Chael Sonnen Admits ‘I Knew What I Was Doing; I Tried to Game the System'

For years, Chael Sonnen has insulted, goaded and poked at former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Now, we know why.

Sonnen was jealous of Silva. According to a recent interview Sonnen gave to Brazilian television show, "Estrelas," the American wrestler envied Silva and that drove him to try and beat the champ.

"I was jealous when I watched Anderson fighting on TV," Sonnen admitted.

"I didn’t think he was the best in the world, and I wanted to fight and beat him."

Of course, Sonnen got his chance twice against Silva, in 2010 and again in 2012, and was stopped each time by "The Spider." These days, Sonnen feels that Silva is a good person but he still wants to fight the injured Brazilian again.

"Anderson is a nice guy and I’ve met his family, but a guy and a fighter are completely different things," Sonnen explained.

"I wish him an amazing life, but I still want to beat him."

Sonnen cited two more Brazilian fighters whom he has no real animus towards but wants to beat them up, nonetheless.

"I also want to fight Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, and I don’t wish them anything bad," he went on.

Even though Sonnen would like a third shot at Silva, he hopes that the former 185 king retires after having his leg broken in half by Chris Weidman.

"I hope that Anderson retires, there’s nothing for him to achieve anymore and he has money enough for his future generations," Sonnen said.

"I hope he can look back and feel proud of his career and understands that we all see him as a great champion."

For his part, Sonnen may or may not fight Wanderlei Silva, as planned. At last report, the bout has still not been signed.

Sonnen's career may be more fundamentally up in the air because of the recent bans on testosterone replacement therapy. Sonnen once said that he would die without using the treatment and has recently said that he may very well end up retiring because of the bans.

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