9 Reasons Chael Sonnen's Retirement Is A Big Blow To The UFC

9. Unfinished Business With Wanderlei Silva

Sonnen Wanderlei Perhaps one of the most dissatisfying factors of Chael€™s retirement is it puts an end to our hopes of seeing the grudge match between he and arch-rival Wanderlei Silva. A rivalry that began several years ago after Wandy took offense to Sonnen€™s comments about Brazil, a tense showdown in a limo took place between the two, and they started trading barbs back and forth via Twitter and other outlets. That conflict led to the two being chosen as coaches for the most reason season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil with the intent of them facing off in a long-awaited matchup at the conclusion of the series. For the first time in the history of the show, the coaches actually came to blows, and one of Silva€™s entourage cheap-shotted Sonnen during the brawl. This looked to have all the makings of a fight that guaranteed fireworks and fans were ready to see it. But when it came time to get it on, Silva failed to submit an application for a license to fight in Nevada, and also refusing to comply with a random drug test. To his credit, Sonnen had been saying all along that Wanderlei had no intentions of actually stepping into the octagon with him. Unfortunately, Chael did submit his drug test, the results of which caused him to be removed from the fight as well. Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva was a big money fight that had the potential to be very exciting, a war between two men who had absolutely no use for each other. The prospect of never seeing those two lock horns is disappointing, since nothing is more exciting to MMA fans than a fight that has a little passion and distaste behind it.
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Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.