Former Pride star Wanderlei Silva had a run in with longtime rival Chael Sonnen at the Mr. Olympia Expo in Las Vegas on Saturday, catching footage of the incident on tape.
Sonnen, also a co-anchor on Fox Sports 1’s UFC Tonight, predictably addressed the issue on tonight’s broadcast:
“I’m all for Wanderlei having a little fun,” Sonnen said. “Good for him. Let him have his fun. But Wanderlei, thee things: First off, if you’re going to do a publicity stunt, do not bring your own camera. It looks staged, which it was. It insults your audience. Assume that they’re going to connect the dots. Show up where a camera is, and then go into your routine. Secondly, in this country and within this industry, if you refuse to fight a guy like you did me, you forfeit your right to talk about that person in this type of fashion. Accosting someone in public can be regrettable. Accosting a gangster can be hazardous.”
On his third and final point, “The American Gangster” invited his Brazilian foe to the set of UFC Tonight to conduct a “conventional and traditional-style interview.”
At one point, it seemed academic that Sonnen vs. Silva would headline UFC Fight Night 26 in August, per MMA Junkie, but “Uncle Chael” ended up getting matched up with fellow Brazilian Mauricio Rua.
The former two-time All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon shocked the world by tapping “Shogun,” a former UFC light heavyweight champ, with a guillotine choke at the end of the first round.
The decisive victory earned Sonnen “Submission of the Night” honors.
On the other hand, “The Axe Murderer” has been on the shelf since scoring a vintage knockout over Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel 8 in March.
Clearly, the heavy-handed fan favorite is still interested in a showdown with Sonnen, but his timing on the matter remains pretty poor.
Sonnen is already booked to fight another former UFC titleholder in Rashad Evans, with the bout set for UFC 167 on November 16.
The event takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and Sonnen vs. Evans serves at the co-main event of the evening.
Will Sonnen and Wanderlei ever settle their longstanding grudge inside the Octagon or are the two competitors set to simply trash-talk one another until the end of days?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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