As the MMA world debates the legitimacy of the brawl between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva on the set of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, it appears that "Uncle Chael" is interested in moving on from their long-hyped feud.
Last night, just a few hours before the impromptu scrap was aired on TUF, "The American Gangster" called out a former UFC middleweight champion for his swan song.
No, no, no... The math teacher doesn't walk away. I put him away. You got one good one left. I'm not asking...
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) April 13, 2014
Sonnen is referring to Rich Franklin, who was a math teacher for Oak Hills Local School District in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio before he was a marquee fighter, per UFC.com.
In an interview with Submission Radio on Saturday, "Ace" expressed an interest in completing a trilogy with Anderson Silva, the man who won the middleweight title from him back at UFC 64 in October 2006.
While Franklin was able to quickly earn his way into a rematch just a year later, the result was nearly identical, as he got stopped with knees from the clinch in the second round (as opposed to the opening frame).
Sonnen, who also has two losses on his ledger to "The Spider," wasn't going to let that little piece of information deter him from trying to get under the 39-year-old's skin.
What would you like me to call u? Mr Franklin? Rich? Richard? Dick? Ace? Just call me the 1 who ended ur career. Now I'll take a berry blast
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) April 14, 2014
Franklin is in the midst of a 17-month layoff from the cage, most recently suffering a brutal one-punch knockout at the hands of ex-Strikeforce champ Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in November 2012.
During his hiatus from the sport, he has opened up a juice bar in Los Angeles, Calif., per MMA H.E.A.T.
The nearly 15-year fight veteran has alternated wins and losses in his past seven fights (3-4) and hasn't put together a win streak since 2007.
While Sonnen is set to fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC 175 on July 5, he has stated outright he doesn't expect the scheduled matchup to happen.
In the event "The Axe Murderer" is unable to square off with Sonnen this summer, would Franklin be a suitable replacement?
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
