Vinny Magalhaes on Silva-Sonnen 'TUF' brawl: 'I can guarantee it was not staged'

UFC veteran and current Titan FC fighter Vinny Magalhaes had two reasons not to question Chael Sonnen‘s rivalry with Wanderlei Silva when the pair clashed on the set of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3.”

The first reason: Sonnen wasn’t PG any more.

“Chael was using some bad words, and that’s something I’ve never seen him do in all the years I’ve known him,” Magalhaes told MMAjunkie.

More significantly, though, Magalhaes realized there were two professional fighters duking it out not inside a cage, but on a reality show set – for free.

Sonnen and Silva are set to fight at the conclusion of “TUF: Brazil 3,” as is customary with opposing coaches. But they apparently couldn’t wait, as UFC President Dana White first mentioned this past month.

“I’ve never seen Chael that aggressive in a situation where there wasn’t a fight,” Magalhaes said. “It was pretty intense.”

Magalhaes (10-7) and others reprised their roles as assistant coaches for Sonnen on the show, which debuts next month on UFC Fight Pass, after working together on “The Ultimate Fighter 17.” Magalhaes also coached Sonnen for his title rematch with now-former champ Anderson Silva at UFC 148. He is scheduled to make his Titan FC debut in April, possibly against UFC vet Kalib Starnes.

It was no secret that Sonnen and Silva didn’t like each other prior to the start of filming in Sao Paulo. Months prior, the two came nose-to-nose at an MMA expo and had to be separated. Sonnen took shots at Silva from his analyst seat at “UFC Tonight.” Silva cut a pro-wrestling style promo to promise violence upon Sonnen when they eventually met.

Magalhaes just didn’t think Silva was speaking literally, and didn’t expect Sonnen to fire back (though it seems he didn’t have any other choice, according to rumors that say a Silva teammate first sucker-punched him).

A nondisclosure agreement prevents Magalhaes from disclosing details of who started what in the dustup. But he can say that fans will find out soon enough exactly what transpired.

“You’re going to have to watch,” he said. “I can’t say who it was. Wanderlei and Chael were in a situation, and somebody came and jumped on Chael.”

Asked whether things had calmed down with filming set to wrap next Tuesday, Magalhaes said he couldn’t give any details, but added, “I think if anything (more) had happened, Dana would have said.”

Apart from the drama, the submission ace said Sonnen was hardly the villain among his “TUF” team. Many expected the three-time title challenger not only to struggle in gaining the trust of Brazilian fighters, but potentially to be in danger in Brazil. That wasn’t the case, according to Magalhaes.

“I think the team already knew how to work together,” he said. “We just made everything better, including Chael. Chael is working a little more here than he did in the states because wrestling is something they don’t have here in Brazil. You have like two or three wrestling coaches in the whole country. To have a guy like Chael, they try to take advantage of it.”

Magalhaes said fans will also be surprised by the level of talent on the show.

“I’m going to compare it to other seasons of what I’ve seen in ‘TUF Brazil’ and also what I hear from producers,” he said. “I think this is by far the best one. You’ve got a lot of guys with good experience, guys that once people see, they’ve heard of the guy before even before ‘TUF.’ I think it’s better than the first two seasons (in Brazil), for sure.”

But in the end, a lot of viewers will tune in to see a long-simmering rivalry boil over as Sonnen and Silva come to blows.

“I can guarantee it was not staged,” Magalhaes said. “Not even close to being staged.”