Don’t write off a grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva just yet, according to “The Axe Murderer” himself.
The Brazilian fan favorite told MMA Fighting recently that he has already resumed training and would love to get a crack at “The American Gangster” on his home turf sometime next year.
“I’m back to training already, and I will be ready to fight soon,” Silva said. “… I talked to the boss and said that I can fight Sonnen in Brazil or in Oregon,” he said. “I want to beat him in front of all his friends. I want them to watch how bad I will destroy him. I’d be down to fight in his backyard. You can call all his friends. I want Sonnen to feel ashamed of how bad he’ll be beaten by me.”
Silva, a former Pride champion, hasn’t fought since a “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC on FUEL 8 in March, knocking out Brian Stann, causing the American hero to hang up the gloves a few months afterwards.
UFC President Dana White said late last month that Silva would not be able to resume training until January 2014 due to an undisclosed injury (via MMA Junkie), however, it seems the 37-year-old is well ahead of schedule.
Sonnen, in typical fashion, wasted very little time in firing back at his rival, claiming that all of Silva’s victories under the Pride banner were fixed during today’s edition of Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour.
The former two-time All-American wrestler got back in the win column about a month ago at UFC Fight Night 26, scoring a shocking first round submission win over former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
While Sonnen is just 3-3 in his past six fights, the outspoken Oregonian boasts an impressive 8-1 mark in his past nine non-title bouts.
Sonnen hopes to follow up the decisive win by outworking another former 205-pound titleholder in Rashad Evans at UFC 167 on November 16.
Will the bad blood between Sonnen and Wanderlei finally spill over into the cage in 2014 or will this matchup go down as one of the most logical fights to never happen?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com