"What a success story" - Chael Sonnen lauds his former rival Anderson Silva's triumphant return to pro-boxing

Former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen has seemingly moved on from his bad-blood rivalry with Anderson Silva. In a video he released on his YouTube channel, the retired middleweight star praised his former archnemesis, who successfully transitioned from MMA to pro-boxing.

"What a success story in many ways. Don't forget: a striker coming over to grappling, coming over to MMA, and having success. Anderson Silva is in very rare company."

At 46-years-old, Anderson Silva put in an odds-shattering performance against former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at an event dubbed "Tribute to the Kings" last Saturday. 'The Spider' bagged a controversial split decision win (75-77, 77-75, 77-75) after outworking his opponent for eight rounds.

Coming in as a heavy underdog, Silva had not competed in boxing since 2005 and had not won in the UFC since 2017. But by the end of the fight, he had outlanded Chavez Jr. 99-53 in total punches and 60-41 in power punches. 'The Spider' even showed glimpses of his trademark self by showboating during the bout, driving the audience wild.

According to Chael Sonnen, he was pleasantly surprised by the Brazilian legend's performance. 'The American Gangster' also noted that Silva's accomplishment was even more impressive given that he did it at an advanced stage in his career.

"Generally when a guy gets older, when a guy slows down, when a guy is no longer in his prime, the last thing the guy is gonna be good at is boxing. It just moves too quickly. It's too much about speed and timing. It's too much about reflex. Generally, for a guy outside of his prime, Anderson looked great," Sonnen added.

Watch the video below:

Chael Sonnen's history with Anderson Silva

Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva was one of the most intense rivalries in UFC history. In the lead-up to their initial UFC 117 title fight, Sonnen kickstarted a grudge match after making several derogatory comments about Silva.

Come fight night, though, Chael Sonnen backed his words with action, dominating the champion for almost the entire fight. His efforts, however, were not enough to put 'The Spider' away, who found a way to steal the victory in the final round.

Anderson Silva pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the octagon, catching Sonnen in a triangle choke with only 110 seconds remaining in the fight. He made his opponent tap out to retain the UFC middleweight title.

#OnThisDay in 2012... 📆@SpiderAnderson left no doubt in his rematch vs Chael Sonnen. 🕷📺 Watch their two fights now on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/eCmqLwdr5Y

— UFC (@ufc) July 7, 2020

Chael Sonnen earned his rematch two years later at UFC 148. But Silva ended the rivalry by earning a decisive TKO win over Sonnen to go 2-0 up against his challenger.