It’s easy to see the ongoing feud between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva is becoming a little too personal for comfort.
At the press conference for UFC 148, Sonnen didn’t back down from any of the previous remarks he’s made about Silva.
In front of the Brazilian media, the self-proclaimed “People’s Champ” blasted the reigning middleweight champion in one of the most tense press conference moments in UFC history.
“I don’t know man. This guy says the craziest things. He is surrounded by such “yes” men and it’s unbelievable that he actually thinks like that. He talks about his legacy. He is so close to the trees that he can’t see the forest.
Come to America and ask people what they think of him. I mean, this guy is the real deal, wow, he became the number one contender when he beat up the great Chris Leben. He then defended his belt against the great Patrick Cote and the amazing Thales Leites. What a star this guy is.
What about the fact that I called him out for six years. ‘He disrespected my family.’ Yes, I did, and what did you do about it? You didn’t do a damn thing, and you’re not going to do anything on July 7th.
Get your excuses ready now, Anderson. I told everybody the first time I fought him that our skills are not even close. I will destroy him, and I’m going to tell you again now, our skills are not even close. So go to your Ed Soares school of excuse making and get them handy because you are going to need them on July 7th.”
The rematch between Silva and Sonnen was originally slated to take place at UFC 147 in Brazil, but due to scheduling conflicts, it was moved back as the UFC 148 headliner in Las Vegas.
Throughout MMA history, we have all witnessed some pretty significant rivalries, but none have reached the personal depth of Silva and Sonnen.
There has always been an invisible line that fighters tend to never cross, but when it comes to Silva, Sonnen has consistently stomped all over the line.
As this bout inches closer, emotions will surely be running at an all-time high.
The emotions run a little deeper when a person’s family is involved, but this could all be a tactic by Sonnen in hopes of throwing Silva off his game.
Has Sonnen gone too far, or is he right in calling out the often dormant Silva?
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