Card changes[edit]

Urijah Faber was expected to challenge Dominick Cruz for the UFC Bantamweight Championship in the co-main event (after their stint as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter: Live), but a torn ACL forced Cruz off the card.^[5] Faber was then expected to face replacement Renan Barão for the Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship,^[6] but that fight was moved to the main event of UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta.^[7] Barão was originally scheduled to fight Ivan Menjivar on the UFC 148 preliminary card, and Mike Easton replaced Barão in the opening bout of the main card.

Rich Franklin was expected to return to the middleweight ranks in a bout against Cung Le. However, due to an injury sustained by UFC 147 headliner Vitor Belfort, Franklin was pulled from the bout with Le to replace Belfort in a rematch against Wanderlei Silva.

International Fight Week

In conjunction with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the UFC planned five days of festivities (known as International Fight Week) leading up to UFC 148. International Fight Week is expected to be an annual July occurrence, coinciding with a Las Vegas UFC event. UFC President Dana White stated, "The first annual International Fight Week will be awesome, the fans are going to have a fight week experience better than anything they've ever had before, and each year we are going to build this thing to the point where every fan on the planet knows they have to come to Vegas for this July fight week at least once in their lives."^[10] The UFC Fan Expo (two days of fighter meet-and-greets, training seminars, a Grapplers Quest tournament, autograph sessions and other events) also occurred on July 6 and 7.

Event

The event consisted of 11 mixed-martial-arts bouts sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and contested under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. All bouts consisted of three five-minute rounds, except for the main-event championship match between Silva and Sonnen (which was scheduled for five five-minute rounds). Six bouts were televised live on pay-per-view. Four preliminary bouts were televised live on FX, and one was streamed live on Facebook. UFC 148 set a mixed-martial-arts gate record in Nevada. The event earned $6,901,655 in ticket sales, beating the previous record set at UFC 66.Attendance was 15,104. It sold an estimated 925,000 pay-per-view buys, the most in 2012 for any UFC event.

Preliminary card

The event's five preliminary fights all went the full three rounds, ending in decisions. In the first bout of the evening, Rafaello Oliveira outpointed Yoislandy Izquierdo to win 29–28 in all three judges' scorecards.After taking down Izquierdo early in the first round, Oliveira was hit by a strong knee in the following stanza, but put his opponent in the ground again. The final round saw both fighters grappling, with Oliveira reigning victorious.

In the second bout, Shane Roller rebounded from three losses in a row with a unanimous decision victory over John Alessio.^[19] Roller, a former four-time Oklahoma high school state wrestling champion and a Big 12 Conference Champion at Oklahoma State University, was able to take Alessio down and control his opponent's back on the ground, but was hurt on the feet in the first and third rounds. The three judges scored the fight 29–28 in favor of Roller.

The other middleweight bout of the night saw Costas Philippou defeating Riki Fukuda by unanimous decision. Philippou successfully defended all of Fukuda's takedown attempts and landed the more solid strikes. The judges saw it 30–27, 30–27 and 29–28 for Philippou.

Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision in their lightweight contest.^[19] In an uneventful bout, which saw only one successful takedown scored by Tibau despite a combined 19 attempts,  Nurmagomedov won 30–27, 30–27 and 30–27 on all three of the judges scorecards. The most memorable part of this bout was the controversy surrounding the judges' decision.

In the preliminary card's final match, Melvin Guillard faced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Fabrício Camões.^[21] Despite being mounted in the first round by Camoes, Guillard picked apart his opponent in the rest of the fight by exercising good takedown defense and outstriking Camoes. The judges awarded the Imperial Athletics representative the unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Main card

The first bout on the pay-per-view portion of the event saw Mike Easton taking on Ivan Menjivar in a bantamweight contest. The entire fight remained on the feet, with both fighters throwing 317 combined strikes.^[24] All three judges scored the bout in favor of Easton, with two scoring it 30–27 while one judge seeing it 29–28 giving Easton the unanimous decision victory.

The second bout saw former title contender Chad Mendes fighting The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck contestant Cody McKenzie. Early in the first round, Mendes caught his opponent with a straight right hand to the midsection. McKenzie collapsed to his knees and Mendes attacked him with ground-and-pound, forcing the referee to stop the contest at thirty-one seconds.It was the first knockout victory for Mendes since 2009.

In his first fight as a welterweight, former UFC Middleweight title challenger Demian Maia faced Judo black belt Dong Hyun Kim. The bout was stopped in forty-seven seconds by referee Mario Yamasaki, after Maia took Kim down and finished him with strikes from the mounted position.^[19] UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that Kim had broken a rib, but it was later revealed that he suffered a major muscle spasm.

