By: Aaron Morris
Image credit: Chael Sonnen (X)
Chael Sonnen has shook the world by unveiling a brand-new tattoo of one of his biggest bitter rivals during his UFC career in a portrait of middleweight GOAT Anderson Silva.
The two fighters would have a constant back and forth during their time with the promotion, with the 'Bad Guy' constantly taunting and targeting Silva while he had the 185lb on lockdown. From his famous one-liners like: "Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck," to even making a retirement bet with 'Da Spyder', there was a lot of bad blood between the two men - but it seems like it has been squashed once and for all with Uncle Chael seemingly having the Brazilian's image permanently etched onto his arm.
Taking to Twitter, Chael wrote: "I'm a man of my word @spideranderson #homemdepalavra," posting a trio of snaps from the tattooist's chair. Chael rocked his famous black t-shirt and gradient sunglasses while pointing to the black and grey portrait of Silva in his fight stance.
And fans were quick to the comments section to share their disbelief. One, wrote: "Chael may have finally gone too far with the Anderson Silva tattoo," while a second, added: "This ain't it G."
A third, wend on: "Legendary," while a fourth, put it: "How did the tattoo needle not break?"
Others were less convinced by Chael's tattoo, with a number of fight fans calling 'cap' on the portrait. Some called it henna, while others suggested that AI may be responsible for the artwork. One unconvinced Sonnen-ite, said: "Chael stop trying to fool us with that Henna Tattoo," while another, joked: "Clearly AI, Chael's arms are much larger than this."
A third, added: "Wow. This AI does some crazy stuff."
I'm a man of my word @spideranderson #homemdepalavra pic.twitter.com/Negs1h7R7q
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) November 14, 2023
Sonnen and Silva would meet twice in the Octagon during their illustrious careers. Their first fight would come at UFC 117 in 2010 - with the 'Bad Guy' from Oregon almost achieving his championship goals. He was way up on the judges' scorecards before being caught in his opponent's patented triangle in the fifth, tapping to the submission.
The second scrap was however a far less competitive state of affairs. After picking up wins over Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, Sonnen was offered a rematch at UFC 148 in 2012. He would ultimately be TKOd by Silva in the second, and 2-0 down accumulatively would never be offered a rubber match.
For Silva, the two victories over his long-time rival built part of the middleweight king's 16 fight unbeaten run with the UFC, which spanned six years and saw him completely clear out the division. Between 2006 and 2012, Da Spyder would rack up wins over Chris Leben, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Demian Maia and Vitor Belfort to name a few - before his excessive taunting led to his demise, losing the title to Chris Weidman in 2013.
He would get an immediate rematch to re-capture his strap, but a horrific leg break during which would take away two years of his prime. And upon returning, Silva would win just one of his last seven bouts with the UFC.
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