a highly awaited rematch. This contest received extensive promotion throughout International Fight Week and the preview series UFC Primetime.
During the UFC Fan Expo associated with the event, Tito Ortiz was honored with induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. Ortiz then competed against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin in the co-main event.
Card changes
Urijah Faber was originally scheduled to contend for the UFC Bantamweight Championship against Dominick Cruz in the co-main event after serving as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Live. However, Cruz withdrew due to a torn ACL.<ref> Following this, Faber was expected to face replacement contender Renan Barão for the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship, but that bout was later shifted to headline UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta.<ref> Barão, initially slated to fight Ivan Menjivar on the UFC 148 prelims, was substituted by Mike Easton on the main card.<ref>
Rich Franklin had planned a middleweight return against Cung Le, but was reassigned to replace injured UFC 147 headliner Vitor Belfort in a rematch with Wanderlei Silva.<ref>
International Fight Week
In collaboration with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the UFC introduced International Fight Week, a five-day series of events preceding UFC 148. Designed as an annual July tradition aligned with a Las Vegas UFC event, UFC President Dana White highlighted its purpose to deliver an unparalleled fan experience and develop it into a globally anticipated occasion.<ref> The UFC Fan Expo, held from July 6–7, included fighter meet-and-greets, training seminars, tournaments, and autograph opportunities.<ref>
Weigh-in
Widely regarded as one of combat sports’ most memorable weigh-in moments, it occurred at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Every fighter successfully made weight. During the proceedings, Silva struck Chael Sonnen with a shoulder to the face, prompting intervention from UFC president Dana White. The Nevada State Athletic Commission subsequently decided not to impose any penalties on Silva for this action.
Event
The card consisted of 11 mixed martial arts contests sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission under Unified Rules. Each fight was scheduled for three five-minute rounds except for the main event—Silva versus Sonnen—which was set for five rounds. Six matches were broadcast live via pay-per-view, four preliminaries aired on FX, and one bout was streamed through Facebook.
UFC 148 achieved a new Nevada MMA gate record with ticket revenues totaling $6,901,655, surpassing the previous mark set at UFC 66, and attracted an audience of 15,104 attendees. The event generated approximately 925,000 pay-per-view purchases—the highest UFC buy rate recorded in 2012.
Preliminary card
All five preliminary bouts were contested over three rounds and concluded via judges' decisions. Rafaello Oliveira emerged victorious over Yoislandy Izquierdo with a consistent 29–28 score from each judge, largely due to his control during ground exchanges despite facing a powerful knee strike in the second round.
Shane Roller, who previously held the title of Oklahoma wrestling champion, ended a three-fight losing streak by securing a unanimous decision against John Alessio. Roller demonstrated dominance on the mat but encountered resistance while standing in rounds one and three, with judges ultimately awarding him a 29–28 victory.
In a middleweight matchup, Costas Philippou claimed a unanimous decision win over Riki Fukuda by effectively defending takedowns and landing more precise strikes. The judges scored the contest 30–27, 30–27, and 29–28 in favor of Philippou.
Khabib Nurmagomedov achieved a unanimous decision against Gleison Tibau in a lightweight bout characterized by limited activity and only one successful takedown from Tibau’s 19 attempts. Nurmagomedov secured all three scorecards with a 30–27 tally amid some debate.
The final preliminary fight featured Melvin Guillard facing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Fabrício Camões. Although Camões controlled early moments, Guillard’s strong takedown defense and striking prowess earned him a unanimous decision victory, with all judges scoring it 30–27.
Main card
The opening pay-per-view match showcased Mike Easton versus Ivan Menjivar in a bantamweight contest. The entire fight took place standing, with a combined total of 317 strikes thrown. Easton was awarded a unanimous decision as all three judges scored the bout in his favor.
Following that, former title challenger Chad Mendes squared off against The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck competitor Cody McKenzie. Mendes secured a knockout just thirty-one seconds into the fight with a straight right to the body followed by ground-and-pound—marking his first KO victory since 2009.
Making his welterweight debut, former UFC Middleweight title contender Demian Maia faced judo black belt Dong Hyun Kim. Maia executed a takedown and quickly finished with strikes from the mounted position within forty-seven seconds. Initial reports suggesting Maia suffered a broken rib were later clarified as a severe muscle spasm.
The fourth bout featured former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le against seasoned veteran Patrick Côté at middleweight. This was Le’s second UFC appearance following a loss to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139. Le earned a hard-fought unanimous decision by utilizing footwork, takedowns, and striking techniques. Côté returned to UFC competition after compiling four consecutive wins outside the organization.
