Is Anderson Silva ducking Chael Sonnen?
Former Olympic Silver medalist Matt Lindland believes so.
MMAHQ caught up with the former UFC middleweight title contender to get his take on the proposed Super Bowl weekend bout.
“Haha. Anderson will try to find a way to weasel out of that fight. I don’t know what his contractual obligations are as far as who he has to fight as a champion, but they’re already laying the ground work,” said Lindland.
“His manager Ed Soares is already making excuses for Anderson to not take that fight, so yeah, I think they’re going to try to weasel out of it. I don’t know what his obligations are contractually with the UFC, but his obligations to the fans are that he needs to take that fight.”
Sonnen took Silva to hell and back at UFC 117. The proposed “People’s champ” dominated “The Spider” for four-and-a-half rounds before giving up a triangle in the winding minutes of the fifth round.
Since the loss, Sonnen has been champing at the bit for a rematch. Unfortunately, he was sidelined for over a year with medical suspensions and legal problems.
He returned at UFC 136, where he dominated rising middleweight contender Brian Stann.
Immediately after the win, Sonnen challenged Silva to a rematch for the UFC title. There hasn’t been any word from Silva’s side as far as accepting the challenge.
“Everyone of the fans know that Chael’s the number one contender and the guy that has a chance of beating him, can beat him and exposed his weaknesses in [the UFC 117 fight]. The fans want to see that fight, and Anderson owes the fans that fight,” Lindland said.
People may not like what Sonnen has to say, but he proved that he matches up extremely well with Silva. He isn’t afraid to get after the champion and test his takedown defense.
UFC President Dana White has already hinted at the Silva and Sonnen rematch being on deck. The only thing hampering the fight is an injured shoulder Silva has been nursing since his UFC 134 win over Yushin Okami.
In the mean time, Sonnen left Silva with an ultimatum via Twitter on Saturday.
“Anderson, you’ve got 24 hours to accept my offer. I suggest you take it, my next one won’t be quite so nice,” tweeted Sonnen.
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