The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 has yet to air, but the season already sounds epic.
Long-time rivals Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen served as coaches on the reality show, which airs in March on Fight Pass, and will battle inside the Octagon on May 31 in Brazil. Right after the end of the taping in Sao Paulo, Silva spoke to the media and explained why he fought Sonnen during the reality show.
“It was the worst part of the show,” Silva told the media on Tuesday. “I tell the other guys (on the show) ‘don’t do this and don’t do that,’ but (Sonnen) drives me nuts. I even apologized to the crew, but I’m not meek and mild.
“There are things I can’t handle. The boss (Dana White) likes what it’s fair, he was not upset about it. When they air that on TV, you’ll see that I was right. I did what I had to do.”
And Silva decided to add more fuel to the fire, joking about Sonnen’s need for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
“If he needs that, what can I say?” Silva said with a laugh. “I thought about using it, but my wife told me she would ask for a divorce, so I said I wouldn’t. People say (Sonnen) only has one ball, so if he has to use it maybe he can’t get it up.”
Sonnen is 1-3 in his last four fights, but his only win in 2013 was against Silva’s former teammate Mauricio Rua.
“(Sonnen) is a good athlete, I can’t underestimate him, but he didn’t beat the real Shogun,” he said. “Shogun gave him the neck. We can’t use that fight as a parameter.
“He showed who he really is against Rashad (Evans). He goes in there wanting to quit. When I push him, his spirit will want to go back home.”
Silva has never been submitted in 49 professional fights, and doesn’t plan to try defending Sonnen’s takedowns on May 31.
“I’ll focus on training the game from the bottom, to sweep (him) and get on top,” he said. “I won’t train too much on my takedown defense. If he takes me down, I’ll attack to submit or sweep.”