Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen squash their beef, ending one of the UFC’s most iconic rivalries
The longstanding feud between MMA icons Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen has been squashed.
Silva and Sonnen’s rivalry was among the most personal beefs in UFC history with ‘The Axe Murderer’ taking great offense to some disparaging remarks the three-time title challenger said about Silva’s native Brazil and his mentors, the Nogueira brothers.
Things reached a boiling point in 2014 when the two were paired up to coach against one another on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. During the production, Sonnen and Silva famously brawled while on-set in what has become one of the most meme’d moments in combat sports history.
In 2017, the two finally settled things under the Bellator banner with Sonnen squeaking out a unanimous decision victory over the former PRIDE middleweight champion.
Wanderlei Silva confirms ‘the rivalry is done’ with Chael Sonnen
While walking the red carpet at the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony in Las Vegas last month, Silva was asked about his legendary feud with Sonnen, who was also in attendance to see his inaugural clash against ‘The Spider’ inducted into the HoF.
There, ‘The Axe Murderer’ revealed that the two men have since ended their once fiery feud, calling Sonnen “a good guy.”
“If I encounter him right now, we have a free fight,” Silva said with a laugh. “It’s a joke. He’s a good guy. I like him. The rivalry is done” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Chael Sonnen fought three more times in Bellator following his win over Silva, going 1-2 before hanging up his gloves for good. The American Gangster’ recently made his boxing debut in Brazil, squaring off with Anderson Silva in an exhibition bout.
Though the fight failed to live up to the hype, it was still exciting to see two of the sports’ greatest stars — albeit for very different reasons — meet the final time.
