Chael Sonnen Ends Feud with Anderson Silva, Calls Him as "Phony as Mike Tyson"

Chael Sonnen is finally over Anderson Silva and moving on.

The former UFC title contender recently spoke with Vegas Deluxe on the red carpet of the 2011 MMA Awards about the blockbuster rematch that never came to be.

"[Anderson Silva] answered [the challenge], and he answered it with a no. Yea, I'm moving past him," said Sonnen. "He's not on the plane. I'm not a bully. If the guy doesn't want to fight, I don't want to fight him either."

Sonnen has thrown every verbal jab imaginable to get Silva to accept a rematch of their dramatic UFC 117 bout in August 2010. Along with Silva, Sonnen has called out his wife, teammates and the entire country of Brazil.

No other fighter in the UFC has pushed Silva to the brink verbally and physically like Sonnen.

As the proposed pound-for-pound kingpin and UFC middleweight champion, it's a bit odd for Silva not to step up and take on the challenge. UFC president Dana White believes respect may be the underlying issue.

"It's a fight that everyone wants to see," White said in an appearance on The Jim Rome Show. "People want to see Chael versus Anderson. Anderson is in this position where he feels like this guy is so disrespectful he doesn't want to give him a shot and everything else."

Respect could be the primary issue in White's eyes, but Sonnen believes the problems run a little bit deeper than that.

"He's a paper champion. He's always been a paper champion. I've exposed him as such," said Sonnen. "I'm telling you as straight as I know how to tell you. He's as phony as Mike Tyson was."

The Sonnen and Silva rematch was expected to go down in early 2012, but a lingering shoulder injury will keep the champ sidelined until June. Sonnen will now face Mark Munoz at UFC on Fox 2 on January 28.