A Chael Sonnen win over Mark Munoz at UFC on FOX later this month might just be a gift and a curse for “the gangster from West Linn, OR.”
That’s because UFC president Dana White confirmed to FUEL TV that he is looking to book the much-anticipated Silva vs. Sonnen rematch in Brazil, the target of many of Sonnen’s recent verbal attacks.
“If we can get Chael Sonnen versus Anderson Silva,” White said at a taping of UFC Tonight, “that will probably be held in Brazil in a stadium. Everyone in the world will want to watch that.”
Rumors of a stadium show in Sao Paulo have been swirling for months, with the open-air Morumbi Stadium being a leading candidate to host the event. Depending on how it’s configured, that particular soccer stadium could hold close to 80,000 people for a UFC card. The organization’s current attendance record is 55,724 fans for UFC 129 in April 2011.
Sonnen was supposed to attend UFC 134 in Brazil to corner Yushin Okami, until he was asked by one of Okami’s sponsors to stay at home after receiving several death threats due to his anti-Brazil comments.
“It got a little bit out of hand,” Sonnen said on The MMA Hour. “The level of death threats got a little bit high. I reached 10 death threats, and I think No. 7 was actually serious. By the looks of his eyes, it looked like he’d stabbed somebody before.”
Considering their heated rivalry, a Silva-Sonnen rematch would obviously be a of great interest to the Brazilian fans, plus the show could also feature the finals of TUF: Brazil, which would include a battle between coaches Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
Sonnen vs. Munoz, which is being billed as No. 1 middleweight contender’s fight, takes place Jan. 28, live on FOX. The UFC will return to Brazil two weeks earlier for UFC 142 on Jan. 14 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.