Anderson Silva: Chael Sonnen Will Be Next United States President

Could it be that former long-time UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has truly buried the hatchet with his old rival Chael Sonnen? 

"The Spider" paid Sonnen a compliment, albeit a backhanded one, in an interview with Brazilian newspaper Metro (translation via MMA Fighting): 

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"This guy will be the next president of the United States (laughs)," Silva said. "He’s smart, political, knows how to promote himself. He’s not an athlete with great results, but he knows how to promote himself. He knows how to use the UFC, and that’s something that many other athletes can’t. He’s very intelligent."

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Sonnen is 3-3 in his past six bouts, and two of those losses were middleweight title fights against Silva.

While Sonnen was winning six of the seven rounds between the two competitors, he ended up being finished on both occasions. 

Despite getting demolished by UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 159 in April, "The American Gangster" showed he's still got some gas left in the tank by submitting ex-Pride and UFC champ Mauricio Rua at UFC Fight Night 26 last month. 

Meanwhile, the Brazilian pound-for-pound legend won 17 straight fights, including a UFC record 10 consecutive title defenses, before suffering a devastating knockout at the hands new champ Chris Weidman at UFC 162 in July. 

Silva has a chance to redeem himself at UFC 168 on December 28, which, like his first encounter with Weidman, takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. 

While the charismatic fighter/analyst has shown political aspirations in the past, he will never have the opportunity to run for President of the U.S. since he pled guilty to money laundering in April 2011 (via MMA Weekly). 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com.