Chael Sonnen recently spoke to MMA Mania about Wanderlei Silva’s recent issues with the commissions. According to the former top contender, who was the opponent booked at the time, he forgives his long time rival the same way Belfort did for him in the past:
“Wanderlei didn’t do anything to anybody. Whatever he did or was getting ready to do to me — I was the opponent in question — and I forgive him. I forgive him. It’s the same thing with me. I wasn’t trying to pull something over on anybody other than Vitor. I was trying to get an advantage over Vitor. When it came down I called Vitor and Vitor forgave me. He said, ‘I forgive you. We’re good”
“I don’t like how it all went down for him. It’s unfortunate, but we’re wrong. The rules aren’t wrong. We are and that’s it.”
“I think he was a very meaningful presence in this sport and I think he will be remembered like that.”
Sonnen himself received a 2-year suspension after testing positive for EPO and HGH, while Wanderlei got a lifetime ban after running away from a drug test. I’m not entirely sure that those two penalties are fair and consistent, but it’s nice to see their ‘beef’ getting squashed a bit now that they’re moving on to the next chapter of their careers.
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