Chael Sonnen was just two minutes away from publishing arguably the greatest performance in mixed martial arts history when he squared off with Anderson Silva at UFC 117.
It was the first time in the history of the “Silva Era” that he had been dominated for four and a half rounds as Sonnen controlled nearly every aspect of the bout.
But, when the clock displayed just two minutes remaining in the fifth and final round, Silva connected on what many consider the greatest submission of all-time as he tapped out Sonnen to remain the UFC middleweight champion.
Following their electrifying bout, Sonnen made it known to the entire world that he wanted and deserved a rematch immediately.
However, Sonnen didn’t stop there as he began to call out Silva on a daily basis by way of Twitter, the Jim Rome Show, and even on national pay-per-view television following his victory over Brian Stann at UFC 136.
Fortunately for Sonnen, he will now receive his much desired rematch as UFC President Dana White recently announced that Sonnen would be Silva’s next fight.
But, in a recent interview, Sonnen didn’t seemed as excited as he once was when he addressed facing Silva in the upcoming future.
Sonnen stated,
“The fight’s going to happen for sure. I’ll be Anderson’s next fight. I don’t know that he’ll be mine.”
Sonnen continued,
“I’m not going to sit around and wait for him. I don’t just need the title, I need to be the best fighter in the world. If there’s someone who can knock me off and beat me then I don’t deserve to be there. So god bless them and let that guy have his shot.”
Now, that doesn’t found sound like the Sonnen we’ve previously knew as he had already declared himself the UFC middleweight champion.
However, Sonnen is now stating that he doesn’t need the title.
Sonnen also stated that if there is someone out there that deserves a title shot more and can defeat him, then let them have it.
Sonnen’s comments come as shocking to many and it leaves UFC fans across the globe with one serious question…
Is Chael Sonnen officially ducking Anderson Silva?
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