Pezão (left) is one of Sonnen's (right) technical assistants on TUF Brasil 3. Photo: Reproduction
Vinny Pezão, one of the technical assistants of Chael Sonnen No. reality show The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 3, accused the program's producers of creating intrigue in order to provoke a fight between the North American and Wanderlei Silva, the other coach of the attraction.
Sonnen and Wanderlei had a disagreement that came to a head in the episode that was broadcast in the early hours of this Monday (14). The Brazilian criticized Sonnen and stated that the American was speaking badly about all the fighters, which was denied by Pezão.
“Wanderlei first wanted Sonnen to apologize at the beginning of the program, which didn’t happen. As the situation cooled down and nothing was happening, the show's production team wanted some drama. Some producers told Wanderlei that Chael was talking bad about him and our own team behind their backs, which is a complete lie”, explained Pezão, in an interview with Ag. Fight. “If Sonnen had said anything, they would at least have the audio to show and that never happened. Wanderlei fell into this pile and this business of the production instigating the guy, things lost their way and the beating really took its toll. He wanted to embarrass Chael and he embarrassed himself,” he pointed out.
READ TOO: 'That was a crime', says Sonnen about André Dida's attack
Sonnen's assistant, a former UFC fighter, didn't like Wanderlei's attitude. “I think it’s a bit of a shameful business. It's okay that the guy lost his temper and got hotheaded, but a professional fighter has to have control. It was a total lack of control, especially knowing that there are lots of cameras around, it will be shown on television and could become a problem for the sport. There is no justification”, he assessed.
BUT: Dida says she attacked Sonnen out of instinct: 'My intention was to separate them'
Furthermore, Pezão disapproved of the actions of André Dida, Wanderlei's assistant, who, instead of breaking up the fight, attacked the American from behind. “[It was] Regrettable. The worst part was when Dida arrived in Wanderlei's dressing room wearing Chael's shirt and said: 'This is worth its weight in gold'. Wanderlei greeted the guy and congratulated him, something completely unnecessary. Dida was the first guy to arrive and he was supposed to separate, but instead, he came in to hit. Unfortunate. Then I saw an interview with him saying that he did that because he saw his brother down there and he went in to defend his friend. That does not exist! The defensive instinct would be to separate the guy, take him out, if he manages to separate, Chael wouldn't come back on top of Wanderlei, who needed to be contained to avoid getting back into the fight”, concluded Pezão.
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