The Axe Murderer Wanderlei Silva has business with Chael Sonnen in just under two week’s time in Madison Square Garden at Bellator NYC, but that hasn’t stopped him from looking ahead. In fact, he already has his next opponent in mind: Chael Sonnen.
Not satisfied with getting a chance to get his hands on Sonnen, who the Brazilian also known as The Axe Murderer has feuded with for years, once, he’s already calling for a second fight. Which he wants to be held under the Bellator MMA banner in Brazil.
Silva outlined his plans, and gave his thoughts on Sonnen, on today’s edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.
Speaking to Helwani just days after the cancellation of a Bellator press conference due to Silva falling ill, the fighter said that he was feeling much better. “Really good” he told the show. “I’m ready.” Which is bad news for Sonnen in his opinion. “I don’t like to talk so much. I’m ready to fight. When I [see] Chael Sonnen… he’s going to feel what I have for him.”
Of course, Wanderlei Silva was infamously called out by Sonnen following the American’s defeat of Shogun Rua at UFC Fight Night 26. While being interviewed by Joe Rogan post-fight, Sonnen addressed Rua’s fellow countryman saying “Wanderlei Silva, six feet tall and 205 pounds, boy, until I met you I didn’t know they could stack crap that high.” The two were eventually paired up as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, where they brawled on set. However, the coaches fight was nixed when Silva injured his back — an injury brought about by that very brawl.
The fight was then moved to UFC 175, where Silva wound up dodging a drug test (Sonnen, eventually booked against Vitor Belfort, would later fail his). Both fighters were handed down lengthy suspensions.
By the time both returned to action, the USADA era was in full swing in the UFC, and Bellator was welcoming old warhorses with open arms. Thus the Viacom owned promotion wound up being able to book the grudge match at long last, to top their Bellator NYC Pay-per-View at MSG in New York.
Silva doesn’t seem interested in the history of the venue or the milestone that is Bellator’s second PPV show. Instead, he’s focused on a fighter he admits he feels hatred for like no other. “Never” he answered, when asked if he’d ever hated another opponent as much. “I fight a lot of guys, but this guy’s different. This is personal. That’s the real thing. I don’t like him. It’s tough for me, talking about this guy. When I [see] him, it makes me feel sick. I don’t like the guy.”
“This guy is going to be totally different for me. This guy crossed all the lines for me” he continued. “Now, he has just two weeks to go. After these two weeks, I’ll [have] a good lesson for him.”
Silva has plans for extending that lesson as well. “I want to beat him there, in his house, in his garden. Then I want to beat him here in my garden” he explained. “I want to beat him there, in America, in front of his guys, then I want to beat him in front of my guys.”
“I want to beat him here in Brazil too.” The Axe Murderer, however, admitted that he has yet to inform Bellator’s higher ups of his wishes. And a potential rematch likely rests on how well the first fight performs.
Back to his opponent, however, who Wanderlei Silva clearly thinks little of. “He’s the biggest joke in the MMA world” the Pride and UFC legend stated.
In fact, Wanderlei considers facing his longtime nemesis to be lowering himself, but is making the exception because he dislikes Sonnen to such an extent. Plus, The Axe Murderer sees it as an easy day at the office. “I think this is going to be the most easy money I make in all of my life” he told Helwani.
“I think this is going to be the easiest fight of my life.”
Bellator NYC takes place June 24 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Wanderlei Silva meets Chael Sonnen in the main event. A co-main event heavyweight clash sees the legendary Fedor Emelianenko face Matt Mitrone, a bout originally scheduled for earlier this year but forced to be delayed when Mitrone developed kidney stones.