The fourth fight featured the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le meeting veteran Patrick Côté at middleweight.^[26] This was Le's second fight in the promotion, after losing his first to Wanderlei Silva by TKO at UFC 139. Côté was returning to the UFC after last losing a decision to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 in October 2010. He was on a four-fight winning streak, undefeated since leaving the organization.Le won a hard-fought unanimous decision by exercising great footwork, trips and takedowns and effective striking.

Hours before the long-awaited rubber match and co-main event of the evening between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, Ortiz was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.^[4] The history of the two fighters started when Ortiz won their first bout at UFC 59, and Griffin won the rematch at UFC 106; both fights ended in a split decision. As in the first two fights, Ortiz came out strong, but Griffin countered his attacks and ultimately won via unanimous decision.

Silva vs. Sonnen

The sixth and final bout of the main card was the UFC Middleweight Championship match between Anderson SIlva and Chael Sonnen, regulated by referee Yves Lavigne.The fight was a rematch of the main event at UFC 117, also a contest for the UFC Middleweight Championship. In that match, Silva (after losing four rounds on points) made Sonnen submit to a triangle choke with 1:50 left in the fight. Sonnen landed 320 strikes against Silva, more than any other fighter since UFC 5 (when Royce Gracie landed 355 strikes against Ken Shamrock). Silva had only absorbed 166 strikes (combined) in his previous 11 matches.With the win Silva retained the UFC Middleweight Championship, his undefeated record in the UFC and extended his winning streak to 13. The bout received the Fight of the Year award at the 2010 World MMA Awards.After UFC 117 Silva defended the title twice, with KO and TKO wins over Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami respectively. Sonnen is also undefeated since UFC 117, defeating Brian Stann and Michael Bisping and setting the stage for the most-anticipated rematch of the year.

The UFC Middleweight Championship main-event match between Silva and Sonnen was originally scheduled for UFC 147 at Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Due to a scheduling conflict with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the bout was moved to headline UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. At this point in their careers Sonnen was ranked as the number-two middleweight in the world by Sherdog, while Silva is ranked number-one middleweight and the number-one pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to Sherdog, Yahoo! Sports, and ESPN. In an effort to further promote the contest, UFC Primetime returned on Fuel TV

After Sonnen's win over Nate Marquardt in early 2010, Sonnen became a polarizing figure due to his criticism of Silva and overall trash talk (including comments directed towards Silva's manager, teammates, coaches, wife and home country of Brazil).^[33] Silva remained relatively quiet until a UFC 148 media call in June 2012, when he stated through an interpreter: "Chael Sonnen's going to get his ass kicked like he's never gotten his ass kicked before. What I'm going to do inside the Octagon is something that's going to change the image of the sport. This is going to be violent and I am sorry. I'm going to make sure that every one of his teeth are broken, that his arms are broken and his legs are broken. He's not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that. He will need a plastic surgeon afterwards. And I know that he's listening, so the game's over. No more shit talking. It's on now." This caught some by surprise, who perceived his remarks as out of character.^[42]

As the fight finally took place, Sonnen quickly took the champion down in the first round and maintained a dominant position throughout, eventually gaining full mount while attacking with ground-and-pound.^[19] One cageside judge scored it a 10–8 round as Silva was credited with zero strikes.^[43] Sonnen connected with 76 strikes from the top position in the opening round, and held a 22-to-15 edge in significant strikes against Silva.^[24] However, Sonnen was unable to inflict substantial damage to the champion, and as the fight resumed Silva was repeatedly admonished by the ref for holding Chael's shorts. Being unable to score a takedown due to Silva's takedown defense, Sonnen failed to connect with a high-risk spinning backfist strike, leaving Sonnen in a scooting position for Silva to land a knee to the chest, then with punches to stop Sonnen with a TKO at 1:55 of the second round.

北京时间7月8日上午10点，万众瞩目的UFC148即将火爆开战，本次赛事回归拉斯维加斯米高梅体育馆，共有6场主赛与5场副赛，其中包括了席尔瓦与松恩的世纪之战，以及奥尔蒂兹与格里芬的三番对决，赛前所有人都认为，UFC148将成为UFC历史上最卖座的赛事。

主赛：(MAIN CARD)

雏量级： 迈克 (Mike Easton) VS 伊万 (Ivan Menjivar)

预测：迈克胜

迈克目前战绩12胜1负，这将是他加入UFC以来的第三场比赛，之前两战皆胜的他，是一个典型的站立风格选手，高达84%的打击比重虽然很惊人，但是并不说明他的地面技术就一无是处，相反，其TD技巧十分出色，虽然地面不是他的主攻方向，但是要想通过缠斗把他降服也不是一件容易的事情。

伊万目前战绩24胜8负，自从2011年初回归UFC以来，他已经取得了三连胜的佳绩。相比迈克来说，伊万的站立打击和地面缠斗能力比较平均，这三场胜利中既有降服，也有KO。这次他很可能会率先把比赛拖入地面战，即便不能降服迈克，依然可以有效地防止对手的精湛拳法，同时伺机施展自己的锁技。

