Perhaps nearly as big as what went down in the Octagon Saturday night between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen in UFC 148 would be the words spoken by the winner afterward.
After years and years (literally) of trash talk coming Silva's way from Sonnen about everything from his fighting style to his wife to even his Brazilian heritage, the man who's historically been revered as the best MMA fighter ever answered his critics (most of whom were Sonnen) with a decisive second-round TKO victory.
Despite nasty words being the norm in this epic rivalry since their first matchup nearly two years prior, Silva rose above all of that in his post-fight interview (per ESPN).
"Chael fought me and I fought Chael. This is a sport. I have nothing against Chael. If you [Chael] would like to have a barbecue at my house, I'd like to have you over."
Wow.
If you are one bit familiar with the barrage of distasteful comments thrown Silva's way by Sonnen, then this is a showing of class that we've rarely (if ever) seen in any fighting sport.
The world's best UFC fighter has been publicly scrutinized, virtually by one fighter and one fighter only, so harshly that you'd expect him to point and laugh at the bruised and battered Sonnen muttering "I told you so."
Instead, he invited his number one enemy and public rival over for a barbecue.
Barbecue! And we're talking Brazilian barbecue.
Well, it's safe to say that Silva has put his uncharacteristically nasty words behind him after what transpired just weeks before this July 7 showdown that has already been named the biggest event in UFC's short history.
To refresh your memory, here's what the usually quiet Silva said about his then-upcoming fight against Sonnen via a translator on a conference call on June 26 (per ESPN).
I'm going to make sure every one of his teeth are broken, his arms are broken, his legs are broken. He's not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that.
All we wanted to see to supplant his legacy was a knockout victory, and that's just what we got.
Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw Ramon Ramirez Sergio Romo
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