Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II set for 80,000 seat stadium in Rio

UFC President Dana White is not known for holding his tongue and as Wednesday’s press conference in Calgary came to a close he let everyone in on some information that almost every fight fan had been waiting to hear. “Think about this, the Chael Sonnen (versus) Anderson Silva fight, I’m probably going to put my foot in my mouth again, and probably not supposed to be talking about this either, but I always do it so, this thing’s going to be in a soccer stadium in Rio. This thing’s going to have over 80,000 people are going to be at this event down there.”

And just like that, a fight that Chael Sonnen still says he has no contract for was announced. No date was given and no venue was named, but according to White, the eagerly anticipated rematch is going to be the showcase fight at the largest event in UFC history.  The announcement was perfect promotion, giving fans just enough information that they will be talking about the fight, building anticipation for what could be the biggest rematch in UFC history.

The build up to this fight could be very interesting as Sonnen has proven to be one of the better interviews in MMA, managing to get under the skin of his opponent, while at the same time generating an enormous amount of interest in the fight.

The first time the two met, at UFC 117, Sonnen was ahead on all three cards and looked like he was on his way to claiming the Middleweight title when Silva managed to submit him via triangle armbar at the 3:10 mark of the fifth and final round.

Since that time, Silva has defended the title twice, while Sonnen has claimed that he is the rightful owner of the title, even taking to carrying a replica title with him to the UFC on FOX 2 press conference.

Further Reading: Chael Sonnen: I still don’t have the contract to fight Anderson Silva

Outer Photo: CombatLifestyle.com