Chael Sonnen

By Michael Hatamoto

Former contender Chael Sonnen may not get another shot at a championship, but he can make some money by potentially fighting Wanderlei Silva.

Both Silva and Sonnen are fan favorites, and a fight between the two legends could generate a large amount of interest as a co-main event of a fight card. I think UFC on Fox Sports 1 in Boston in August could be a great time for the fight, assuming both fighters are healthy and ready to go.

Sonnen has issued Silva a 24-hour ultimatum but has gone beyond that with numerous tweets and public statements, including:

2 reasons the fight makes sense:-I want an easy fight;-Wanderlei is broke

— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 6, 2013

And:

IN YOUR CASE, WANDERLEI, ISN’T IT “REAL MEN MUMBLE FACE TO FACE?”@wandfc

— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 1, 2013

I don’t know if it’s lost in translation – or if it Sonnen is just really good at upsetting Brazilians – but both Silva and Vitor Belfort reportedly want a piece of him. Belfort has an upcoming fight against Luke Rockhold so a fight against Sonnen might have to wait.

Silva is a very emotional fighter and Sonnen has said derogatory statements about Brazil, Brazilian people, and Silva on numerous occasions – and I think the ‘Axe Murderer’ would be extra motivated to finally get to punch Sonnen in the face.

Since it’s 2013, I have a hard time believing Silva would be able to KO or TKO Sonnen, and believe the ‘American Gangster’ would be able to smother him on the ground. (Then again, I didn’t believe Silva would be able to beat Brian Stann, but that was a brutal knockout, fight of the night, and knockout of the night.)

Love him or hate him, let’s face it: People want to see Chael Sonnen in front of the camera, speaking to the media, and fighting in the octagon.