The history between these bitter rivals turned what appears to be good friends is a good one that goes back many years. Many would argue that Chael didn't actually deserve the fight that he got with then dominant Anderson "the Spider" Silva and that it was merely his microphone skills and trash talking that got him there.
He was playing the role of Conor McGregor before Conor did it and perhaps that is what lead McGregor to take on the role in order to line his own wallet as well.
src
To give you an idea about how long ago this was any MMA fan need only look at the above picture to know it was a while ago. UFC hadn't yet brought in the uniforms and fighters were allowed to seek out their own sponsors. I don't know exactly when that changed and Reebok took over sponsorship along with some energy drinks, but it was YEARS ago.
The above image is from UFC 148... In a couple of weeks we will be watching UFC 303 so yeah, it was a long time ago.
The would go on to have another rematch because the first one was surprisingly close between the two whereas most people just assumed that Silva was going to clean Sonnen's clock and rule the match. That was not the case and this guy with the big mouth actually put on a close enough show that there was a rematch. "The Spider" won both of them.
After Silva has his dramatic fall from grace he became a bit of a spectacle ending his MMA career in a rather lackluster way. He was getting nearly 10 losses for each win (it only had to happen once) and UFC was definitely using him to pad the roster... they knew he was all used up and the magic was gone.
Since retiring from UFC Silva has moved over to boxing but not the real kind of boxing... the spectacle boxing with massive paydays that is largely fueled by Jake Paul. None of these guys fight actual boxing contenders and Anderson Silva is making more in one of these fights, and especially in the fight vs Jake Paul, than he ever made in UFC. So why not? I don't blame the guy for making some money because he (and Sonnen) paved the way for the huge hit that UFC is today.
src
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/assets/913342/120chaelsonnenvsandersonsilva-1298002450.jpg){kind=link}
There's been some bad blood between these guys in the past but just like most of McGregor's perceived "beefs" I think that most of it is manufactured rage for the sake of selling the PPV's. At the end of the day when the fight was over and there was no reason to talk trash anymore, these two seemed like they were good friends with Silva famously inviting Sonnen to his house for a BBQ with his family after their 2nd meeting.
src
I don't believe that Sonnen actually ever went to the BBQ which is a shame because that would have made for some wonderful photos.
Well now Sonnen is making a ton of money on his YouTube channel and was kind of surprised to find out from his agent that "The Spider" wants his farewell fight to be against Chael Sonnen. Unfortunately this fight is going to be a boxing match which is not something that Sonnen has ever trained in specifically.
Sonnen had this to say about the invite to face Silva in his home country of Brazil
when a guy selects you as the opponent for a farewell fight in his home country, you can’t help but realize that he probably didn’t pick you because he thinks you’re going to beat him up.
Is that the case? Well for me, I have a difficult time getting excited about this 4-round exhibition boxing match from two guys who are not boxers. One of them (Sonnen) has never trained for a straight boxing match at any point in his long career. Also, since both of these guys are near 50 years old, it could end up being awesomely boring and slow-paced.
I don't think I will watch it because I don't think there are any truly great moments in these fake boxing matches. In the end it will be sad to see Silva go and no matter what happens Chael will continue to make a huge amount of money on his YouTube channel and PodCasts. His mouth has always been where his real talent is, he just happens to be pretty useful in a scrap as well.