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Silva camp talking nonsense - Sonnen's manager

Anderson Silva remains undefeated in the UFC © Getty Images

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Chael Sonnen's manager has accused Anderson Silva's camp of "making no sense at all" over claims that the American should join the back of the queue for a UFC title shot.

Middleweight champion Silva has a selection of options for his next fight once he returns from injury. The winner of Michael Bisping v Jason Miller could be tempting, as could a potential rematch with Dan Henderson should Hendo defeat Mauricio Shogun Rua.

The long-talked-about super-fight with Georges St-Pierre is also a possibility, but undoubtedly the one man who has actually proved he can stretch Silva more than any other is Sonnen. The American lost his first bout via submission but, after dominating the four previous rounds, believes he deserves a second chance.

Silva's manager, Ed Soares, recently told Sonnen through Inside MMA: "Take a number and get to the back of the line." However, in Mike Roberts' eyes, such a claim is madness.

"It makes no sense at all," Roberts told MMA Weekly. "Chael is as deserving as anybody for that next title shot. The bottom line is it doesn't matter what I think and it doesn't matter what Ed thinks. It matters what Dana [White] thinks.

"I think there's no question Chael's deserving of a rematch with Anderson. He pushed him as far as anybody ever pushed him, it was one of the best fights of the year, but the biggest thing is this is the fight the fans want. Dana and everyone are all about giving the fans what they want, and there is no question that this is the fight the fans want to see."

Roberts refused to be drawn into a slanging match with Soares, stating clearly his respect for the entire Silva camp. And he also refused to get drawn into the suggestion that Silva is scared of Sonnen.

"I don't think Anderson's scared of Chael at all," Roberts commented. "I mean Anderson may be the greatest fighter of all time. Do I think he wants to fight Chael? There's probably other people he'd rather fight at this point in his career. Chael poses some problems that a lot of these other guys don't, and we'll see."

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