UFC 148's Chael Sonnen: Anderson Silva is better than I gave him credit for

For those of you who are not nor have ever been fans of pro wrestling, you've been forced to endure countless terms you no doubt have zero idea the meaning of thanks to Chael Sonnen and his antics in the lead up to his UFC 148 rematch against Anderson Silva tomorrow night (Sat., July 7, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Kayfabe" is one such term.

Simply put, kayfabe represents the disconnect between reality and fiction. When one tells a story, one must do so while keeping within the confines of said story. A failure to do so constitutes the breaking of kayfabe.

For an example of this, Sonnen telling everyone he's the real middleweight champion while carrying around a replica belt is kayfabe. He broke it when he went on the Primetime and Countdown shows and admitted to defeat in the first fight and outright said Silva got the better of him.

In Sonnen's wacky world, that's no small thing.

But it's been happening more and more as of late, especially in the past week as we draw closer and closer to the biggest showdown of his career. Perhaps it's because of that that the second best 185-pound fighter on the planet is being far more honest about the situation.

The latest instance of Sonnen breaking kayfabe came in an interview with UFC.com in which he watched Silva's two victories since he beat Sonnen back in Aug. 2010 and admitted "The Spider's" bite is far more venomous than he ever gave the champion credit for.

"I've watched both his fights and I thought he would lose them both, and he won them both dominantly. So in my mind, he's better than I gave him credit for."

Of course, the honesty gives way to bravado rather quickly.

"I like to be fair. I'm not delusional, he (Silva) is a good little fighter. I am a world-class athlete and there's a huge difference, and I think Anderson says it best. Anderson said it as an insult, but I took it as a tremendous compliment. He said about himself, ‘I am a martial artist, this guy is a fighter.' And he's right. I am not a martial artist; he is. I don't wear nightgowns and I damn sure don't bow to people. He can believe in respect and all these other phony things that he says to get himself a paycheck. But at the end of the day, I'm a fist fighter from West Linn, Oregon, and that's the way it's gonna be. I'm not bowing to anybody and I'm not after some fake persona like he is or any other of these made up little ‘my father says so and so.' My father says to win, and if he wants to bow and honor and respect and that's how it was taught to him, then more power to him. But I'm a fighter, and my father told me to win."

It's only a matter of time until we find out, once and for all, who is the absolute best in the middleweight division. Sonnen dominated the first fight but lost to a late submission.

How will it look tomorrow night?

Stay tuned, Maniacs.