Chael Sonnen Calls Submission of ‘Shogun’ at UFC Fight Night 26 ‘the Biggest Win I’ve Had’

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Chael Sonnen has made his stance clear: he wants a piece of Wanderlei Silva.

Sonnen called out “The Axe Murderer” following his first-round submission victory over Silva’s former teammate, Mauricio Rua, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 26 on Saturday night.

“Wanderlei Silva drives me insane. Wanderlei tells the media that he wants to fight me. I would love to fight Wanderlei. He insists that fight has never been offered,” Sonnen said at the post-fight press conference. “That has been a big, marquee fight for years. To believe that he has not been offered that fight is ridiculous, and it pisses me off. All I need from him is to say that he doesn’t want to do it, and then I’m out. I’m not a bully, and I’m not going to pick on him, but if he continues to say it, he’s going to continue to get me to respond.”

Sonnen made quick work of “Shogun” at the TD Garden in Boston, requiring just 4:47 of the scheduled 25 minutes to finish the former UFC light heavyweight king with a guillotine choke.

“I thought it was a hard fight. I’m not going to say I’m a better fighter than ‘Shogun.’ I’m just going to say that I beat him,” said Sonnen. “I caught him in a guillotine. Had he caught me, I would have had to tap out too. It’s the first round, and if you get that, it’s very hard to get out of because we’re not slippery yet.”

Though Sonnen has been known to make headlines with his self-promotion and trash talk in recent years, the former three-time title challenger was very complimentary of Rua, calling his win over “Shogun” a career highlight.

“The guy is a former world champion. He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame. He beat [Chuck] Liddell and Forrest [Griffin] and [Lyoto] Machida, and even guys I know and look up to, like Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman,” said Sonnen. “So it feels good, whether you squeak out a win or catch a guy in a good, tight lock. It’s the biggest win I’ve had.”