Believe it or not, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva isn’t a fan of one time contender Chael Sonnen.
Who would’ve thought those weeks of trash talk last summer would rub the reigning champion the wrong way?
Specifically, “The Spider” went off on Sonnen when discussing his upcoming title defense against Yushin Okami; who already owns a disqualification win over Silva.
Silva recently stated that he felt that Sonnen did not deserve a rematch with the UFC’s longest reigning champion, and decided to flat out rip into Sonnen this time around when he was informed that Okami trained with the Team Quest standout recently.
Sherdog.com took the time to find the most noteworthy quotes from Silva during an interview with O Globo, Brazil’s second largest newspaper.
“You have to find the best people to train with, and I think [Okami] chose wrong,” Silva stated. “I’d never align myself with a loser, a loser in every sense.”
Apparently, Silva is getting fed up about hearing Sonnen’s name, despite the fact that the former two-time NCAA All-American wrestler has not fought since last August.
Silva submitted Sonnen in the fifth round of the aforementioned UFC 117 encounter, after hands down losing the four rounds prior.
The Spider explained his logic, saying “He didn’t win the fight [between us] and got caught doping. You want to be a champion? Get with good people, with winners.”
Silva even went as far as to say that Sonnen is not a top tier middleweight, indicating for the first time that Sonnen only gave the Brazilian a good fight due to Silva cracking his ribs during their fight.
“Moreover, Sonnen wasn’t a tough opponent for me. I was injured with cracked ribs and fought five rounds. If I hadn’t been injured, the fight would have been different.”
Despite his harsh criticism in Okami’s choice of training partners, he still expects the Japanese superstar to give him a good fight in a rematch of their 2006 showdown in the Rumble on the Rock tournament.
“I’m starting to feel like Brazil vs. Argentina, not the rivalry but the pressure. I’m trained not to feel pressure, to approach it as just one more fight. And I’ll have to train because [Okami] will be well-trained, just like the Argentines when they come to play here [in soccer].”
Okami vs. Silva will be the main event fight at UFC 134 on August 27, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Stay tuned for when Uncle Chael fires back at Silva in the very near future.
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