"I got tunnel vision. I'm after the belt. Period. I'm not making any apologies or qualms about it. And the rest of the cowards in the back that just want to get their faces on TV and don't want to carry any heavy water, I've got no time for those guys. All of them. Every damn one of them that isn't named Chael Sonnen is nothing but a coward…. When you're the greatest fighter in the world the day they've got a name for you. They don't call you a great fighter, they call you Chael Sonnen."
-- Chael Sonnen, the self-proclaimed true champion, linear champion, peoples champion and best damn middleweight there has ever been, informs the mixed martial arts (MMA) community about a distinguished honor to which the best fighters in the world can now aspire. Forget "pound-for-pound" and "all-time great" discussions and replace them with Chael Sonnen because, well, that's apparently the new gold standard. One that nemesis Anderson Silva -- widely regarded as the best in the business and the best there has ever been -- will likely like to avoid like the plague. Sonnen, fresh off a big win, his first in more than one year, over Brian Stann at UFC 136 this past weekend, immediately executed the full court trash talk press on "The Spider," who was sitting ringside at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. And it doesn't appear that he intends to let up anytime soon. Not until he gets his rematch, at least, which he unofficially scheduled for Super Bowl weekend in early 2012. Will Sonnen emerge as the best Chael Sonnen in the middleweight division or will Silva maintain his Chael Sonnen status when the enemies finally collide?