After being honored with a tattoo by Chael Sonnen and responding kindly, Anderson Silva recalls his rivalry with the North American

A. Silva (left) defeated C. Sonnen (right) at UFC 148. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

After being honored with a tattoo and thanking the kindness of Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva he recalled his old rivalry with the former UFC fighter. In an interview with 'ESPN', the MMA legend spoke about the feud he had with the North American in the 2010s. 10 years later, the Brazilian is keen to highlight his good relationship with the 'American Gangster'.

“Chael is my friend. Martial rivalry is a very respectful thing. Sonnen made me a better fighter, because he made me train more than in every fight. He put me in a position where I had to test myself, more than any other fighter. I was injured, that comes from all the past I had in the fight, my time at 'Chute Boxe', because the fighters who went there were all from my special forces era, there are no 'manés' there. There would be no chance of me getting out of there without beating him. During everything, I ended up hurting my rib, he said 'you can't fight'. It was a week before the fight, I took a fall, I was training without a gi, I fell, I went to defend and injured my rib. My manager said 'let's go to the doctor'. The doctor said 'your rib is broken, I don't think it's cool for you to fight, if you get hit, it could get worse'. I said: 'okay'. Ed (Soares) said 'I don't think you should fight, we'll move on to the next one'. I said 'I'm going to fight, you don't understand'. (Rodrigo) Minotauro was in one of my training sessions, and I said 'master, I'm going to finish him'. He did everything, but the only thing he couldn't do was talk about my black belt. I trained that triangle a lot,” said Silva, who submitted his opponent in the final moments of the last round.

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Finally, Anderson explained Sonnen's action that drew attention this week. The North American tattooed an image of the Brazilian and admitted he was paying for a bet.

“He lost the bet and had to get a tattoo. I said 'if you lose, you'll have to get a tattoo'. If I lost. I would have to tattoo 'I love' Chael Sonnen forever' (I love Chael Sonnen forever, in translation). I said 'there's no such thing, you bet you have to get it tattooed'. He lost the bet, man. If I lost, I said I would tattoo his face and 'I love Chael Sonnen forever'”, he concluded.

UFC legends Silva and Sonnen shared the Octagon on two occasions. The Brazilian icon came out on top in both.

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