羽量级：门德斯(Chad Mendes) VS 麦肯锡(Cody McKenzie)

预测：门德斯胜

门德斯目前战绩11胜1负，是在UFC羽量级排名十分靠前的一颗新星，虽然上场比赛被何塞-奥尔多飞膝KO，但这是他职业生涯中仅有的一场败绩。风格方面，无论在站立还是地面，门德斯都可以给对手造成很大的麻烦，而这场比赛他很可能会尽量地选择站立，因为对手的降服技术十分强悍，通过站立打击，依靠点数判定获胜才是明智之举。

麦肯锡目前战绩13胜2负，是一名不折不扣的地面柔术高手，全部的13场胜绩中竟然有12场是通过降服获胜，而且值得注意的是，他还从来没有打满过比赛。所以这一次，他会毫不犹豫地把门德斯拖入地面。可以说，越早进入地面缠斗，那么他获胜的几率也就越大。

次中量级： 玛雅(Demian Maia) VS 金东炫(Kim Dong-Hyun)

预测：金东炫胜

玛雅目前战绩15胜4负，他的柔术技巧自不必说，虽然多次降服对手获胜，但那都是发生在2010年以前，自从与“蜘蛛”席尔瓦一战之后，他的状态持续下滑，打赢的几场比赛也都是依靠点数判定获胜，昔日的“柔术大师”风采一去不返，此战将是对他站立技术的极大考验。

金东炫目前战绩15胜1负1平1无结果，是UFC次中量级不可忽视的一股新势力，他与同量级选手相比较高的身材和臂展是他多次KO对手的利器。这次对阵以柔术见长的玛雅，优秀的身高优势将更显无疑，远距离的重拳轰击将会给玛雅造成极大的麻烦，只要小心不要被拖入地面，此战的胜算很大。

中量级： 康李(Cung Le) VS 帕特里克(Patrick Cote)

预测：康李胜

康李目前战绩7胜2负，他的流派是UFC十分罕见的散打，各种花哨的腿技往往令人防不胜防，很多选手都是因为不习惯这一风格而吃了大亏。上一场UFC首战虽然输给了“猿人”席尔瓦，但他大范围的腿部技巧还是十分具有威胁，只要能控制好距离，拿下帕特里克不会十分困难。

帕特里克目前战绩17胜7负，他的站立和地面技术都不错，但是对阵康李的话，显然地面战要安全得多，但是地面战所面临的问题和站立是一样的，那就是如何有效的拉近与康李的距离，防止康李的高扫。基本上，帕特里克要想获胜的应对方法只有两种：要么把康李拖入地面绞杀，要么和康李撑满三回合。

次重量级： 格里芬(Forrest Griffin) VS 奥尔蒂兹(Tito Ortiz)

预测：格里芬胜

格里芬目前战绩18胜7负，虽然他已经掉出了UFC次重量级前五，但是全面的技术足以弥补他在排名上的暂时落后。上一场虽然完败给“将军”胡阿，但是面对已然英雄迟暮的奥尔蒂兹，格里芬显然更具有优势。但是奥尔蒂兹近两场比赛都在使用的“断头台”是一个不小的威胁，成功躲过此招是获胜的前提。

奥尔蒂兹目前战绩16胜10负1平，这是他的退役之战，对于技术和状态已经跌倒谷底的他来说，这场比赛完完全全就是为了荣誉而战。正如之前所说，“断头台”是他获胜的唯一法宝，能否满载荣耀隐退，就看他能否给格里芬套上头锁。两人彼此之间都已经十分熟悉了，临场发挥十分重要。

中量级冠军赛： 安德森-席尔瓦(Anderson Silva) VS 松恩(Chael Sonnen)

预测：安德森-席尔瓦胜

“蜘蛛”席尔瓦目前战绩31胜4负，他的不败纪录已经达到了14场，但是这个纪录险些终止在12场，原因就是在UFC117，松恩差一点就打败了他。毫无疑问，这将是5年来席尔瓦面临的最困难的一场比赛，之前由于忽略了松恩的摔跤功底而险些失败的他，能否在这场复赛中有效防止松恩的地面缠斗将是获胜关键，但同时，松恩的锁技防御能力也是一个漏洞，在危险中寻找机会再次降服对手也不是没有可能。

松恩目前战绩27胜11负1平，他在这场复赛前只做了一件事情，那就是利用自己的口才成功地激怒了席尔瓦，比赛中能否借机打乱对手的节奏，将是他的战术之一。此外，这场比赛松恩显然还是会毫不犹豫地选择地面战，如何提高自身的防御能力，不被对手抓住漏洞，是松恩面临的最大问题。