Silva vs Sonnen Results: Now That It's Over Will Sonnen Shut Up?

Receiving a beatdown by the target of your own three-year verbal barrage must be a humbling experience, even for Chael Sonnen. 

Right? Right?

Judging by Sonnen's post-fight conduct, the answer is one of those slippery yes-and-no deals.

To his own commendation, Sonnen took the loss the right way. He credited Silva for the win, discounted any insinuations that the knee that put him on queer street was illegal and dispatched questions about the Brazilian gripping his shorts like they were the last liferaft on the Titanic. He thanked the UFC for the opportunity and congratulated Silva on the win.

But despite the overtures of goodwill made to Silva after the fight, Sonnen never apologized for any of the pre-fight remarks he made toward his opponent.

While this may give a staunchly begrudging feel to Sonnen's newfound respect of Silva, it most certainly should not be regarded as problematic.

Sonnen gave credit where credit was due, which was the right way to handle things. Apologizing for things he said before the fight? That would be fine too, but it was not necessary.

In a way, apologizing for pre-fight remarks would tear down the image Sonnen has worked so tirelessly to create for himself. 

Apologizing would also have meant giving credit to Silva, the opponent Chael wanted to crush, rather than Silva, the victorious champion, to whom Chael did in fact give credit.

The line is a fine one, but it tells us something about Sonnen moving forward—he separates opponents from past adversaries.

What this means is that we can develop an expectation of how Chael will conduct himself in the future. We now have precedent. 

Given the distinction drawn between opponents and ended rivalries we saw established at UFC 148 and given Chael's penchant for promoting fights, the answer to whether or not we can expect Sonnen to shut up is a resounding "No!"

Sure, you can expect him to shut up about Anderson Silva. Just don't expect him to shut up.