PORT ARTHUR — The Anderson "The Spider" Silva versus Chael Sonnen bout last weekend at UFC 148 was the most anticipated and heated rematch in mixed martial arts history. It

was an emphatic win for the UFC as it delivered on the hype.

The bout started off exactly how most of the first battle was. Sonnen took Silva

down and worked inescapable ground-and-pound to the delight of Sonnen fans. As

the horn sounded, Chael was up five rounds to one if you factor in their first

bout.

Just like their first bout, it was a mental error by Sonnen that sealed his fate.

Sonnen gave up wrist control deep into their first encounter which led to

Silva's miracle triangle choke submission. At UFC 148 it was an ill-advised

spinning back elbow attempt by Sonnen that sent him to the canvas leading to

Silva following-up with a knee to his chest.

Sonnen recovered and got back up but was met with an onslaught of Silva strikes that sent him back down to the mat. The referee stopped the bout just shy of two minutes into the second round.

It's hard to argue with anyone who says Anderson Silva has cemented himself as

the greatest fighter in MMA history. There are definitely some icons, including

Silva, Royce Gracie, and Fedor Emelianenko. It's clear that Silva is definitely

on this three-man Mount Rushmore of the sport forever.

The big question now is who is next for Anderson Silva?

UFC middleweight Mark Munoz, aka the "The Pilipino Wrecking Machine," Mark Munoz was primed to be in position for the title shot against Silva. All he had to do was defeat Chris Weidman at UFC on Fuel TV 4 which was conveniently held four days after the Silva-Sonnen rematch.

Munoz has the exact ground-and-pound wrestling with

relentless pursuit style Sonnen used to expose Anderson Silva. It was Weidman,

however, who exposed Munoz and squashed the potential Silva-Munoz matchup.

Wiedman brought the wrestling to Munoz and showed his standup ability with a Jon Bones Jones-like elbow strike to his struggling opponent and ended the bout by knockout. One can argue Chris Weidman deserves the title shot against Silva but with only five UFC victories, most against lower-tiered middleweights, he may

not have credentials yet.

Looking at the rest of the top middleweights, Silva has decimated most of them —

some of them twice — such as Rich Franklin and Sonnen.

The big fight fans are clamoring for is Silva versus Jon Bones Jones

face-off. The 185-pound Silva and 205-pound Jones would have to agree to fight

at a catchweight somewhere in-between. Stylistically speaking, there would be

fewer more exciting bouts.

The two are, however, amicable and stated they would not want to fight each

other. In fact, Silva shook hands with Jones who was sitting Octagon-side

before his entrance into the cage last weekend. Then again, Bones Jones did

fight one of his best friends, Rashad Evans, in their well known feud.

People may be overlooking something when salivating over a Silva-Bones Jones

pairing. Dan Henderson could actually win when he faces Jones at UFC 151 in

September.

If Henderson were to defeat Jones in this light heavyweight tilt, he could

move down to middleweight and fight Silva. One thing people should not forget

is Henderson before Sonnen is the only other fighter to win a round against

Silva in the UFC.

Back in 2008 at UFC 82, Hendo dominated Silva in the first

round only to succumb to a rear naked choke in the second.

At one time Henderson held two PRIDE belts simultaneously, one at

middleweight and the other at light heavyweight. Pulling off a similar feat by

holding two belts in the UFC would complete MMA's Mount Rushmore with Henderson playing Teddy Roosevelt.

Defeating Bones Jones, then Silva is the longest shot there is, however, and

would be the MMA equivalent to Louis Oosthuizen's two-shot double eagle at this

year's Masters. One can only dream.

David Estrada Jr. is a Mixed Martial Arts columnist for the Port Arthur News. He can be e-mailed at DavidEstrada@DavidEstrada.com