Silva vs. Sonnen 2: Chael Verbally Attacks Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort

UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen will fight Anderson Silva in the main event at UFC 148 Saturday night, but he still couldn't help but spit venom about two other Brazilian fighters.

Speaking with a small group of journalists, Sonnen discussed Vitor Belfort's injuries and Wanderlei Silva's current fight ability (via MMA Fighting).

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Vitor Belfort pulls out of more fights than he agrees to. He's fantastic, but he's such a chicken and he's such a liar. To say you're going to fight, to sell tickets, to sign your name, to film the TV show, and then to pull out? Against an invalid? That's insane. It's shocking they're able to say that with a straight face. My opinion of Wanderlei is constantly evolving, because as atrocious as he is skills-wise, he shows up and fights. He goes hard in spit of the lack of talent and gives the fans his best.

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Belfort broke his hand during training for his scheduled UFC 147 rematch with Silva, who lost a decision to Belfort's eventual replacement, Rich Franklin.

Both aging fighters are on a growing list of Brazilians speaking out about Team Quest fighter's pre-fight trash talk, which included attacking Brazil as a country.

To be fair, even if Sonnen loses against Silva during their rematch, a potential fight against Wanderlei or Belfort would sell tickets—but likely wouldn't be a relevant fight to determine a middleweight contender. Aside from the UFC's potential marketing opportunities, neither fighter deserves to have the opportunity to punch Sonnen in the face for his repeated attacks against Brazil.

By midday Monday, Sonnen was still 20 pounds away from making the 185-pound middleweight limit for his fight against Anderson. Despite cutting weight and obvious media obligations, Sonnen is certainly willing to anger any Brazilian fighters—and fans—en route to his rematch with Silva.   

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