The 5 biggest UFC feuds of the decade (2010-2019)

#1 Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Anderson Silva's feud with Chael Sonnen turned both men into superstars.

The feud between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov might’ve gone further than any other in UFC history – spilling into law-breaking and truly shocking scenes at UFC 229 – but for me, the feud between legendary UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva and his greatest ever foil, the loudmouth wrestler Chael Sonnen remains the best of the past decade. Prior to their rivalry, both Silva and Sonnen were highly rated, but were never true needle-movers, as Dana White would put it. With their feud, both men became bonafide superstars.

Things started innocently enough, as Sonnen became the top contender to Silva’s Middleweight crown by defeating Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 in February 2010. ‘The American Gangster’, as he would eventually be known, was hardly renowned for his personality at that point; he didn’t even have a nickname. But evidently Sonnen saw a chance for notoriety and snatched it, suddenly becoming the sport’s greatest-ever trash talker.

The former All-American wrestler began to launch incredible tirades towards Silva, aiming fire at everything from his fighting style and his lack of popularity in the US to his training partners and the culture of his home country of Brazil. It seemed like nothing was off limits for Sonnen, who was granted his shot at ‘The Spider’ at UFC 117 in August 2010.

Nobody really expected what happened next. Silva remained stoic despite all of the trash-talk, and most fans simply figured he’d destroy Sonnen like he had his previous six title challengers – but when it came to the fight, that wasn’t the case at all. ‘The American Gangster’ came flying out of the gate, tagging Silva with punches before taking him to the ground over and over, where he proceeded to pound him with elbows. This pattern went on for four rounds – and it looked like the UFC would have a new champion – until ‘The Spider’ somehow pulled out a miracle finish with a triangle choke to retain.

The fight was so good that the UFC looked to book an immediate rematch, meaning the rivalry was not over – and of course, Sonnen himself wouldn’t let it die anyway, claiming he’d basically beaten Silva despite submitting. Despite the plans though, any ideas of a rematch were derailed when Sonnen tested positive for a banned substance and found himself suspended.

Thankfully for the UFC, Silva continued to win, and when Sonnen returned over a year later and defeated Brian Stann, the feud quickly started up again. ‘The American Gangster’ called Silva out in his post-fight promo, stating that he “absolutely sucked” and claiming he’d leave the UFC for good if he failed to beat the Brazilian in a rematch.

The UFC naturally obliged by booking the fight, and in a hilarious moment, Sonnen actually showed up to a television interview with a replica UFC belt – as if he’d beaten Silva to win it at UFC 117. The fight garnered so much hype that Dana White predicted the pay-per-view it would main event – UFC 148 – would break the promotion’s buyrate record. Even the weigh-in created more heat as Silva struck the challenger with his shoulder during a staredown.

When the fight finally went down, despite Sonnen’s best efforts, it was Silva who once again came away with his hand raised. He defeated ‘The American Gangster’ by TKO in the second round, capitalising on a botched spinning backfist attempt to hurt Sonnen with a knee to the body before finishing him off with a series of strikes.

With that, the rivalry was essentially done, with Silva being gracious in victory – and Sonnen surprisingly being gracious in defeat. Despite the hatchet being buried and the story ending, though, the feud had done a lot for both men – turning them into superstars and major drawing cards – and both fights were fantastic, meaning it should rank as the best UFC feud of the decade.