A frustrated Wanderlei Silva was not happy at all with the way his long awaited bout against Chael Sonnen developed at Bellator 180’s main event. Ever the brawler, Silva was mad at himself and at his opponent, especially the way Sonnen controlled him on the ground for three rounds.

“I was as mad at him as I was mad at myself. I wanted it to be a dog fight, thrilling, with guys being knocked down left and right.” Silva told Combate. “The type of fight people are used to see Wanderlei Silva in. Unfortunately, my opponent wasn’t too keen on putting on a show, he wanted to smother and grapple me. I like to make the crowd go wild, give them a show. The few moments where he engaged me were the best moments. I came close to finishing the fight. I had the best moment of the fight. Because of the rules, I knew he had defeated me by points.”

Because he knows he can defeat Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva would like one more opportunity to show it. And he would like to do it in front of his family and friends, in Brazil.

“I want the rematch bad, I want to show I can neutralize his gameplan and beat him. I’ll pursue it to the end. I’m getting ready for it, as a matter of fact. It might not be my next fight, but it’s bound to happen. Brazil has many venues. Here in Curitiba there’s the stadium where they hosted UFC 198. I’m sure that if Bellator ever comes to Brazil, this would be a nice place. And with Silva on the card, a packed house is guaranteed.”

Wanderlei Silva dropped an unanimous decision to Chaell Sonnen at Bellator 180, in New York City, on June 24. The fight was the long awaited culmination of a feud that started all the way back in 2011 with a war of words over Sonnen’s comments toward Anderson Silva. The two were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 173 coming off the ultimate fighter, but the bout was rescheduled to the TUF Brazil 3 Finale, and then to UFC 175, where it ultimately fell apart when Silva skipped pre-fight medicals.