Rumor: Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen Being Eyed as Potential UFC 153 Main Event Replacement
(“What kind of backwards country is this? The game is called Whac-a-Mole, not Whac-a-Capybara, and the animals aren’t supposed to be alive!”)
Just a few hours ago, we promised that a few beautiful knockout videos would successfully help us all blissfully drift into a world where injuries no longer determined both the content of every other CP article and the makeup of every other UFC card, but it seems our vision of an impossibly awesome MMA utopia is merely that…an impossibility.
Be that as it may, some of you might be pleased to hear that amidst the UFC 153 clusterfuck of injuries lies a potential silver lining. According to FightersOnly, who have sited several anonymous sources, a grudge match years in the making between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen is being looked at as a possible replacement for UFC 153 now that Jose Aldo — or perhaps, the general incompetence of Brazilian drivers — has massacred our dreams of a featherweight title superfight.
Details remain sketchy at the moment, but in a recent interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, Silva stated that he would be more than willing to step up for the good of the UFC and his home country’s fans if asked to do so:
I think fighting in Rio would be great. Under no circumstances could I turn that down. I would love to fight for the crowd in Rio, and if it were against that guy who everybody wants me to face, it would be beautiful.
Spoiler alert: Chael Sonnen is “that guy who everybody wants me to face.”
Rumor has it that the bout is being considered at a catchweight of 195 pounds, which might sound familiar to the three of you who actually paid for UFC 147. At this point in his career, Wandy is basically the go-to guy for any Brazilian MMA card that is circling the drain.
Wanderlei also stated that although he wasn’t exactly in fighting shape at the moment, he is on weight and healthy enough to fight if needed:
From experience, a fighter always has to be ready. I am not in a competition training schedule but I am training, on-weight and feeling good. It’s just a case of if I am offered the fight.
I accept to fight any one and with him it would be tasteful. It would be a bout that people would like to see. I wasn’t offered it yet, but if the boss needs me and I can contribute to make the fans happy, I would feel so glad.
Without opening up a whole new can of worms (or perhaps a can of worms that just won’t close), we’d just like to say that we wish every MMA fighter had this attitude. But there we go again, dreaming of a world that will never exist.
Sonnen has yet to comment on the potential matchup, and is still scheduled to face Forrest Griffin in his return to the light heavyweight division at UFC 155.
We will have more on this potential matchup as things develop, but in the meantime, here’s a video (courtesy of MMAFighting) in which Dana White laments over UFC 153 and how frustrating it is to be poor Frankie Edgar these days. Without trying to sound like a kiss ass, I must say that I honestly feel sorry for both guys in this situation, as both of them can’t seem to catch a fucking break lately. Oh well, I guess the fact that DW is richer than most, if not all Central African countries combined should help him sleep tonight. That, and the custom orthopedic Serta Sealy memory foam angel cloud mattress he sleeps on, of course.
So, Potato Nation, would Sonnen vs. Wanderlei be enough to quell your disappointment over the loss of Edgar vs. Aldo? Pick the less obvious answer here.
-J. Jones
