The perennial UFC titlist of the middleweight division Anderson Silva has opined that Chael Sonnen respects nothing and talks too much. MMAmania has the story:
Chael has good wrestling. The first fight, I broke my ribs, I fought with broken ribs. But that’s okay, I finished the fight and I win. But this time I am ready. I am training hard, this is a different fight. My opinion for Chael is that this guy does not respect nothing. This time in this sport is very important. The people watching the UFC, the people that watch Chael Sonnen talking, they are like ‘What? What is this sport? I don’t like this sport. This guy doesn’t respect nothing.’
I understand sometimes you need to promote the fight but, I don’t know. Chael talks about my people in Brazil, about my wife, about the older fighters. It’s his problem, it’s no good, it’s no good promotion, this is a sport. I love my sport. I love it and I respect the older people and the older fighters of the sport. This is a great time for the sport. But Chael maybe does not understand this, his problem is he talks too much. It is no good.
Eighteen months have passed since Sonnen’s near miss at capturing Silva’s coveted 185-lb. belt at UFC 117, and what ensued following that eventful night was a master class in Sonnen-esque tactics to goad the champion into a rematch.
Employing invectives and diatribes was Sonnen’s preferred weapon of choice in an attempt to undermine, unsettle and force Silva’s hand into a second meet. Though, try as he might, “The Spider” refused to take the bait, until recently when he responded and accepted Uncle Chael’s challenge—a summer clash in Brazil.
That said, the rematch could’ve happened in early 2011 if hadn’t been for the fact that Oregon native had failed a drug test at the time of their first outing, an offense that resulted in a 12-month suspension (later reduced to six months).
Though since that period, Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) has fought twice (Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami), before being sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Conversely, Sonnen defeated Brian Stann on his return to the Octagon as well as recently cementing his place as the No. 1 contender following his title eliminator bout against Michael Bisping.
Sonnen (27-11-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) has finally got his date with destiny, and it’s all to play for when he eventually locks horn with the Spider.
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