Wanderlei Silva will coach the third season of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil in 2014 against his long-time rival Chael Sonnen.
A former Pride middleweight champion, “The Axe Murderer” is happy with the deal he got from the UFC after some controversy when he declined to meet Sonnen at UFC 167.
“It’s perfect, I’m glad to be part of The Ultimate Fighter again,” Silva told MMAFighting.com. “We’re going to give the fans a great show. It’s going to be interesting.”
Silva and Sonnen coaching against each other definitely makes TUF: Brazil 3 a must-see TV show in the U.S., but the Brazilian believes they should change the original idea. Silva wants Sonnen to coach his fellow Americans, and he wants to pick his own fighters for the team.
“I believe it could be even more interesting with Chael coaching American fighters,” he said. “We need big ratings. If we don’t pull good numbers on the TV we might not get another season (in Brazil), so we need to do a good show for the fans, and I believe it would be better with a Brazil vs. USA season. It makes no sense to have him here coaching Brazilian fighters.”
“I texted Dana White with that idea and he said he’s thinking about it. If it’s possible, I’m sure he’ll do it.”
Silva coached the first TUF season in Brazil two years ago in opposite to Vitor Belfort, and he expects the same adrenaline when he meets Sonnen for six consecutive weeks.
“It will be tough. He’s a douche bag, but that’s part of the deal,” he said. “I’m here to work. We do what we have to do. But it won’t be easy to live with him. Whatever I need to say, I’ll say right to his face.”
Knowing that he will enter the Octagon months later to face Sonnen makes it easier, though.
“That’s the best part,” Silva said. “I know that, in the end, I’ll make him pay inside the Octagon for everything he says. I expect a great win, and I want a knockout.”
Silva vs. Sonnen will likely take place in Brazil around June 2014, and that would mean a 15-month layoff for the Brazilian after his second-round knockout over Brian Stann, but he doesn’t seem to see that as a disadvantage.
“It’s an advantage for me, actually,” he said. “I won’t have any injures when I get there, I will be ready to give him everything he deserves.”
Sonnen has gone 1-1 since Silva’s last fight, scoring a first-round submission victory over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua just four months after a TKO loss to light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Before he makes the trip to Brazil, “The American Gangster” faces Rashad Evans on Nov. 16, and Silva doesn’t expect his rival to win.
“Rashad will destroy him,” he said. “He doesn’t have what it takes to defeat Rashad. And I will beat what’s left of him next.”