The saga of putting together a rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva continues.
Sonnen on Tuesday, when appearing on UFC Tonight on Fuel TV, stated that he has not officially been offered any rematch with Silva since his victory over Michael Bisping at UFC on Fox 2 in late January.
Sonnen’s manager Mike Roberts the same when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio recently, and it appears there might be a new snag in the works.
All signs had pointed towards a Silva vs. Sonnen rematch taking place in Brazil later this year, but right now it looks like where the fight will take place is what hasn’t been figured out yet.
“I will say this, we have not been officially offered that fight. I had a meeting with Lorenzo (Fertitta) in Las Vegas during the Diaz/Condit fight when the prelims were on, we briefly discussed it, there are some options,” Roberts said in the interview.
“We have agreed to fight him, we have not agreed where to fight him.”
Sonnen has been rather outspoken when talking about the country of Brazil, and his manager admits there are legitimate safety concerns for the fighter if he goes there. The brash fighter has been the target of a lot of verbal aggression from Brazilians for his comments about the country over the last several months.
Roberts has real concerns about Sonnen’s safety in Brazil, but he admits there’s going to be concern for any fighter taking on a home country favorite.
“Of course. I had a legitimate concern for Chad Mendes‘ safety,” Roberts stated when alluding to one of his other clients who fought in Brazil recently. “It’s not like we’re fighting somebody in Columbus, Ohio; you’re going to get your name called and people yelling at you.”
Overall however, despite facing a home country favorite in Jose Aldo, Roberts says that Mendes was received well in Brazil. Now Chael Sonnen, that’s a different story entirely.
“Chad had a great time; Brazil treated him phenomenally. Chad was so happy. Chad was blown away with the hospitality,” said Roberts.
“Do I expect Chael to get that? Absolutely not.”
Roberts is confident that the fight will come together and fans will be treated to watching one of the most highly anticipated rematches in MMA history later this year. But like any deal that gets done, details have to be ironed out, and both parties have to agree to it.
“There’s some issues there that have to be worked out,” Roberts explained. “I’m not saying it’s not going to happen, I’m just saying we have not officially been offered anything, but we have agreed to fight, we just haven’t agreed where to fight.”