Just hours before the co-main event rubber match between ex-UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Their rivalry began with Ortiz winning their initial encounter at UFC 59, followed by Griffin taking the rematch at UFC 106, both via split decisions. In their third meeting, Griffin countered Ortiz’s early aggression to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Silva vs. Sonnen
The final bout on the main card was for the UFC Middleweight Championship, featuring Anderson Silva defending his title against Chael Sonnen, with Yves Lavigne officiating. This rematch followed their first confrontation at UFC 117, where Silva submitted Sonnen despite losing four rounds on points. Sonnen landed an unprecedented 320 strikes during that fight—the highest since UFC 5—while Silva had absorbed only 166 strikes across his previous eleven fights. Silva retained his championship, extended his UFC winning streak to thirteen bouts, and the match was honored as Fight of the Year at the 2010 World MMA Awards. Subsequently, Silva defended his title twice more by KO/TKO victories over Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami. Sonnen remained undefeated since UFC 117, defeating both Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, setting up this highly anticipated rematch.
Initially slated for UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro, the fight was relocated to headline UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas due to scheduling conflicts with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. At that time, Sonnen was ranked as the world’s number-two middleweight by Sherdog, while Silva held top rankings as number one middleweight and pound-for-pound fighter according to Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports, and ESPN. To build hype around the event, UFC Primetime returned on Fuel TV.
Following Sonnen’s victory over Nate Marquardt in 2010, he became known for his provocative trash talk aimed at Silva and his camp. Silva largely remained quiet until June 2012 when he delivered unusually intense remarks during a media call, threatening to decisively defeat Sonnen inside the Octagon.
During the fight, Sonnen dominated early by taking Silva down repeatedly and controlling him with ground-and-pound tactics, landing seventy-six strikes in the first round alone and earning one judge’s rare 10–8 score. Despite this control, Sonnen failed to cause substantial damage. Silva received multiple warnings for holding onto Sonnen’s shorts but effectively thwarted takedown attempts. When Sonnen attempted a high-risk spinning backfist in round two, Silva countered with a knee to the chest followed by punches that led to a TKO victory at one minute fifty-five seconds. This outcome reaffirmed Silva’s position as UFC Middleweight Champion and solidified his reputation as one of MMA’s elite competitors.
Results
{{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Melvin Guillard |def. |Fabrício Camões |Unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 |} } {{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Khabib Nurmagomedov |def. |Gleison Tibau |Unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) |3 |5:00 |} } {{MMAevent bout |Middleweight |Costas Philippou |def. |Riki Fukuda |Unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) |3 |5:00 |} } {{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Shane Roller |def. |John Alessio |Unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 |} }
{{MMAevent bout |Lightweight |Rafaello Oliveira |def. |Yoislandy Izquierdo |Unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) |3 |5:00 |} }
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $75,000 were awarded to the following fighters:
- Fight of the Night: Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
- Knockout of the Night: Anderson Silva
- Submission of the Night: Not granted due to absence of submission finishes
Reported payout
The disclosed fighter earnings submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission do not include sponsorship deals or bonus payments:
- Anderson Silva earned $200,000 (no win bonus) over Chael Sonnen who received $50,000
- Forrest Griffin took home $275,000 (including a $150,000 win bonus) defeating Tito Ortiz who earned $250,000
- Cung Le was paid $150,000 (no win bonus) against Patrick Cote who earned $21,000
- Demian Maia received $96,000 (with a $48,000 win bonus) defeating Dong Hyun Kim who made $44,000
- Chad Mendes earned $36,000 (including an $18,000 win bonus) over Cody McKenzie who was paid $10,000
- Mike Easton collected $20,000 (including a $10,000 win bonus) defeating Ivan Menjivar who earned $13,000
- Melvin Guillard received $72,000 (with a $36,000 win bonus) defeating Fabricio Camoes who made $8,000
- Khabib Nurmagomedov earned $20,000 (including a $10,000 win bonus) over Gleison Tibau who was paid $31,000
- Costas Philippou took home $32,000 (with a $16,000 win bonus) defeating Riki Fukuda who earned $28,000
- Shane Roller gained $46,000 (including a $23,000 win bonus) over John Alessio who made $10,000
- Rafaello Oliveira earned $20,000 (with a $10,000 win bonus) defeating Yoislandy Izquierdo who received $6,000