“I don’t like when a guy buries a grudge. A grudge is a very important thing.”
He did, in fact, let him get close.
The history of the Middleweight division in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) can’t be told without the mention of West Linn, Oregon’s Chael Sonnen. “The American Gangster” rose through the ranks as a top contender in 2009 and 2010 fresh off the heels of a stint in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). It ultimately culminated with one of the sport’s all-time greatest rivalries: Sonnen vs. the longtime divisional kingpin, Anderson Silva.
Throughout their saga, Sonnen made next to no friends with any Brazilian fighters, and against Silva, in particular, performed in an instant classic bout the first time he fought Silva at UFC 117 in August 2010. Unfortunately for Sonnen, he came up short via fifth round triangle choke after dominating the entirety of the bout before that point. Over one decade and a rematch later, the pair are friendlier than ever as seen in fight-related scenarios as well as Sonnen’s recent tattoo of Silva (sort of).
“No, for God’s sake,” Sonnen told MMA Mania of his Silva tattoo’s legitimacy at the 2023 World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. “The only part of my body that will be touching Anderson Silva’s body, particularly the face, is my knuckles if I’m ever given the chance.”
In the years that followed their rivalry, Sonnen stated he’d never watched either of his two fights with “The Spider” and despite their current friendship still sees no point in doing so. In terms of other rivals, there was another Silva whom the American stunningly now finds himself cordial after some serious bad blood in the latter stages of their careers.
“I’m not gonna watch [the Silva fights ever], it hurts,” Sonnen said. “It’s different. For him, he had a number of great moments. He had a number of big moments. I don’t even know if I am his biggest moment. But for me, it was him, and I think it’s a little bit different how we view it. He is a real gentleman. I’m glad that I got to know him.
“I gotta say, and this might surprise you or even disappoint you, but Wanderlei Silva turned out to be a hell of a nice guy,” he added. “Like, I didn’t see that one coming. I would even put Wanderlei in the category of a friend. If I needed something, I would call Wanderlei and he’d be there for me. That might surprise you.”
Sonnen has remained intertwined with mixed martial arts (MMA) in life after retirement as an analyst for various promotions, host, content creator, and about whatever else one can think of. As one of MMA’s all-time best on the microphone and at fight promotion, he admits that he’s somewhat disappointed in how things changed between him and the Silvas.
“I don’t like that by the way,” Sonnen said. “I don’t like when a guy buries a grudge. A grudge is a very important thing. Like to see [Alex] Pereira and [Israel] Adesanya not letting this thing go, there’s an honor in that. I appreciate that. You don’t ever let it go. I am disappointed to tell you that Wanderlei won me over and Anderson won me over. I don’t like that.”