Table of Contents
It seems time really does heal all wounds.
Silva and Sonnen’s shenanigans are back
More than a decade after one of the UFC’s most heated rivalries, former foes Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen have seemingly put their differences aside (if there ever was any to begin with) and are even spending time together these days.
In fact, now that the ‘Spider’ has new show coming out on Paramount+, the company has even decided to put the pair back together on screen once again. This time around, though, the competition was much sillier.
Chael Sonnen promised to get an Anderson Silva tattoo
On Anderson Silva’s official Instagram account, a video shows that both the Brazilian and Sonnen got together to watch “Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva”, but had a little bet going on at the same time to make things more interesting. The footage shows the Brazilian telling Sonnen that if the latter were to cry or get emotional while watching the program, he would have to get a tattoo of Silva.
Needless to say, Sonnen shed a tear and lost the bet. While the footage does cut to Sonnen seemingly getting a tattoo of his longtime rival, it was later revealed not to be a real one and the whole act was only arranged in order to promote the new show.
On his official Twitter profile, MMA journalist shared a tweet with the same footage.
“Chael heard about my Paramount+ show, so we decided to invite him over to watch it with me. I’m going to make a challenge for him, though. If he cries or gets emotional, I’ll make him tattoo my face on his arm.” Anderson said, to which Sonnen promptly agreed.”
Both Silva and Sonnen have left their names in UFC history
Both Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen have retired from mixed martial arts years ago. A legendary middleweight champion, the Spider still holds the record for most title defenses in the division, with 10. During his career, he bested the most notable names of his generation, such as Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin, Demian Maia and Sonnen himself.
After retiring from MMA in 2020 following a loss to Uriah Hall, the now 48-year-old has since shifted to boxing, where he has already had three outings. In 2021, he defeated both Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Tito Ortiz, but in 2022 he suffered a unanimous decision loss to superstar Jake Paul.
Meanwhile, Sonnen’s last MMA match took place in June 2019, when he got knocked out by another former UFC champion in Lyoto Machida. During his career, the now 46-year-old swinged back and forth between middleweight and light heavyweight, scoring wins over notable names in both weight classes, including former UFC champions Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Michael Bisping, to name a few.
The pair’s rivalry took place between 2010 and 2012. In their first encounter, Sonnen was on his way to win a unanimous decision at UFC 117, in August 2010, when Silva managed to score a triangle armbar submission halfway through the fifth round.
When they met again in July 2012, the story was not the same. In a much more dominant outing, Silva made quick work of his rival by finishing Sonnen only in the second round of their rematch, at UFC 148.
You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. Bloody Elbow is an independent, reader supported publication. Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support the site.
Join the new Bloody Elbow
Our Substack is where we feature the work of writers like Zach Arnold, John Nash and Connor Reubusch. We’re fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. Please help us by subscribing today.
About the author
