The rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen has been agreed to, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath to see it delivered.
It just isn’t going to happen.
Dana White already made the rematch in Brazil somewhere in June. There isn’t a signed contract yet and there never will be.
It isn’t because Anderson Silva is afraid of Chael Sonnen, either. In this writer’s opinion, Silva would win a rematch easier than he did their first fight.
It is because of hate.
Brazilians hate Chael Sonnen, and that passionate hatred will stop him from getting into the country and competing.
I have a few friends who are Brazilian. They are very intelligent people and very knowledgeable about the sport. They know that Chael Sonnen is just saying things to get noticed and make the UFC and himself more money.
No matter how many times that is explained to them, they still hate Sonnen with a frenetic energy that is hard to find anywhere else. Their emotions are stronger than their logic.
That isn’t an insult. It’s understandable that when someone attacks their heritage and culture, they would ignore any reason to give the fighter a pass, but it also makes them slightly dangerous to be around because when it comes to Sonnen they can’t be reasoned with.
Silva is the same. He is a passionate fighter even if he is calm and collected in the cage. He was angry about a photo a few months back in which his manager Ed Soares seemed to be joking with Chael Sonnen.
Silva hates Sonnen as much as his countrymen.
Even if the two sides do sign a contract to fight each other, the fight can’t happen in Brazil. There is just too much hostility there for Sonnen to be able to fight.
And Silva isn’t willing to fight him anywhere else. Silva even stated that if Sonnen wanted to fight him he needed to “go to Brazil.”
There is a good chance that even if the fight gets signed and the UFC hires a personal guard to protect Sonnen, it won’t be enough to stop the Brazilian fans from hurting him.
It won’t help that Sonnen will ramp up his insults about Silva and Brazil before the fight. It is what he does and he won’t stop now, especially when he knows it will affect attendance and pay-per-view numbers.
It could also mean he will be seriously harmed or even unable to compete.
Sonnen decided to anger some of the most emotional people in the world and while Brazilians can be some of the most loving people you’ll ever meet, they can be just as violent and angry.
Sonnen has found that out in the Octagon, but when he does head to Brazil a second time, he might find out that the average Brazilian can be just as dangerous.
Fortunately, that will never happen.
Unfortunately, that means the fight won’t.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
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