Chael Sonnen suggests three “farewell fights” for Anderson Silva

Chael Sonnen has three fights in mind for his former foe Anderson Silva.

Silva, who is now 45 years old, is in the final chapter of his illustrious MMA career. That being said, UFC President Dana White has openly stated that he’s not sure how to proceed in terms of matchmaking for the aging legend.

Sonnen is hoping to help.

After White nixed the possibility of Silva fighting Conor McGregor or Anthony Pettis—both of whom were more than willing to do so—Sonnen has three other suggestions in mind.

Sonnen began by suggesting Silva could run it back with Nick Diaz. Silva defeated the elder Diaz bro by decision 2015, but the bout was overturned when he failed a drug test, so the grounds for a rematch are there.

“I’m starting with Diaz,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I’m not narrowing that down to Nick or Nate. Nick Diaz vs. Anderson works. We know it works because we’ve seen it once. It was a very fun fight. It was a fight I’m not sure that Nick won a round—a judge may have given him a round. He declared he won all five. It was great.

“You’re not talking about a contender match, you’re talking about having fun. What the hell’s wrong with that?”

Sonnen then suggested Silva could also take on Nick Diaz’s younger brother Nate Diaz, who has competed extensively at 155 and 170 pounds, but never in the 185-pound middleweight division Silva alls home.

“What have we also seen about the Diaz’s? It doesn’t really matter which one it is,” Sonnen said. “I mean, right? It doesn’t really matter which one it is.”

“I’m here to let you know Nate will bump up to 185 [pounds].”

Sonnen also sees Robbie Lawler as a suitable opponent for the aging Anderson Silva.

“Here’s one that might surprise you: Robbie Lawler,” he said. “Lawler might surprise you because he’s at 170 pounds. Go back and look at his career, he’s done plenty of work at 185.

“Not to mention, these guys are from the same era,” Sonnen added. “So many people don’t know that because Robbie’s such a young guy. Robbie started at 19! He started at an oddly young age. Anderson started at a normal age. But they both date themselves back to the same year. The fact that these guys have never crossed is actually a bit surprising.”

“This is something unique, this is something different, this something special, in all fairness.”

What do you think of these suggestions from Chael Sonnen? Who would you like to see Anderson Silva fight next?