Are Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva the Coaches On the Next Season of TUF?

("There is only four things I not like in this world. One is Justin Bieber; the other three is Chael Sonnen.")At the tail end of Chael Sonnen’s exclusive post-CSAC hearing interview he did with Mike Straka last week, the former UFC number one…


("There is only four things I not like in this world. One is Justin Bieber; the other three is Chael Sonnen.")

At the tail end of Chael Sonnen’s exclusive post-CSAC hearing interview he did with Mike Straka last week, the former UFC number one middleweight contender told the HDNet reporter that he knew what was up next for him, he just couldn’t say because it was "a secret at this point."

Now I may be reading into that statement and the fact that Sonnen has been hellbent lately on calling out Wanderlei Silva at every turn, but if I had to wager a guess as to what the UFC had on tap for "The Most Interesting Man in the World" it would be a TUF coaching slot opposite "The Axe Murderer."

Sure the season would require subtitles pretty much every time Wand opens his mouth, but they had to do the same with the Brits on the USA vs. UK season, so it’s not like that will turn away viewers, especially when you have as polarizing of a persona as Sonnen opposite him.

I interviewed Chael prior to his fight with Nate Marquardt and he was unusually complimentary of his opponent. When I asked him why, he told me that he basically wasn’t in character yet that far out from the fight and that if I called him a few weeks before the fight he’d be on his game. He also said that it’s tough to smack talk a guy he likes like Marquardt.

To me, that says one of two things about the Wanderlei Twitter assault he launched the day after his CSAC meeting using his account which has been inactive since the news of his positive drug test hit and which he used to repeatedly roast Anderson Silva and his manager, Ed Soares leading up to his last fight: 

He must really want a fight with Wand.

or

He must already have a fight with, or a slot on TUF coaching opposite Silva lined up.

Here’s the backstory and the evidence that prompted my educated guess after the jump:

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Video Roundup: The Eight Nastiest Walk-Off Knockouts in MMA History

Sometimes a fighter connects with his opponent so perfectly that he can confidently peace out to collect his check before the ref even stops the fight. It’s called a walk-off knockout, and it’s what all other knockouts aspire to be. Here, presented w…

Wanderlei Silva Quinton Jackson PRIDE

Sometimes a fighter connects with his opponent so perfectly that he can confidently peace out to collect his check before the ref even stops the fight. It’s called a walk-off knockout, and it’s what all other knockouts aspire to be. Here, presented with limited commentary, are our favorites.

#8: Brad Kohler vs. Steve Judson @ UFC 22 (9/24/99)

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Alan Belcher Calls Out Wanderlei Silva for Comeback, Wants TUF Coaching Slot

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC middleweight star Alan Belcher is still on the road to recovery from an eye injury that nearly ended his career, but with his condition rapidly improving, Belcher can see clearly into the future and his comeback …

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UFC middleweight star Alan Belcher is still on the road to recovery from an eye injury that nearly ended his career, but with his condition rapidly improving, Belcher can see clearly into the future and his comeback fight, sometime in 2011.

The 26-year-old isn’t asking for anything easy. In fact, he wants to fight one of the sport’s all-time great warriors.

“I want to fight Wanderlei Silva,” told MMA Fighting. “And I think he needs to fight someone like me, a top young guy, to really stay in the mix,” he said. “He needs to do that to stay a legit fighter and not just a legend selling pay-per-views because he has a name. He has to fight me to stay up there.”

Alan Belcher Calls Out Wanderlei Silva for Comeback, Wants TUF Coaching Slot

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC middleweight star Alan Belcher is still on the road to recovery from an eye injury that nearly ended his career, but with his condition rapidly improving, Belcher can see clearly into the future and his comeback …

Filed under: ,

UFC middleweight star Alan Belcher is still on the road to recovery from an eye injury that nearly ended his career, but with his condition rapidly improving, Belcher can see clearly into the future and his comeback fight, sometime in 2011.

The 26-year-old isn’t asking for anything easy. In fact, he wants to fight one of the sport’s all-time great warriors.

“I want to fight Wanderlei Silva,” he said, “and I think he needs to fight someone like me, a top young guy, to really stay in the mix,” he said. “He needs to do that to stay a legit fighter and not just a legend selling pay-per-views because he has a name. He has to fight me to stay up there.”

State of the UFC Middleweights

Filed under: UFCNovember is a month without any title fights, which makes it a good time to take a long view of the future title picture in each weight class. Today we look at the middleweight division.

Anderson Silva just keeps on winning. At age 35 …

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November is a month without any title fights, which makes it a good time to take a long view of the future title picture in each weight class. Today we look at the middleweight division.

Anderson Silva just keeps on winning. At age 35 he’s probably past his athletic prime, and it’s been quite a while since he’s had a dominant middleweight title defense, but the bottom line is that while no one else in UFC history has ever won more than eight straight fights, Silva is 12-0 inside the Octagon.

So will Silva stay undefeated over the next year and remain head and shoulders above the rest of the middleweight division? Or is 2011 the year that the UFC sees a new middleweight champ? We explore the state of the division below.

Report: UFC Returns to Brazil in November 2011

(Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil. Jesus, they’ve been talking about "the old Vitor" since 1998??)
According to a new report, the UFC will make a long-overdue return to Brazil in November 2011. GracieMag.com sources claim …

(Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil. Jesus, they’ve been talking about "the old Vitor" since 1998??)

According to a new report, the UFC will make a long-overdue return to Brazil in November 2011. GracieMag.com sources claim that the event will be held at the HSBC Arena in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, a 15,000-seat venue that will host the basketball and gymnastics events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The rumored event would mark the first time the UFC has held a card in Brazil since "Ultimate Brazil" in October 1998, which featured Frank Shamrock defending his middleweight belt against John Lober, Pat Miletich becoming the UFC’s first welterweight champion after outpointing Mikey Burnett, Pedro Rizzo’s UFC debut against Tank Abbott, and Vitor Belfort‘s legendary knockout of Wanderlei Silva. With a renewed rivalry brewing between Belfort and Silva, we can’t think of a better occasion for a rematch.

Semi-related: Speaking of Pedro Rizzo…the three-time UFC heavyweight title challenger is currently preparing for a fight against former champ Tim Sylvia, which will take place in the War on the Mainland promotion sometime early next year. According to Rizzo, "Dana White mentioned that the winner should get another chance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship." Both fighters are currently riding three-fight win streaks.