Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen share a heartwarming moment as the Spider invites his rival for barbecue at his house
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Sonnen and Silva buried old rivalries as they embraced at the Paul x Silva Press Conference
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen shared the octagon for 7 exciting rounds that left a lasting legacy on MMA. That fight showed that not all champions are as invincible as they seem, and not all champions give up as easy when their invincibility is shattered. Today the two rivals met at the Jake Paul x Anderson Silva press conference and it was cordial.
Chael Sonnen is known as the bad guy for a reason. Back when he was still trotting around the middleweight division, many felt aware of his presence, mostly because he’d loudly announce it to your face. He was a trash talker of the highest levels, creating a beautiful mix of pro-wrestling-esque promos and Amateur wrestling-esque fights.
Silva on the other hand was once considered to be almost mythical in his greatness. He was among the longest reigning champions and certainly the one who did it the flashiest. However, when he crossed paths with Chael, all of Silva’s momentum hit the wall.
For 4 rounds Chael took him down and battered him on the ground. At the start of the fifth, it seemed that Chael was only five minutes away from making history and that’s when the spider struck with a hail-mary triangle choke that made the “Bad Guy” tap out.
Related: Jake Paul set to fight MMA Legend Anderson Silva in Late October
Anderson Silva cautions Chael Sonnen that “People really don’t like him in Brazil”
However this was all the way back in 2010, and in 11 years a lot has changed. While Chael has retired from competition, Silva still goes strong albeit in a different combat sport. In lieu of this, Silva was chosen to be Jake Paul’s next opponent and was scheduled to appear at the first press conference, promoting the fight.
Due to Jake’s possible recent split from Ariel Helawani, thanks to Jake’s comments on Luke Rockhold, he needed someone to host the event. This is where the “Baddest man in West Lynn Oregon” stepped in. Chael was so good on the mic one time, that an entire nation wanted him dead for his trash talk aimed at them.
The entire country of Brazil wanted Sonnen’s head at a point in his question to build up interest for a fight. Silva has not forgotten this, however, he is past holding grievances over it.
As the press conference was wrapping up, Silva approached Chael and reminded him of an unresponsive invitation. Silva said, hugging Chael, “You never (came) to my house, to barbecue” Disappointed, as Chael looks down he clarified that he did not come as he felt that the invitation was not genuine, moreover he was worried about what Silva’s wife would feel about it.
For those that don’t know, during their heated rivalry, among many other things, Chael once said, “You tell Anderson Silva that I’m coming over and I’m kicking down his backdoor and patting his little lady on the ass and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare just how I like it. ” Hence it’s understandable having second thoughts, meeting that woman.
“You need to come please, “ said Silva, still hugging Sonnen by the arm, to which Chael asked, “In Brazil? ” This led to a sudden change in Anderson’s facial expressions as he said, “No! Here. In Brazil they might try to kill you”, leading to an eruption of laughter in the room.
It certainly is always pleasant to watch old rivalries transform into slightly confusing friendships.
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Jerin Mathew
(713 Articles Published)