Wanderlei Silva may still be holding a grudge against Chael Sonnen after sharing a van with him in 2010. During that van ride, Wanderlei had some choice words for Sonnen, who he felt had disrespected every Brazilian fighter in the UFC.
It was assumed that the beef between the two was squashed, as they never seemed to have crossed paths since. Apparently, that’s not the case.
Wanderlei Silva appeared on The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo on Wednesday afternoon and went on the offensive against Sonnen.
He fights with his mouth. He’s not a top guy. He creates that style and looks for guys to give attention to him. But face to face, he’s like a kid. He’ll cry like a baby, man. I don’t know what kind of man can say something bad about you then say, “Hey Wanderlei, let’s shake hands.” F** you man. You talked some bad things. I’m old school. You’re talking some bulls*** about me, don’t shake my hand. This guy lost respect from me. Not one fighter respects him. I don’t like his style and I hope Anderson Silva kicks his ass. I think Anderson will be knock out Chael in the third round.
Based on career trajectory in the UFC, it is unlikely that these two will ever meet in the Octagon. Wanderlei has been incredibly inconsistent and appears to have been relegated to the “old-timers” circuit, fighting the likes of Cung Le and Rich Franklin.
Sonnen, on the other hand, will be challenging for the UFC middleweight belt on July 7 at UFC 148 against Anderson Silva. He has faced the top fighters in the middleweight division in his tenure and continues to dominate opponents.
There is a part of me that wishes that a fight between Wanderlei and Sonnen did happen. But those days are long passed. Silva is a shell of his former self, a veteran of many wars in the Pride ring. Those fights have caught up to him and he just cannot hang with the best of the division.
At this point in their respective careers, Sonnen is just too strong and powerful of a wrestler for Wanderlei to handle. He does not have the same wear and tear, and his chin is still granite-like.
Hopefully this rivalry remains in the press, if only for Silva’s sake. A fight with Sonnen would be a very poor career decision.
Transcript provided by Adam Martin.
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