Wanderlei Silva: Chael Sonnen ‘was taking it all and then some’

The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) has yet to announce a punishment for Wanderlei Silva for refusing to do a random drug test and later admitting the use of diuretics, but the former PRIDE champion is confident he won’t face any hurdles once he decides to get back in the Octagon.

Silva, who hasn’t fought since March of 2013, said in an interview to Tatame in Brazil that he’s “totally clean and cleared to fight as soon as possible.”

“Life is great. I’m training well,” Silva said. “I did a test on my own in Brazil, on June 6, to see if the corticoid and the diuretic were already out of my body. I also tested my testosterone levels. At my age, the level is 180, and I’m at 160. I’m totally clean and cleared to fight as soon as possible. I’m just waiting for the UFC to tell me a date and local. In two months, I will be ready to fight.”

Silva says he wanted to meet Sonnen, but has alternative ideas for his next UFC bout.

“I really wanted to get Sonnen, but he’s out. It could be (Vitor) Belfort. Why not?” he said. “He wins the title and fights me. Everybody wants to see this fight. I’m challenging the challenger [laughs].

“I would like to fight (Luke) Rockhold. He’s a good guy. He’s coming off wins and is the former Strikeforce champion. I think this (fight) could get me in line for the title. It would be perfect to fight him at Maracanazinho. I watched the UFC 142 card from the stands and saw the fans supporting Jose Aldo when he knocked out Chad Mendes. It would be a dream coming true to fight in Rio.”

Sonnen is not an option now that he tested positive for four banned substances and announced his retirement, but the Brazilian doesn’t believe his retirement is for real.

“He retired because he would be out for a year, but I still think he will be back,” he said. “It was not real. When (his suspension) is over, he will be back and we will fight.”

“The fans wanted to see this fight,” Silva continued. “I had invested, from my pocket, approximately 40 thousand dollars in preparation and other stuff. Nobody wanted to know about this. I won’t even mention the money I would make after the fight. It would be one of the biggest purses in the history of the UFC. I’m the one who lost more with this cancellation.

“Another thing that upsets me is that I saw some headlines saying ‘Wanderlei refuses to do the test, Sonnen is clean.’ I saw this on the internet. Who said he was clean? He was taking it all and then some.”

The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) has yet to announce a punishment for Wanderlei Silva for refusing to do a random drug test and later admitting the use of diuretics, but the former PRIDE champion is confident he won’t face any hurdles once he decides to get back in the Octagon.

Silva, who hasn’t fought since March of 2013, said in an interview to Tatame in Brazil that he’s “totally clean and cleared to fight as soon as possible.”

“Life is great. I’m training well,” Silva said. “I did a test on my own in Brazil, on June 6, to see if the corticoid and the diuretic were already out of my body. I also tested my testosterone levels. At my age, the level is 180, and I’m at 160. I’m totally clean and cleared to fight as soon as possible. I’m just waiting for the UFC to tell me a date and local. In two months, I will be ready to fight.”

Silva says he wanted to meet Sonnen, but has alternative ideas for his next UFC bout.

“I really wanted to get Sonnen, but he’s out. It could be (Vitor) Belfort. Why not?” he said. “He wins the title and fights me. Everybody wants to see this fight. I’m challenging the challenger [laughs].

“I would like to fight (Luke) Rockhold. He’s a good guy. He’s coming off wins and is the former Strikeforce champion. I think this (fight) could get me in line for the title. It would be perfect to fight him at Maracanazinho. I watched the UFC 142 card from the stands and saw the fans supporting Jose Aldo when he knocked out Chad Mendes. It would be a dream coming true to fight in Rio.”

Sonnen is not an option now that he tested positive for four banned substances and announced his retirement, but the Brazilian doesn’t believe his retirement is for real.

“He retired because he would be out for a year, but I still think he will be back,” he said. “It was not real. When (his suspension) is over, he will be back and we will fight.”

“The fans wanted to see this fight,” Silva continued. “I had invested, from my pocket, approximately 40 thousand dollars in preparation and other stuff. Nobody wanted to know about this. I won’t even mention the money I would make after the fight. It would be one of the biggest purses in the history of the UFC. I’m the one who lost more with this cancellation.

“Another thing that upsets me is that I saw some headlines saying ‘Wanderlei refuses to do the test, Sonnen is clean.’ I saw this on the internet. Who said he was clean? He was taking it all and then some.”