Former Pride star Wanderlei Silva was probably more shocked than any of us when he saw arch nemesis Chael Sonnen submit his former Chute Boxe Academy training partner, Mauricio Rua, Saturday night.
A YouTube clip has surfaced showcasing The Axe Murderer’s reaction to Sonnen locking up a guillotine choke early in the fight, forcing Rua to tap and call it a night early.
Obviously, the hard-hitting Brazilian wasn’t particularly thrilled with the result.
Unfortunately, the video cuts off before Sonnen challenges Silva to a fight in three months.
Via this video on UFC.com, here’s what Uncle Chael said when color commentator Joe Rogan interviewed him immediately after the victory, which earned him a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus:
I’m the man of the hour, Joe, too sweet to be sour, what you see is what you get and what you don’t is better yet. I’m the women’s pick and the men’s regret and if you went against Chael Sonnen you made a bad bet.
Now … right here on the UFC’s new home, FOX Sports 1, Wanderlei Silva … six feet tall, 205 pounds … boy until I met you, I didn’t know they stacked crap that high! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I will let you know when I’m done Joe. I just got done with a world champion, if you think I wanna add a middle-aged comedian just for the goddamn pleasure of it, you better think again! Wanderlei Silva, in three months, you and the bad guy!
With Sonnen back to his winning ways, everyone wants a piece of The American Gangster, with Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis all asking for a matchup with the middleweight contender.
After a failed light heavyweight title bid against Jon Jones at UFC 159 in April, Sonnen proved he can still hang with the best of them by making short work of Rua, a former UFC and Pride champ.
Heading into Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 26 headlining bout, Shogun was ranked No. 8 in the UFC’s official light heavyweight Top 10.
In all fairness though, Rua is just 2-4 since capturing the UFC’s 205-pound title from Machida at UFC 113 in May 2010, so his place in the division is highly debatable following his decisive loss to Sonnen.
While Sonnen has made it quite clear he would prefer to fight Silva next, he has also accepted Belfort‘s challenge with open arms.
After proving he still has plenty of quality fights left in him, what opponent makes the most sense for Sonnen to fight next?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.
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