Former Pride middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva is anxiously awaiting the chance to throw some punches at hated rival Chael Sonnen’s face sometime next year, but he has to make it through a whole new season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
Speaking with MMA Fighting, “The Axe Murderer” said he’s psyched about coaching another season, though he still prefers an America versus Brazil theme this time around.
“We’re going to give the fans a great show. It’s going to be interesting … I believe it could be even more interesting with Chael coaching American fighters,” he said. “We need big ratings. If we don’t pull good numbers on the TV we might not get another season (in Brazil), so we need to do a good show for the fans, and I believe it would be better with a Brazil vs. USA season. It makes no sense to have him here coaching Brazilian fighters.”
Of course, Silva wasn’t going to call it a day without spitting some verbal venom “The American Gangster’s” way.
“He’s a douche bag, but that’s part of the deal … I know that, in the end, I’ll make him pay inside the Octagon for everything he says. I expect a great win, and I want a knockout.”
Sonnen’s rivalry with Brazil has been ongoing since mid-2010, before he fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight title in August of the same year.
While “Uncle Chael” has somewhat scaled back the taunts since losing his rematch to “The Spider” at UFC 148 last July, that doesn’t mean he won’t engage in some social media warfare if the opportunity presents itself.
Sonnen is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career, submitting ex-UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 26 in August.
While the American grappler is just 3-3 in his past six bouts, he boasts an 8-1 record in his last nine non-title fights.
Before his encounter with Wanderlei Silva, Sonnen has to square off with another former titleholder in Rashad Evans at UFC 167 in about two weeks.
Will Silva be able to shut Sonnen’s mouth once and for all or will he get put on his back and beaten up by a superior wrestler when the two finally meet next year?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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