• UFC 134

Win or lose, Sonnen wants Anderson Silva next

ESPN staff
August 23, 2011
Chael Sonnen predicts Yushin Okami will beat Anderson Silva at UFC 134 this weekend © Getty Images
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Chael Sonnen insists he is desperate for his next opponent to be Anderson Silva, even if it means he has to snub a shot at the UFC middleweight title.

Sonnen is preparing to take on Brian Stann at UFC 136 in a middleweight contest that is expected to provide the next No. 1 contender for the 185lb championship. Yushin Okami is currently in the hotseat, but few observers fancy him to upset Silva in Rio this weekend.

The expected outcome on August 27 is a Silva victory, setting up the potential for a rematch with Sonnen if the American can hold his side of the bargain by defeating Stann.

However, Sonnen is refusing to label his fight with Stann a "No.1 contender eliminator", because he believes training partner Okami will beat Silva. If that happens, Sonnen insists he still wants Silva regardless of what the UFC has planned.

"Dana [White] and I are at a crossroads," Sonnen said on Bruce Buffer's It's Time radio show. "Dana wants this to be a No. 1 contender's match and wants me to fight for the championship.

"I don't have anything against fighting my friend Yushin Okami, who will be the champion by then, but I have unfinished business with Anderson Silva.

"For me, what I am lobbying for, is win or lose, I will fight Anderson Silva next. Anderson will be working his way back up, or I should say working his way down. I'm going to grab him and beat him up anyway, just for laughs, just on principle.

"Just for my sheer entertainment, I'm going to go slap that guy around. I don't need his little tin belt. I'm already the champion."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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