UFC veterans Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva had arguably one of the most heated rivalries of all time. But now that the duo have completed their trilogy fight inside a boxing ring in Brazil, the ‘Bad Guy’ declared peace with his arch-nemesis.
The two men took part in a rather lackluster boxing match in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which ended in a draw. While that still means Anderson Silva is ahead in the series, for Chael Sonnen. A draw was enough to bury the hatchet and move on into a new era of mutual respect and friendship.
Sonnen joined Daniel Cormier for a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, where he shared his thoughts about the fight with the former UFC heavyweight champion.
“Yes, I think that I can be at peace with this. And it is one of those things, I would not make believe that one replaces the other. Or just cause Chael got to go out there and get a draw one time that it somehow wipes the slate clean of the victories that he had. We had our rivalry, he won the rivalry. But can I be at peace with that? You will have to check in on me in a month or so but I really believe so.”
The boxing match between the two men took place on 15th June 2024 and ended up being a much-criticized draw.
Needless to say, the time away from combat sports, and the age was on full display as both Sonnen and Silva looked worse for the wear inside the ring.
Despite this, the two men put on a gritty display so fans could relive a rivalry that dominated the UFC in the early 2010s.
Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva accused of ‘pillow-fighting’
For the uninitiated, Sonnen and Silva faced each other twice in the UFC octagon, both times for the middleweight belt. And those fights are something no one will ever forget. But fans who expected more of the same from their boxing bout were sorely disappointed and they weren’t afraid to let the duo know, accusing the duo of faking the fight for the paycheck.
That said, it would have been unfair to expect an exhibition between two middle-aged former fighters to drown out Madison Square Garden. Sao Paulo, Brazil is Silva’s home and this was his last fight there, so this was both fighters just having a good time and reliving their golden days.
