By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

With the recent Silva/Sonnen rematch shift from UFC 147 to UFC 148, I got to contemplating the bout, and asking myself one simple question: Can Chael Sonnen truly topple the longtime champion? What are the chances of that actually happening?

On August 7, 2010, Chael Sonnen entered the octagon as a significant underdog. His opponent was none other than reigning, defending… terrifying champion, Anderson Silva. Very few fans or critics extended Chael much of a chance at victory. He nearly grabbed it anyway.

For four full rounds Sonnen applied a level of pressure foreign to Silva. “The Spider’s” lanky limbs and precision technique typically strikes fear in his opponents, which leads to a lot of hesitation, and traditionally grants the champion the chance to showcase his brazen offensive maneuvers. Most men crumble under the unrelenting pressure, but Chael Sonnen didn’t enter the octagon to fold.

Rather, Sonnen launched himself into the face of Anderson immediately, scoring with crisp left hands, and frequently forcing Silva to the mat. The Oregonian pounded away, vicious in his output, and he never once relented inside of 20 minutes. It was an awe inspiring display that immediately left Sonnen an endearing figure to any and all Silva detractors. But the unrelenting attack was about to fail Sonnen, who seemed to get a bit to comfortable in the Brazilian’s guard.

With just under two minutes remaining in the fifth and final round, the champion baited the challenger into a slight lull, with an extremely low guard. In the blink of an eye Silva’s legs were perfectly aligned to secure a triangle choke, and the champ seized his moment with no hesitation. Anderson Silva had yet again turned away a quality opponent, and he did so in mind boggling fashion.

Since that bout, Sonnen’s been overtly vocal about a rematch. This is a man, for as much trolling as he does, is remarkably intelligent, and he knows damn well that some adjustments in his defensive game could, and very well may leave him standing under the bright lights, with a shiny new title belt around his waist; A shiny belt that no one other than Silva has touched in six years. That idea must be boiling inside the man that was just 110 seconds from being crowned the champion two years ago.

Of course some interesting revelations emerged following that fight. As it turns out, Silva had been suffering from a recent rib injury, and Sonnen had opted to… chemically enhance his makeup. Will either factor play a significant role when these two meet on July 7th for a second time? That’s a question that only time will tell. I for one, see things going Anderson’s way once again, but who the hell am I?

The mystery surrounding this rematch is thick, and not only for the aforementioned reasons. Realize if you will, that Chael now has a confidence that no prior foe of Silva’s has toted. This is a man who genuinely believes he can and will usurp the championship title. In all honesty, he may very well be correct, intangibles aside, he was doing a damn fine job of thoroughly dominating Silva in their first encounter.