On January 28, one-time UFC middleweight title challenger, Chael Sonnen, will face off against Mark Munoz in a matchup to determine the No. 1 contender to the middleweight title.
Many are hoping for Sonnen to earn the win, as it will set up one of the biggest fights in UFC history—Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II.
Everybody knows the saga of what went down before, during and after the first fight between these two. Ever since the fight, Sonnen has made it clear that he wants another shot at Silva.
With a win against Munoz, it cannot be denied.
Let’s fast forward.
It’s August of 2012. The rematch between Silva and Sonnen is about to begin, in a soccer stadium in Brazil in front of the largest audience for a UFC event ever. Over 80,000 people are there cheering for Silva.
In just four minutes, Silva destroys Sonnen with the most brutal knockout of Silva’s career.
Should this happen, where does the middleweight division go from there?
At that point, there will be very few—if any—challenges left for Silva. He will have defeated everyone that could feasibly get to him. The only potential challenge left would be Michael Bisping should he get past Demian Maia.
If Silva wins a rematch with Sonnen, I would fully expect Silva to retire from MMA.
By that time, Silva would be 37 years old, on a 15-fight winning streak and will have shown the world that his first fight with Sonnen was not representative of the true Silva.
As far as Chael, if he loses, it is nearly impossible to speculate on what he may do.
Perhaps he would fight for the vacant title, perhaps he would move up to light heavyweight and challenge the champion there, or perhaps he may even retire on the spot as well.
After UFC 136, Sonnen made it clear how far he was willing to go.
“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck. I’m calling you out Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I’ll leave the UFC forever.”
If he was willing to do it once, he may be willing to do it again.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.
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