Boxing News: Chael Sonnen Aims to "Fix My Life" against UFC Rival Anderson Silva

It's all or nothing for Sonnen in this unexpected trilogy fight against Silva.

Jul. 7, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UFC fighter Chael Sonnen (left) against Anderson Silva during a middleweight bout in UFC 148 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Chael Sonnen's getting one last chance to claim victory over his former foe Anderson Silva.

Considered one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history, Sonnen and Silva fought twice in the Octagon with Silva retaining his UFC Middleweight title both times - nearly losing the belt in their first fight in 2010 and then making quick work of Sonnen by TKO in 2012. 12 years later, they will run it back in the boxing ring of all places.

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Sonnen, 47, will come out of retirement for his boxing debut in an exhibition match against "The Spider" this Saturday from Spaten Fight Night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. With the support of his home crowd, Silva, 49, returns to the ring after losing to Jake Paul by decision in 2022.

Anderson, I’ll see you June 15th…#Advertisement @spiderandersonsilva @spaten_br #BebaComModeração #SpatenFightNight #UltimaLutaSpider #EstiloForteSpaten pic.twitter.com/PUZ1AGAm3Z

— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) May 20, 2024

Sonnen was on the cusp of the world championship at UFC 117, dominating Silva round-by-round until it came down to the final stretch where Silva pulled off a comeback for the ages, submitting Sonnen with a triangle choke with two minutes to go in the final round. The memory still haunts Sonnen to this day, and he'll get another opportunity to get sweet revenge on Silva in the boxing ring.

"They like to say we've made up," Sonnen of his relationship with Silva on 'Good Guy / Bad Guy'. "They love to use the word 'respect'. I'll adhere to it, too, because it seems like the gentlemanly thing to do... [But] I'm gonna go damage him, which is what I've agreed to do. I'm gonna put my body in there because he asked and he could have got any opponent he wanted. He apparently still wants to do damage to me. So to act like everything's behind us would just be insincere."

Anderson Silva asks Chael Sonnen why he never to his house for BBQ and Chael answers 😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/eb9m2tLEWp

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 12, 2022

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Wholesome out of the ring, Sonnen and Silva will turn on the metaphorical kill switch, come fight night. The boxing ruleset, the timing, and even the location of the event could have worked far better for the recently unretired Sonnen, but the former UFC title challenger isn't making any excuses before going into enemy territory with Silva.

It's do-or-die for Sonnen as he attempts to write the ultimate redemption story, being down 0-2 against Silva already.

"If I lose this, I will be devastated. I will have no opportunity. I have thought about this man every single day for ten years, and that's a very private thing. There's nothing about this where I go, 'Boxing's not quite my style...' I am going out there to beat this man, to fix my life, or I'm going to go [the] rest of my days looking at my career as a miserable fail."

Chael Sonnen after his second loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 148. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm going to try to fix my life in this fight," Sonnen added.

Chael Sonnen is a massive +325 underdog against Anderson Silva (-500), who has five boxing matches under his belt, including a win over big-name boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in 2021. Sonnen has not fought since a stoppage loss to Lyoto Machida in 2019.

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