"It's funny, just two weeks before we got matched up, Chael e-mailed me and he said, 'Hey, Brian, I have two buddies of mine who were in the military and they're struggling to find jobs and your organization, Hire Heros USA, is the premier organization that helps guys like that.' So, immediately, I started helping his buddies, we're getting in the pipe line and finding them jobs, getting them more educated, etc. And me and Chael were e-mailing back and forth about who we think we're fighting next. I thought I was going to fight Mark Munoz, he thought he was going to fight Wanderlei Silva, and we actually talked about, well, if those are our two match-ups next, maybe we'll link up and find a place to do some training. I can learn off his wrestling and he can get a guy to strike against him like me, who can throw big shots. So we agreed on that and we saw each other a week later at UFC 132. The UFC sat us right next to each other along with other fighters. We're all shaking hands and talking to each other, etc. And, literally, two days later I get the call and Joe Silva says, 'Hey, this is the fight.' And that's it. And Chael e-mailed me that night and he said, 'Brian, I can't sleep with the news tonight. You know I consider you a friend and that won't change on my side.' I e-mailed him back and said, 'You know Chael, it's just a fist fight. In the big scheme of things it means very little. Let's get out there, let's get after it but after this, nothing changes. It's not big deal.'"
-- Rising middleweight star Brian Stann tells the story of his budding bromance with loud mouth ex-Realtor Chael Sonnen. Initially brought together under the best of circumstances, the two wanted only to help one another in training for their upcoming bouts. That all changed when matchmaker Joe Silva came calling and tore those plans to shreds, ripping the friends apart by matching them up against each other. A sad tale, really, but one that Stann and Sonnen have resolved to overcome. It's just a fist fight inside a cage, after all; nothing between friends, right? However undesired the bout may be, it's more or less a necessity to shake out the top of the order in the middleweight division. While company President Dana White hasn't confirmed as much, the winner is expected to receive the next shot at the 185-pound title. Will it be the super-soldier Stann or the former politician Sonnen? Either way, it won't affect their status as BFFs ... or so they say. Hopefully, it won't affect the manner in which they attack each other at UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas, as well. Anyone think it will?