The two retired MMA stars, Chael Sonnen, 47, [29-14-1], and Anderson Silva, 49, [34-11-0], will finally have another rematch, but not in an octagon. The two athletes will face each other as the main event of Spaten Fight Night on Saturday, June 15, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The two fighters had their first battle at the middleweight title fight at UFC 117 in 2010, during which Sonnen suffered a submission loss. ‘The American Gangster’ did not take this loss well and pushed for a rematch, but he also lost their next faceoff at UFC 148 following a second-round KO.
Although both fights are past their athletic primes, Sonnen still believes the boxing match will be a redeeming shot.
“There is nothing about this where I go, ‘Boxing is not quite my style,’” He said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier. “I’m goung out there to beat this man, to fix my life, or I am going to go the rest of my days looking at my career as a miserable fail.”
‘The Bad Guy’ went on to discuss how he felt about their initial fight and how losing the rematch bout two years later made him feel.
“Sports were such a part of my life. I did them since I was 8 and a half years old. And none of them went the right way. I lost in the state finals. I lost in the national finals. I lost in the UFC finals. There’s counseling and things that are involved when you have those traumatic experiences. Of trying, basically, to let yourself know, ‘Hey, that sport is not a big deal. Quit being a baby.’ But as easy as it is to say, it’s not easy to do when I don’t have memories of anything else. I didn’t have social events and friends and sleepovers and things like this. I was always at practice. So when it doesn’t go your way, it’s one of those things that sticks with you. It would be a massive opportunity to fix it. …
“Yes, it would soften the blow of the earlier losses.” He continued. “It wouldn’t replace those two fights. Those happened, and it’s not just about who can beat who up and things like this. The most important part of our sport is time. Can you beat the guy at a certain time?
“So no, I would not make believe that if i got the jump in him. I’m going to grab the mic and cut a Tito-chuck-esque type speech. I realize what the stakes were and I realize that they’re not there now. Bur yes, inside and internally, yeah. And I’s stop by Cleaveland to see the guy [I lost against] from NCAA and I’d stop by Medford to see the guy [I lost against] from high school state if I had the opportunity.”
The athletes have the longest rivalry in UFC history, and their fight will be added to the UFC Hall of Fame in June. Silva’s farewell battle will be the highlight of the fight. However, Sonnen doesn’t intend to go easy on him when they meet in the ring
“To be the one to get to sign off and close out his career, there is a certain appreciation,” Sonnen said. “ But, before I go too nice, guy, on you, the rule, starting with No.1, is that we damage each other. I know people like to be friendly and like to say we made up. They love to use the word ‘respect.’
“I will adhere to it, too because it seems like the gentlemanly thing to do. But I’m going to go damage him, which is what I’ve agreed to do. I’m going to put my body in there because he asked. He could have gotten any opponent he wanted. He apparently still wants to do damage to me. So, to act like everything is behind us would be insincere.”
