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.

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.

Joe Rogan looks at the upcoming UFC 117 welterweight fight between Matt Hughes and Ricardo Almeida on August 7, 2010.

UFC legend Matt Hughes is best known for his wrestling prowess and defeated Almeida in a grappling match in 2000. More importantly, he defeated Almeida’s teacher Renzo Gracie at UFC 112.

Ricardo Almeida isn’t saying that this is a revenge match, but he would no doubt like to get a win over Hughes after defeating Gracie. Almeida is a submission specialist so it is likely this fight will be decided on the ground.

Hughes may have defeated Almeida in a grappling match, but that was ten years ago and it was under a different set of rules.

UFC 117 odds haven’t been released yet for this fight, but you have to think that Hughes’ massive body of experience in MMA gives him an edge over Almeida.