When UFC President, Dana White, announced yesterday that Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, will square off against Chael Sonnen, fans knew it wouldn’t be long before the outspoken contender voiced his opinions.

While excited about the prospect of finally fighting Silva, Sonnen has his doubts whether or not the bout will actually come to fruition.

“I don’t know if Anderson’s going to accept. The best I’ve seen, [Silva is] a man of his word. If I hear that he agreed, I’ll feel a lot better.”

In classic Sonnen fashion, he was quick to praise the reigning champ of the 185 pound division with a backhanded compliment.

“[Silva is] really good, he’s really effective, and he’s as unpleasing to watch as grass growing. That’s why they called me to get rid of this cancer of the company.”

After developing an early reputation for crushing his opponents, Silva brought an aura of invincibility when he entered the cage. While some of the fighters who faced Silva had already mentally lost the fight before it began, Sonnen insists that will not happen to him.

“Nobody has challenged Anderson Silva. Not one human being, not one interview. Go to what the kids call ‘Google,’ and prove me wrong. Show me one athlete in any weight class that’s challenged this guy except me. He won’t even acknowledge the challenge. He just overlooks it like it’s not happening. The first and only time he’s ever acknowledged the challenge is on Feb. 7, 12 hours after I became the number one contender, he put out a press release stating seven different reasons he didn’t think he should have to fight me.”

With his last several fights resulting in lackluster performances, Silva finds himself in an odd situation. Despite continuing to win and displaying complete dominance over his foes, some fans have started to turn on him. In fact, White himself threatened to cut Silva from the UFC entirely if he continued his antics.

Part of the MMA community believes that opponents like Thales Leites and Demian Maia were hesitant to engage and that was the reason why Silva resorted to showboating. Sonnen made it clear that he will not hesitate in bringing the fight to Silva.

“What’s different about me is that I acknowledge Anderson Silva’s going to hit me and kick me. I acknowledge it’s going to hurt a lot. But I don’t care. I don’t care if he hurts me. I’ll go to the hospital later that night. But in that 25-minute period, he’s going to be in a fight. If he does it to me, it’s going to work. It’s going to make me angry, and I’m going to come after him. If he wants to throw those punches, by God throw them. But I’m going to walk straight through them.”

Never at a loss for words, Sonnen took a parting shot at fighters who don’t live up to their commitments to fight. While medical professionals view staph infection as a serious ailment that should keep someone away from active competition, Sonnen thinks it’s just another excuse.

“I guarantee you between now and Aug. 7, I’ll get hurt. I’ll get sick. I’m sure I’ll get a staph infection that seems to be the new wave throughout MMA – oh, I have a staph infection, wah. When my music hits those speakers on Aug. 7, I will make that walk. That’s a tremendous difference between me and the prima donnas who like to see their names on posters but are not real fighters.”

Love him or hate him, Sonnen knows how to hype a fight. If Maia upset Silva with his relatively mild comments, just imagine how fired up the champion will be after he hears what Sonnen has to say.

The UFC has not announced when this fight will take place.

(source: MMA Junkie)