Chael Sonnen: Anderson Silva Fight Is Biggest Of All-Time
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will step into the cage tonight for UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The fight is being billed as the biggest fight of the year, but Sonnen disagrees. According to the fighter, this is the biggest fight of all-time.
Sonnen said:
“People call this one of the biggest fights of the year. You better check your numbers, guys. This is the biggest fight of all time.”
According to USA Today, the biggest fight card in Ultimate Fighting History probably occurred in 2009 at UFC 100. A reported 1.6 million people purchased the event making it the most successful event in UFC history.
And Sonnen agrees. The card was full of big fights. Brock Lesnar took on Frank Mir. Yoshihiro Akiyama fought Alan Belcher. And Dan Henderson fought Michael Bisping. But according to Sonnen, UFC 100 had the biggest card. Tonight’s fight against Anderson Silva is the biggest fight of all-time.
Sonnen said:
“You can bring up UFC 100, but you better say (it was) the biggest card of all time… They had a tremendous card. I was a huge fan. I loved it. But this is the biggest fight to ever go down.”
Sonnen and Silva have met in the ring before. At UFC 117, Sonnen battered Silva for nearly the entire match. But Silva managed to get Sonnen into a choke hold and won the fight with a late submission.
That alone would make the rematch worth watching. But Silva has added a little emotion to the fight in the last few weeks. He threw several insults at Sonnen during a pre-fight interview, hit Sonnen with his shoulder at the weigh-in, and has basically told his opponent that he’s a “punk” an “doesn’t deserve a rematch.”
Whether he deserves it or not, Chael Sonnen will get another chance to step into the cage with Anderson Silva.
Are you going to watch UFC 148?