Anderson Silva's Response to Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz Call-Outs

Whilst Anderson Silva is convalescing, Chael Sonnen and Mark Muñoz have attempted to goad the UFC middleweight champion into a title throwdown.

“The Spider” sustained a shoulder injury whilst training for the Yushin Okami fight which he won via TKO at UFC 134.

The downside to the fight was that Silva exacerbated the injury, thus leaving him out of action until sometime in early 2012.

Whereas the champ has been recuperating from his minor setback, two of the division's 185-pounders have taken it upon themselves to call out the Matrix-esque phenom.

One is a supposed friend and the other his arch enemy.

The idiom “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” comes to mind.

Silva came out firing on all cylinders.

Chael Sonnen

Immediately after his comeback win against Brian Stann at UFC 136, Chael “The American Gangster” Sonnen took to the mic and proceeded to berate the champion.

Sonnen’s words:

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"Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck. Super Bowl weekend … the biggest rematch in the history of the sport. I’m calling you out, Silva, but we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I’ll leave the UFC forever."

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Silva, in attendance that night, did not respond.

Since his near miss at dethroning Silva at UFC 117, Sonnen has been a thorn in his side—constantly badgering the middleweight king for a rematch.

The Spider, who normally does his talking in the Octagon, finally arose from his silent slumber and more or less accepted Sonnen’s challenge.

On one condition—that the showdown takes place in his native Brazil.

Silva’s response:

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"I don’t like [Chael Sonnen]. This guy [wants to] fight me? Go to Brazil,” Silva told MMANation.com. “No problem. Chael talks too much. I’m ready to fight Chael. But you have the chance -- go to Brazil to fight me.”

"

Whether the fight takes place in Brazil or not is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for sure—The Spider has vocally spun his web.

Mark Muñoz

Then there’s “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Mark Muñoz, who in his worst Sonnen-esque impression called out Silva, following his TKO win over Chris “The Crippler” Leben at UFC 138.

Muñoz:

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"I paid my dues in this weight class and I think I deserve a title shot. Anderson Silva is by far the best pound-for-pound fighter. I give him all the respect and honor, but I think I deserve a title shot right now. I consider him a friend, but right now I'd love to get a title shot."

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Muñoz, who is riding a four-fight win streak, obviously saw Silva as the next step to his path to glory.

The Spider on the other hand, viewed Muñoz’s challenge as a sign of disrespect and a betrayal to boot.

The reason for Silva’s ire is due to the fact that he’d trained with Muñoz before and counted him as one of his friends.

Silva’s response:

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"I hadn't even seen [Munoz's challenge]. I thought Munoz was a friend, but that's okay..."

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Muñoz has since retracted his statement and instead called out Michael “The Count” Bisping.

It’s safe to say that when Silva uttered the word “okay,” he actually meant WAR.