Silva proves his greatness yet again

Not even three months ago, UFC 153 was on the verge of going the way of UFC 151. Thanks to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and UFC Light-Heavyweight Stephan Bonnar stepping, the card was saved.

Silva and Bonnar agreed to meet in a three-round LHW battle in Rio. Many questioned if Silva should take the fight and what it would mean for his legacy if he were to lose. For Bonnar, the opposite was just as true.

Always considered a mid-card fighter after his epic battle versus Forrest Griffin on the season one finale of The Ultimate Fighter, this could be the victory that launched Bonnar into "legendary" status.

After that loss, Griffin's career skyrocketed while Bonnar's stood still. Bonnar even hinted at retirement before he took this fight versus Silva.

Coming in to UFC 153, all the talk was about Silva and his legacy. Many who had picked Bonnar were hoping for the biggest upset in UFC, if not mixed martial arts, history.

In Rio, in front of his home crowd, with his legacy on the line...Anderson Silva would not let that happen and proved why he is considered the greatest of all-time.

It was the same Silva that fans were used to. He danced around, bobbed and weaved and toyed with Bonnar. Opening the round, Bonnar had Silva up against the cage landing short strikes with authority. Apparently, Silva felt rather comfortable against the cage.

Silva toyed with Bonnar while against the cage, trying to get him to make a bad judgement and chase.When the two engaged in the octagon again, it was quick finish for the "Spider". Anderson chased the backing Bonnar and landed a vicious knee that appeared to hit Bonnar right underneath the chin. That led to a quick and painful TKO victory by the middleweight champ.

Even though this was a non-title fight at a heavier weight class than he's used to, Anderson Silva proved once again why he is the most dominant fighter in the UFC. Not to be forgotten, is the performance of Bonnar and his desire to take a fight that everybody had him losing.

There is no current middleweight contender for Anderson Silva, but superfights versus Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones are on the table. Whether he takes one of those fights or continues to run through the middleweight division is still to be seen, but with more performances like this Silva continues to cement himself as MMA's greatest of all-time.

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