Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva’s promotion for the latter’s show has the MMA world in splits. The pair were once involved in the biggest rivalry in the UFC but they have buried the hatchet so deep that Sonnen allegedly got a tattoo of Silva. Let’s find out the truth behind the tattoo as explained by Sonnen himself.
Silva and Sonnen faced each other in 2010 for the first time. Silva, at that point, was one of the most feared fighters and Sonnen was not someone fans were expecting much from. However, Sonnen pulled off some God-tier trash-talking to get under Silva’s nerves.
At UFC 117, Sonnen was arguably on his way to victory via a decision but Silva made him submit in the fifth round. A lot more trash-talking followed and Sonnen was more convincingly beaten at UFC 148 with a KO in the second round.
Recently, a promotional video of Silva’s TV show was released on social media. The show is called ‘Anderson Spider Silva’ and it will air on Paramount+. Sonnen was a surprise element in the promotion. Even more surprising was the fact that he got a tattoo of Silva. However, he revealed in an interview with Michael Bisping that it was a fake tattoo.
Sonnen explained that he had no tattoos and that getting a tattoo of Silva would be embarrassing. “My time with Anderson, I did value it, but it was a long time ago. To get a tattoo of it… I mean I would really be ashamed, quite frankly. Like, if somebody else did it, I’d look at that guy and go hey man you’re a weird guy you need to grow up.”
Bisping, another UFC Middleweight fighter of the same time, said he fell for the act. He believed that it was real.
Chael Sonnen’s fake tattoo of Anderson Silva referenced their days of trash-talking in the UFC
After Sonnen lost against Silva at UFC 117, he defeated Brian Stann via second-round submission at UFC 136. In the post-match interview, ‘The American Gangster’ called out Silva in an iconic fashion.
“Anderson Silva – you absolutely suck!” 🗣#OnThisDay in 2011 – Chael Sonnen gave us a Hall of Fame callout 🏆 pic.twitter.com/33O0i7XLZv
— UFC (@ufc) October 8, 2020
He said, “Anderson Silva! You absolutely suck. The biggest rematch in the history of the business. I’m calling you out, Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I will leave the UFC… forever.”
Sonnen defeated Bisping after this before facing Silva again. He lost to ‘The Spider’ at UFC 148 but stuck around for three more UFC fights before moving to Bellator.
Chael Sonnen loses a bet to Anderson Silva and gets a tattoo of him 😂 pic.twitter.com/WjoxWHufIV
— Combat Sports Today 📰 (@CSTodayNews) November 16, 2023
Sonnen’s fake tattoo depicting Silva portrayed a moment of Silva in distress, visibly wounded and bleeding, with the inscription “Anderson Silva! You absolutely suck” positioned at the base.