One of the most common “concerns” that seems to come up with regard to the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen is the idea that the Brazilian fans will attempt to attack Sonnen. While Chael has certainly been condescending toward Brazilian fighters, the idea that the fanbase is a group of wild, violent savages is a bit unfair.
That’s something UFC president Dana White backed up while talking to Heavy MMA:
Quote after the jump.
Here’s what Dana had to say (transcribed by MMA Mania):
I think Brazil is getting a bad rap. To be honest with you, the first few times that I went to Brazil I was very nervous and thought, ‘oh my God,’ this and that. I’ve been to Brazil many times and Brazil as a country and Brazilians as a people are getting a bad rap. Brazil isn’t as dangerous and as scary and as crazy as everybody thinks it is. I mean sure, there has been some bad things that have happened down there in the past. Bad things happen everywhere, you know? We can say the same thing in Detroit, we can say the same thing in New York, we can say the same thing in a lot of cities across the United States. Yes, he (Sonnen) has said a lot of stuff about Brazilians and that country and lots of people are going to tune in and show up to see Anderson Silva kick his ass because that is what the Brazilians want. I don’t think that it’s at a point where, you now, people down there want to hurt Chael Sonnen, you know what I mean? They are going to show up, watch a sporting event and they are going to look for their countrymen and their hero and the best fighter ever to come out of Brazil or any other country around the world to win that night against Chael.