UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and hall of famer Matt Hughes each earned $200,000 to top the $1.029 million payroll for last Saturday’s UFC 117 event in Oakland.

After nearly finishing Silva in the pay-per-view headliner only to be submitted in the fifth-round, challenger Chael Sonnen received $35,000.

Chael Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva on Saturday in the main event of UFC 117 and was just minutes from dethroning the middleweight champion in what would have been one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s history.

Instead, it was Silva making history with a miraculous comeback, as he forced Sonnen to tap to a triangle choke in the fifth and final round to retain the 185-pound title at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces challenger Chael Sonnen in the main event of today’s UFC 117 event and MMAFrenzy.com will have live UFC 117 results and play-by-play for the 11-bout card starting at 7pm ET.

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen successfully weighed in on Friday at the official weigh-ins for Saturday’s UFC 117 event in Oakland, California.

Silva weighed in at 184.5 pounds for the UFC 117 main event, while Sonnen came in exactly at 185 for tomorrow’s pay-per-view headliner.

With the UFC putting on it’s second event in as many weekends, this time broadcasting live on pay-per-view from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, it is time once again for your MMAFrenzy.com staff to make some fight predictions.

Check out a preview of UFC 117′s Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves rematch after the jump…

Rumors began Wednesday that welterweight contender Thiago Alves was having trouble making weight for his UFC 117 rematch with Jon Fitch, but Alves said Thursday that his weight cut is on track for the title eliminator.

The winner of the UFC 117 rematch between welterweight contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves will get a title shot against the winner of a December matchup between current 170-pound champ Georges St-Pierre and challenger Josh Koscheck, UFC President Dana White announced at the UFC 117 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.

Open workouts for UFC 117 were held yesterday at the UFC Gym in Concord, California and MMAFighting got pre-fight interviews with the most-notable fighters who will be in action at Saturday’s event in Oakland, including UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva and outspoken challenger Chael Sonnen as well as Jon Fitch, Roy Nelson, and Junior dos Santos.

Check them out after the jump…

Check out Jon Fitch’s pre-UFC 117 interview after the break…

The long-awaited rematch between welterweight contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves is finally official for UFC 117, as the UFC today announced that the anticipated matchup will be the co-main event of the August 7 pay-per-view card in Oakland, California.

UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch talks about his plans to move up to middleweight should teammate Josh Koscheck defeat Georges St-Pierre in December to win the 170-pound title:

“To me there’s no reason to fight a teammate. It’s not a fight we’re interested in at all. It’s a situation where, if Koscheck is able to win the belt and defend the belt, I’ll move up to 185.”

UFC welterweight Thiago Alves is set to finally rematch fellow contender Jon Fitch on August 7 at UFC 117 after recently being cleared to return from successful brain surgery that scrapped the bout from March’s UFC 111.

Following the official announcement of “UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin” on Tuesday, the UFC has now confirmed six additional matchups for the July 3 pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC 116 main card now includes a co-main event between middleweights Wanderlei Silva and Yoshihiro Akiyama as well as a rematch between Kyzysztof Soszynski and Stephan Bonnar.

The anticipated rematch between welterweight contenders Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch has been postponed yet again, as UFC President Dana White today confirmed that the bout is now scheduled for UFC 117 on August 7 in Oakland, California.

UFC 117 is expected to be headlined by middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs. challenger Chael Sonnen.