UFC 117 was hyped as quite possibly the most stacked UFC card ever and it did not disappoint with all of the fights on the main card providing some compelling moments.

Anderson Silva showed why he’s the champ submitting Chael Sonnen. Sonnen laid a beating on Silva for five rounds and basically showed that he had the better game-plan for the fight out-fighting and out-thinking Silva most of the way. But a momentary lapse of concentration was all Silva needed.

Matt Hughes showed he still has a lot to offer the UFC getting a submission victory over Ricardo Almeida while showing some serious stand-up skills.

Junior Dos Santos delivered a beating to Roy Nelson. Nelson showed that he can take a punch, but never threatened the Brazilian. Dos Santos graduates to the elite heavyweight, but he still hasn’t proven himself against a good wrestler like Caine Velasquez or Brock Lesnar.

The UFC released a UFC 117 Chael Sonnen hightlight video ahead of his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 117.

The video features two and a half minutes of Sonnen talking smack which will likely be all he does to hurt Silva in the fight. Silva is heavily favored to hand it to Sonnen. The UFC 117 odds have Silva at -450 and Sonnen at +300. But you have to admit, Sonnen is a very effective smack-talker.

Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen meet in the feature fight in a truly stacked UFC 117 card on August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Chael Sonnen demonstrates his supreme mastery of trash talking in the video, but this is a fight, not a debate and Anderson Silva doesn’t seem to be too affected. That or he just doesn’t understand what Sonnen is going on about. The UFC 117 lines list Silva as a heavy favorite at -450 because Silva simply has a much more diverse arsenal. Sonnen will try to take Silva down and wear him out, but Silva can fight with him on the ground, standing up or pretty much anywhere else.

Roy Nelson has impressed in his first two fights at the UFC and now  faces Junior Dos Santos in a fight between two of the heavyweight division’s rising fighters. Junior has the edge in experience and has beaten more good fighters, but both fighters have knockout power and both fighters can win on the ground if need be.

Ricardo Almeida fights UFC legend Matt Hughes in a grudge match after Hughes defeated Almeida’s teacher Renzo Gracie at UFC 102. Gracie may be Almeida’s teacher, but Almeida has a lot of different tools and shouldn’t be instantly discounted against Hughes.

Chael Sonnen will challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title on August, 7, 2010 at UFC in Oakland, California.

Sonnen doesn’t think that Silva can handle his wrestling and he doesn’t think much of Silva’s recent victories.

For an infamous smack-talker, Chael Sonnen is fairly realistic saying he doesn’t know that he will win the fight, but knows that he can win the fight. However, he also makes it personal saying he wants revenge for some of the beat-downs that Silva has administered to his friends.

If Sonnen could fight as well as he talks, Silva would be shaking in terror at the thought of facing him, but the fact is Chael Sonnen’s UFC 117 odds aren’t particularly good as he pays just +300 indicating the oddsmakers are pretty confident he can’t stick with Silva.

Anderson Silva will defend his middleweight title against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland California.

Unfortunately, Anderson Silva’s pre-fight interview is in Brazilian-Portugese with English sub-titles, but it’s pretty awesome because at one point he says something like “Sonnen doesn’t know whether he wants to be a politician or a fighter, but you can only be one and I’m going to help him decide.”

Damn…he gives as good as he gets.

The books aren’t giving Sonnen much of a chance as the UFC 117 odds list Silva as a massive favorite paying -450 while Sonnen pays +300.