Silva Should Spend Less Time with Justin Bieber and More Standing Up to Sonnen

How long must one tug at Superman's cape to get a reaction?

Chael Sonnen has taken verbal jabs at Anderson Silva, his wife and the entire country of Brazil, and Silva's only response thus far is a duo dance-off with Justin Bieber.

There isn't a question of whether or not Sonnen deserves another shot at Silva. In his reign of dominance as UFC middleweight champion, Silva has never been pushed by any fighter the way he was against Sonnen at UFC 117.

The record shows Silva submitted Sonnen in the fifth round of the championship bout, but the actual fight tells a completely different story.

Whether you love Sonnen or hate him, he dominated Silva for four-and-a-half rounds of that bout. His performance alone warrants another crack at UFC gold.

After the bout, stories surfaced about Silva fighting with an injured rib and Sonnen being linked to performance enhancing drugs. All of these stories are irrelevant to a proposed rematch.

Silva has made mince meat out of world-class opposition for years inside the UFC Octagon. There have been talks of retirement, jumping to light heavyweight and possibly even challenging former champions in the heavyweight division.

Finally, a threat right at Silva's home weight class emerges, and fans are greeted with absolute silence?

If anything, Silva should be the one challenging Sonnen. There are a plethora of people that believe Sonnen is a bad matchup for Silva. If not for himself or those around him, Silva owes this fight to his fans. He can prove that he is better than Sonnen and move on.

Still, Sonnen is forced to make WWE-like challenges, crack one-liners on Twitter and go on talk shows to get the proposed top pound-for-pound fighter in the world to fight him.

There's nothing wrong with doing Burger King commercials and hanging out with The Biebs, but at the end of the day, Silva is an MMA fighter. He is being challenged to a fight, and for the sake of his fans, he needs to stand up to Sonnen and accept the challenge.

UFC president Dana White has stated that Silva wasn't too happy about Sonnen's remarks about his wife on "The MMA Show" with Mauro Ranallo.

"You tell Anderson Silva I'm coming over and I'm kicking down his backdoor and patting his little lady on the ass and I'm telling her to make me a steak, medium rare, just how I like it," said Sonnen.

These are fighting words, even to a single man.

The world accuses Silva of attempting to duck Sonnen because he has yet to stand up and accept the challenge. Everyone saw the first fight. Silva was taken down at will and worked over by Sonnen.

There are certain expectations that come with being proclaimed the best fighter on the planet. People expect Silva to face Sonnen and put an end to the talk.

Why hasn't he done so?

Some have claimed that Silva's shoulder injury would need longer to heal than the proposed February 2012 date. This could very well be true, but does the fight really have to take place on that particular date? As of now, the UFC hasn't made any official statement regarding possible dates for the fight.

The bottom line is that Sonnen has issued a challenge. How did Silva's camp respond?

"Well, I think Chael's a delusional man," Silva's manager Ed Soares said in an appearance on Inside MMA. "What is he talking about? At the end of the day, he tapped, he quit, he gave up. Take a number and get to the back of the line. You had your opportunity."

Sonnen is ranked as the No. 2 middleweight in the world. Who exactly is he supposed to get behind in the "incredibly long list of middleweight contenders?"

Silva should spend less time with Bieber and more standing up to Sonnen.