MANILA, Philippines – Anderson “The Spider” Silva, the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight titleholder, knew that Chael Sonnen almost snatched his belt in UFC 117.

“I knew that I was losing the first four rounds,” Silva said in a UFC.com report by Thomas Gerbasi.

But Silva was able to keep his title even after Sonnen took control of the first 4 rounds of the UFC 117 main event.

He achieved his 7th successful title defense by a submission (triangle choke) at 3:10 of Round 5 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

“Chael put on a helluva fight tonight,” added Silva, who now has 27 wins and 4 losses. (Read: Silva retains middleweight crown in UFC 117)

Sonnen, for his part, admitted that his efforts came up short against the UFC middleweight champ.

“It was a tough fight, he’s a tough guy - I came in second,” said Sonnen, who slumped to a 26-11-1 card.

Other fighters who tasted victory in UFC 117 include Matt Hughes (technical submission - modified arm-triangle choke), Clay Guida (submission - jaw injury) and Rick “The Horror” Story (technical knockout in Round 2).

Jon Fitch, Junior dos Santos and Phil Davis, meantime, all won by unanimous decision. – With a report from UFC.com

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