Sonnen interview: Silva is next for Chael, but suggests he may take another fight in the interim
Chael Sonnen is still talking and Anderson Silva is saying little.
What's new, right? Well, it's a little odd in this case because Silva was called out and disrespected in front of millions following Sonnen's fight at UFC 136. Silva has gone the silent route. He's never accepted or turned down the Super Bowl weekend challenge.
Sonnen knows Silva is unique, but he even is surprised by the champ's actions.
"As it played that through my head, I saw a lot of different outcomes, but not in a million years did I think this would happen," Sonnen told ESPN1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas (2:35 mark) this week.
Then the American mentioned Silva's roots.
"That is not the heritage of a Brazilian fighter or a Brazilian man in general. Brazilians will fight. Brazilians will come forward with courage. If you challenge them, they will step forward. That's not in his culture or his heritage to just sit there and get clowned in front of the world, but he did it."
Sonnen still thinks he's next for Silva, but the fight has no shot of going down on Super Saturday.{ysp:more}
"The fight's going to happen for sure. I'll be Anderson's next fight. I don't know that he'll be mine," said Sonnen.
With Silva nursing a shoulder ailment, it could be a long wait for Sonnen.
"I'm not going to sit around and wait for him. [...] I don't just need the title, I need to be the best fighter in the world. If there's someone who can knock me off and beat me then I don't deserve to be there. So god bless them and let that guy have his shot," said Sonnen.
Sonnen is hosting the World MMA Awards show in Las Vegas on Nov. 30 at the Palms. Tickets are $59, $79 and $99. Voting, open to fans in 22 categories at WorldMMAAwards.com, closes on Nov. 25.
