Anderson Silva emerged Saturday night with the belt still tied safely around his waist after his seventh and toughest title defense to date.

After being dominated on the ground for the better part of four and a half rounds, Silva (27-4) lying on his back pounced on the one opening Sonnen left him in 23 minutes of action -- a high head. As Sonnen worked to stay busy to avoid a stand-up where Silva could have received one last opportunity to knock him out, Sonnen left his head unguarded in Silva's guard and the champion quickly pounced. Within seconds, Sonnen had his head locked in a deep triangle and as he tried to wriggle free, Silva slapped in an armbar as well and the pain was intolerable for the challenger as he reluctantly tapped twice, conceding defeat in a fight he was just two minutes away from winning.

It was a finish worthy of 'ESPN Classic'. A finish that only the best champions of all time are able to pull off. On Saturday night, in front of a sold out crowd at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, Silva cemented his legacy as the best MMA fighter of all time.

Silva, 35, extended his remarkable UFC winning streak to 12-0 and remained the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. But all of it, title and records, were in serious jeopardy from about the four minute mark of round one on.

Unlike in his other fights to date, Silva came out from the opening bell like a caged animal. Always the cerebral tactician, Silva generally likes to take a minute or two to time his opponent before unleashing a vicious strike like a cobra.

Saturday he was aggressive from the word 'go'. But after tagging his opponent Sonnen (26-11-1) a couple of times early in the first round, Sonnen landed a right hand of his own that buckled the champion.

From there it would be all Sonnen.

The fight went to the ground within minutes all five rounds and all five rounds Sonnen battered the champion with unrelenting strikes. From hammerfists to brutal body shots to nasty elbows, Sonnen dished it all out but the kitchen sink. And yet Anderson came out every round as fresh as the last, looking to put his toughest test to date out cold on the canvas.

He almost did so in the fourth. With a vicious short elbow standing, Silva wobbled Sonnen. He followed with a knee and a couple rights and Sonnen was on his back. But maybe it was weariness, either way, Silva got caught being too relaxed on top and Sonnen quickly reversed, gaining the top position again. And as the fight entered the fifth round, it began to look as if Sonnen had done the impossible, the unthinkable and had the title all but sewn up.

Once again Silva came out unleashing hell determined for the knockout finish but after slipping upon receiving a right hand from Sonnen, Silva found himself on his back again with the time dwindling down.

Yet as the time of Anderson Silva's middleweight reign seemingly ticked away, it was the champion who never wavered. Like Muhammed Ali or Kobe Bryant or Roger Federer, Silva remained calm until his opponent made a fatal error and capitalized.

It was as remarkable of finish in sports as one will ever witness. Like Kirk Gibson's pinch hit homer to lift the Dodgers or "Pudge's" extra inning "stay fair" blast over the green monster in Fenway of Game 6 to send the Red Sox to the Series. It was that monumental.

It was a testament to greatness. After all, that's what the great champions of history do -- they find ways to win when they're all but defeated.

*****

In the co-main event of the night, Jon Fitch (26-3) overwhelmed Thiago Alves (22-6) over three rounds as he moved one step closer to rematching Georges St.-Pierre for the welterweight title.

Alves put together a good round three after being out-struck and out-wrestled for the first two rounds. But it was too little, too late as he dropped the unanimous decision.

Matt Hughes (46-7), meanwhile, earned a "Submission of the Night" bonus with his stunning north-south choke of BJJ specialist Ricardo Almeida (12-4) in the opening round.

And Junior Dos Santos (12-1) had the fight of his young career, dishing out all the punishment with his fists as he could on challenger Roy Nelson (16-5) over the course of three rounds. Nelson simply wouldn't go down though, and Dos Santos persevered to score the unanimous decision victory and a date with Brock Lesnar or Cain Velasquez sometime early 2011 to decide the UFC heavyweight championship.

All told, it was yet another great night of fights for the UFC in 2010 on the heels of perhaps the best card all year of 116.

Quick Results:
Anderson Silva defeats Chael Sonnen via Submission (Triangle Choke) Round 5
Matt Hughes defeats Ricardo Almeida via Submission (North South Choke) Round 1
Junior Dos Santos defeats Roy Nelson via Unanimous Decision
Jon Fitch defeats Thiago Alves via Unanimous Decision
Clay Guida defeats Rafael Dos Anjos via Submission (Injury) Round 3
Tim Boetsch defeats Todd Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dennis "Superman" Hallman defeats Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Rick "Horror" Story defeats Dustin "McLovin" Hazelett via technical knockout (strikes) at 1:15 of round two
Johny Hendricks defeats Charlie Brenneman via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:40 of round two
Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve defeats Christian Morecraft via technical knockout (strikes) at 0:22 of round two
Phil Davis defeats Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)