Relations seem to be warming between two of the UFC’s bitterest rivals, with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva full of praise for Chael Sonnen in a recent interview.
Speaking to Whoa! TV (h/t Adam Guillen Jr. of MMA Mania), Silva remarked that his former opponent may have crossed the line with some of his trash talking but was still a hard worker who always came through for the UFC and Dana White.
Chael talk too much, but is a good guy. He’s not bad, he’s a good guy. Chael is (always) in the media for fight. Chael fight for the belt against me two times. Chael fight Jon Jones, Chael fought Shogun, Chael fight now. Chael is working for Dana White all the time. Dana don’t need to talk nothing because Chael is working all the time. It’s normal. Chael talk.
The kind words come after years of animosity between the two during which Sonnen honed some of the most biting trash talk—aimed at Silva—the UFC has ever seen.
After securing his first title shot against Silva in 2010, Sonnen’s verbal attacks on the then 185-pound champ continued through to their rematch in July last year, by which point Silva’s fury against the American reached a boiling point.
During the weigh-ins for that event at UFC 148, Silva went so far as to strike Sonnen with his shoulder, a move that could have led to the cancellation of the fight. However, after securing the second win, all seemed to have been forgotten with the Brazilian even inviting his opponent to a BBQ to put things behind them.
More recently, Sonnen, who is to appear opposite new nemesis Wanderlei Silva in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, suggested that he would ask The Spider to be a guest coach on his team.
Silva hasn’t responded to that suggestion, and he’s unlikely to accept considering his friendship with Wanderlei and the enemies Sonnen’s made in his home country.
Silva’s next fight is a less-heated, though much more challenging fight to regain his title from Chris Weidman, which he lost over the summer. The fight will go down Dec. 28 at UFC 168.
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