Chael Sonnen on Anderson Silva: The better guy won tonight
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva successfully defended his title at UFC 148 against challenger Chael Sonnen. The two were engaged in a bitter rivalry for the past 2 years with Sonnen taking his trashtalking to unprecedented heights in MMA. UFC President Dana White said that people were telling him that Sonnen crossed the line and was bad for the sport to which White responded: “This is the fight business.”
After the bout was finished and Silva’s mostly Brazilian fans began to boo and jeer at Sonnen, Silva took the microphone and said: “Let’s show Brazil has manners, I want everyone to applaud Chael. (Chael,) If you’d like to have a barbecue at my house, I’d love to have you over for a barbecue.”
For all his hyperbole leading up to this rematch, Sonnen seemed humble and praised his opponent who had vanquished him in the second round: “They gave me the opportunity. Nobody owes me anything.I’m very grateful to be here and have the chance. He’s a true champion, man. He got me with a good knee.”
Silva’s knee to Sonnen’s body seemed controversial to some viewers. White immediately headed off any discussion at the press conference following the fight: “The knee was legal, the ref called it legal. There is no need to talk about the illegal knee because it was legal.” Sonnen shared his boss’ sentiment and made no protest about the knee being illegal, going so far as to say he did not care if it was legal or not.
As the topic shifted to Silva grabbing Sonnen’s trunks, Sonnen quickly answered: “Anderson grabbed my trunks but I grabbed his right back. It goes both ways and we can’t sit and nitpick these things, It is a two-man sport and it all evens out in the end, next time out I’ll grab somebody else’s down the road.”
When asked if he still felt the way about Silva as he did leading up to the fight, Sonnen went so far as to call the Champion a nice guy and say it was over: “That’s the way you deal with combat. You always shake hands and leave it in the Octagon or the ring or on the mat. I have to give it to the Brazilian fans they have it down right, they back there guy. North America is the only country in the world that doesn’t do that. There’s always opportunities and I felt like a doofus for falling down. We were in the middle of battle and there were some parts out there where I felt really good and some parts that really hurt, especially the end.”
Sonnen said his immediate plans were: “I am going to get my Aunt a lobster tail, I’m going to take a shower and hopefully get a good night’s sleep.” His final comment on the fight was simply: “The better guy won tonight.”
Later, when Anderson Silva made his way to the press conference, he was asked if he harbored any ill will toward Sonnen who had insulted the Champion, his team, his family and his country. Silva flashed a grin and simply said: “No.”
