UFC's Wanderlei Silva says Sonnen bout 'really interesting,' teases announcement

Although Chael Sonnen (27-13-1 MMA, 6-6 UFC) might now have moved on to different targets, former PRIDE champ Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC) remains interested in a fight with the three-time UFC title challenger.

Silva called a fight with Sonnen “a really interesting fight” and teased an announcement about his future on Friday during an in-studio appearance with MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

“I think he’s a good opponent,” said “The Axe Murderer,” who knocked out Brian Stann in his most recent appearance. “More than that, I think we can give a great show to the fans. He thinks he’s going to take me down; everybody knows his game. But I want to see what he does after I defend the first takedown. He’s going to be toe-to-toe with me.”

As always, Sonnen was first out of the gate with verbal fireworks when the potential fight first surfaced, using his platform as a FUEL TV fight analyst to call out Silva. He said Silva had pulled “a dirtbag move” for publishing an old video of Silva giving him pointed criticism about his promotional tactics during a van ride to an event. 

“I’m not going anywhere until me and Wanderlei straighten this thing out once and for all,” Sonnen said. 

Sonnen then issued a 24-hour deadline on Twitter for Silva to respond to his challenge. The window passed without confirmation of the fight. 

This past week, Silva went on FUEL TV to say he hadn’t been told about the fight by the UFC, but would gladly accept it – in one of the more bizarre responses in recent history. 

“I want to suck his blood,” Silva said. “I want to smell it. Not just fight—I want to hurt him. Chael is a joke, man. He’s going to be second forever. He’s never going to be first.”

As always, Sonnen had a response on hand. 

“I think the real breaking news there is that Wanderlei put together a coherent sentence that somebody understood,” Sonnen said.  “But I can assure you, Wanderlei, I will not be signing a contract for you to suck on any part of me. I suggest you go to a bath and find yourself.”

Sonnen this past month came up short in his third attempt at winning a UFC belt, suffering a first-round TKO loss to current light-heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones at UFC 159. Silva’s knockout of Stann came this past March at UFC on FUEL TV 8. 

While most MMA observers believe the buildup to a Sonnen vs. Silva fight would offer more fireworks than the action inside the cage, it’s agreed the matchup would attract a great deal of attention. 

Ultimately, that may be all that results from the media sparring session between the two veterans, but Silva’s announcement hints at a concrete answer down the line. 

“I can’t tell,” he said when asked whether the announcement was fight-related, adding it would come “soon.”

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

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.