UFC's Chael Sonnen: Right now 'there's no opponent' for me

Although he repeatedly declined to answer questions about Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen appears to have moved on from a showdown with the Brazilian former champ.

That, or “The American Gangster” has something up his sleeve.

“I’ll need some fights to happen in the middleweight division (and) fights in the light-heavyweight division,” Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) at a Full Contact Fighting Federation event this past Saturday in Portland, Ore. “But as it stands right now, there’s no opponent.”

Just days after he submitted Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a grand performance at UFC Fight Night 26, Sonnen (29-13-1 MMA, 7-6 UFC) seemed closer than ever to a fight with his longtime rival, Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC). But UFC President Dana White splashed cold water on the idea, which allegedly prompted Sonnen to splash some warm water on Silva’s car.

Meanwhile, Silva, who most recently knocked out Brian Stann in March, felt more like attacking Sonnen than explaining why the fight isn’t going to happen.

So for now, it looks like Sonnen is in the waiting line.

“I know (Antonio Rogerio) ‘Lil Nog’ (Nogueira) is going to fight with ‘Shogun,’ so he’s off the table, and the real side of it, too, is that I just got done,” he said. “I just got out of the ring exactly one week ago, so I started back for practice today. It was my first time breaking a sweat, and from here on, I’m back at it.

“But I don’t have any opponent. I’d really like to be part of the 20th anniversary show. I’m really looking to be part of the St-Pierre (vs.) Hendricks card.”

Sonnen earlier proposed the Silva fight to take place at that event, UFC 167, which takes place Nov. 16 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. But he also welcomed the idea of appearing at UFC 168, a year-end event that takes place Dec. 28 at the same venue.

Wherever he lands, the 36-year-old fighter from West Linn, Ore., brings more career capital to the cage after his recent win, which followed back-to-back losses to now-former middleweight champ Anderson Silva and light-heavy kingpin Jon Jones.

“I’ll fight one more time this year,” Sonnen said. “That puts me between the St-Pierre card or the Chris Weidman card. So I would like to be part of the 20th anniversary show. But one of those two dates match up well.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.