Chael Sonnen recounts former rival Wanderlei Silva's kindness during sparring session: "He took care of me"
Chael Sonnen recently recounted his experience sparring with Wanderlei Silva and highlighted an act of kindness from the UFC Hall of Famer. The sparring session took place when they first met and was years prior to their heated rivalry.
'The American Gangster' and 'The Axe Murderer' were both inducted into the Fight Wing and Pioneer Wing of this year's UFC Hall of Fame respectively. Both fighters being included in the same class is surprising as there was plenty of animosity during their careers, which included a fight on the set of 'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil' and culminated in a bout in Bellator.
While speaking to ESPN MMA ahead of the UFC Hall of Fame, the former middleweight title challenger noted that the Brazilian is a kind person and that they have since squashed their beef. Sonnen recounted sparring Silva and mentioned the Brazilian ensured he was safe and didn't take advantage of the situation. He said:
"First time I met [Silva], I sparred with him and I didn't have a mouthpiece. And we never met and I didn't know if he spoke very good English. But I remember just pointing to my teeth, I was like, 'Oh man, I heard about this guy. This is going to be terrible'. He just nodded yes that he understood. He took care of me for the whole round and I don't know if he even knows this that that happened...Randy Couture's gym in 2007."
Catch Sonnen's comments below:
What happened when Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva fought at Bellator NYC?
Although the UFC were unable to book Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva, they still ended up settling the score at Bellator NYC in 2017.
It was a significant event for the promotion as it was their first-ever event at Madison Square Garden and was a pay-per-view card. Sonnen utilized his wrestling and continuously took Silva down and controlled him on the ground en route to a unanimous decision win.
Check out Bellator NYC: Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva promo below: