Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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Last night in Oakland, the Ultimate Fighting Championship set up what had the makings of an outstanding card. Outside of the main event, it was a real letdown.

Before we get to the recap of the event, it has to be said, Bruce Buffer’s act is getting way too old and he needs to realize nobody in the crowd is there to see him. His octagon antics announcing the fighters is annoying and takes away from the fighters as he tries to steal the spotlight.

What wasn’t annoying was the way title contender Chael Sonnen badmouthed champion Anderson Silva leading up to their fight. Silva had looked average in his last few fights and Sonnen told anyone who would listen all about it.

Sonnen also told Silva and everyone for that matter what he going to do when they stepped into the octagon. He said he would take him down and beat him and also make him fight. That game plan worked perfectly for 23 of the fight’s 24 minutes.

Sonnen dominated every aspect of the fight until he made a fatal mistake with two minutes left in the fifth and final round. After pound Silva and manhandling him like nobody has ever done, Sonnen left open his neck for a beautiful triangle choke. “The Spider” took advantage like the true champion he is and ended the fight via submission.

Sonnen was literally two minutes away from being the new middleweight champion and Silva snatched victory away from him to retain his belt. It was a great performance wasted by Sonnen and hopefully he can get a rematch. He earned that much in my eyes.

The rest of the card was a dud and there were some strange and boring endings.

Jon Fitch continues to be the most boring fighter in the game. He is almost unwatchable yet he keeps winning. He took down Thiago Alves at will and layed on him and landed some punches. With the easy unanimous decision he earned a title shot. That will set up another destruction courtesy of Georges St. Pierre.

Matt Hughes landed a huge shot on the chin of Ricardo Almeida that set up a submission victory. Almeida, called one of the best grapplers and submission fighters in the UFC, was put to sleep and looked like an amateur.

Future superstar Johny Hendrick won yet again via 2^nd round TKO.  He dismantled Charlie Breeneman forty seconds into the second frame. Keep an eye on Hendricks and he will continue to make waves.

Full fight card:

Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via submission (triangle choke) - Round 5, 3:10

Jon Fitch def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Clay Guida def. Rafael dos Anjos via submission (injury) - Round 3, 1:51

Matt Hughes def. Ricardo Almeida via submission (modified arm-triangle choke) - Round 1, 3:15

Junior Dos Santos def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Rick Story def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 1:15 (retains middleweight title)

Phil Davis def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Johny Hendricks def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:40

Tim Boetsch def. Todd Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Stefan Struve def. Christian Morecraft via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:22

Dennis Hallman def. Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

It takes a lot for me to criticize a fight card and the UFC but I thought UFC 117 was extremely boring. When a card like UFC 117 has eleven fights that have great potential, and they are average, it’s hard not to be let down.

UFC 118 is only three week away and is loaded. It won’t take long for the bad taste to be removed from my mouth.