Duck, duck, goose!
Chael Sonnen has insulted Anderson Silva in every way possible to get another crack at the UFC title. With “The Spider” refusing to budge, Uncle Chael believes it’s time he surrenders the middleweight title.
“I’m not a bully. If a guy doesn’t want to fight, I’m not going to continue to tell him to fight. If he’s got his reasons that he doesn’t want to fight, then I don’t want to fight him either. The problem is he’s got a belt that I want, so he can surrender that belt, or I’m going to come and take it,” Sonnen told Karyn Bryant of MMA H.E.A.T.
After getting dominated for four straight rounds, Silva mustered up a last-minute triangle choke and submitted Sonnen in the waning minutes of the final round of their epic August 2010 encounter.
Since the bout, Sonnen has gone on record numerous times to take verbal jabs at Silva, his wife and the entire country of Brazil.
Silva has remained relatively quiet throughout the situation, but his silence certainly hasn’t encouraged Sonnen to let up. At UFC 136, Sonnen was more direct with his challenge after earning an impressive second-round submission victory over Brian Stann.
“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck. Super Bowl weekend, the biggest rematch in the history of the business, I’m calling you out Silva,” Sonnen yelled into the mic in his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
Sonnen is the rightful No. 1 contender, but Silva feels like he shouldn’t have to face someone so disrespectful.
“It’s the fight everyone wants to see,” UFC President Dana White said on The Jim Rome Show. “People want to see Chael vs. Anderson. Anderson is in the position where he feels this guy is so disrespectful he doesn’t want to give him a shot and everything else, but Anderson will end up fighting Chael Sonnen.”
The confirmation of the highly anticipated rematch had the MMA community buzzing with excitement, but it wouldn’t last long, as devastating news from Silva’s camp gave him yet another reason to not face Sonnen.
Following his UFC 134 victory over Yushin Okami, Silva decided to take some time off to heal after doctors reportedly diagnosed him for having bursitis in his shoulder.
The condition was expected to keep him out of action until early 2012, but according to White at the UFC 139 post-fight press conference, Silva will likely be sidelined until June.
“He called out Michael Bisping. When you’re the champion, you don’t call people out. You get called out. When you’re the champion, you take on all comers. You don’t point your finger like this is a Don King promotion, and we’re trying to protect guys,” said Sonnen.
“Anderson’s supposedly on the injured list. ‘Ahhh, I’ve got this bad shoulder.’ What are you calling guys out while you’re hurt for?”
Is Silva ducking Sonnen, and, if so, should he be stripped of his UFC title?
Silva and his doctors are the only ones that truly understand the extent of his shoulder injury. It would be incredibly close-minded to accuse a world class fighter of “faking an injury” to avoid facing another world-class fighter.
Bursitis is a tricky injury that causes some people complications their entire lives.
With that said, Silva is the UFC champion and the proposed best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He needs to step up and accept Sonnen’s challenge.
If he believes Sonnen is “disrespectful,” he should step up and punch him in the mouth. It’s an awkward stance for a world champion to take in the sports world to not face someone because you dislike them.
Should the New England Patriots and the New York Jets scratch their pair of meetings in the regular season due to personal disdain for one another? What about the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics? Could you imagine a world where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier never fought?
As the champion, Silva has an obligation to defend his throne against the best in the world, and currently, Sonnen is the top contender in the middleweight division.
The thought of stripping Silva is far-fetched at the moment, but the UFC could opt to put Sonnen in an interim world-title bout. The Oregon native has already been linked to a January bout with fellow middleweight contender Mark Munoz.
As long as Sonnen keeps winning, the rematch is inevitable.
Whether it’s a few months from now or a couple of years down the road, Silva needs to embrace the inevitable and prepare for another showdown with Uncle Chael.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com