Chael Sonnen: Not one day of Anderson Silva’s life has he been the best fighter in the world
Today Chael Sonnen had some more choice words to fuel the fire leading up to his hyped rematch with Anderson Silva in Las Vegas July 7. In an interview with tatame.com, he explained the exact nature of his rivalry with UFC Middleweight champion Silva, and answered why he has been bad-mouthing Brazil. When asked why he says the things he does about Brazil, Sonnen replied:
“Why don’t you ask Anderson why he let me say those things about you guys for so long? Why don’t you guys ask Anderson why he’s a Brazilian when it’s convenient? When the reality is he was made rich by a North American company, famous by a North American company, bought a 2 million dollars mansion in North America so he can leave Brazil the first chance he gets. Why don’t you guys ask him that? He’s Brazilian when it’s convenient.”
Sonnen went on to discuss the nature of his long-standing feud with Silva, describing it with the use of a boxing analogy:
“Rivalry comes with the challenge. He’s a fraud, phony and I’m not gonna stand before him. I had to grow up with this crap, I had to grow up with Mike Tyson’s crap. They tried to tell us Mike was the best fighter in the world, but in the reality he was never the best fighter in our country. The whole time Evander Holyfield was there. Every single day of Mike Tyson’s life that he held the world championship belt, Evander Holyfield was there and could beat him in every one of those days. Every single day that Anderson has the world championship, I’ve been here. There’s not one day of his life he’s been the best fighter in the world. I’m the best and I’ve always been.”
Either Sonnen believes he truly is the best fighter on the planet, or he is the best around at hyping a fight. Perhaps it is a combination of both. Many, including Silva himself, believe that Sonnen is purely a wrestler with limited skills in the overall game of Mixed Martial Arts, to which he replied:
“I think it’s a compliment. I am a martial artist mixture or anything else you wanna say. I don’t wear little cocky pajamas, I don’t bowl, I don’t lay on my back looking to somebody up. I’m a pugilist, I’m a fist fighter, I’m a gangster from the mean streets of Oregon.”
The stage has been set, albeit moved outside of Silva’s home of Brazil, and Sonnen is stoking the fire with the best trash talk he can dish. Can he beat Silva and do what no man has been able to accomplish in the Octagon?
Further Reading: Chael Sonnen: My MMA career will be a colossal failure without that 12-pounds of gold
