Silva declines Sonnen’s invite to coach ‘TUF,’ but not for lack of desire
Geography is apparently keeping Anderson Silva from accepting Chael Sonnen‘s invitation to help him coach the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.â€
Silva, though, wasn’t opposed to the idea when Sonnen recently passed the offer through his longtime manager, Ed Soares.
“It is true – I did get invited,†the former middleweight champ told MMAjunkie via translator. “But unfortunately, I’m not in Brazil, so I’m not going to be able to go down there and help.
“But I think for the sport, it would be something that will be great, especially because the guys competing are all Brazilian, so it would be good to go on either team and help them.â€
Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC) spoke during a media teleconference in support of his banner rematch with champ Chris Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 168, which takes place Dec. 28 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airs live on pay-per-view.
Sonnen made headlines this past week when he told MMAFighting.com that he would attempt to enlist his two-time opponent’s help for the third international installment of the reality show, which begins filming in January. He coaches opposite rival Wanderlei Silva in advance of a fight this summer.
Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva were training partners in the heyday of famed MMA team Chute Boxe, but the ex-middleweight champ didn’t mention a conflict due to the past.
Silva, 38, moved to the Los Angeles area several years ago and now resides there almost full-time.
Weidman shocked the world in July when he knocked out the 185-pound kingpin, who was previously unbeaten in the octagon and had set the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses at 10.
The UFC expects the rematch to generate massive numbers in pay-per-view “buys†and produce a live gate in excess of $6 million.
