Report: Chael Sonnen will appeal loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 148 (Updated)

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) may have tied a ribbon on its UFC 148 pay-per-view (PPV) event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena last Saturday night (July 7, 2012) in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the fight between Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen is far from over.

It's kind of a slippery issue.

Sonnen, who was on the wrong end of a second round technical knockout (TKO) stoppage, planned to file an appeal against his loss to "The Spider" with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), claiming Silva's crushing knee intended to strike the head of a downed opponent.

And part of it did, causing Chael to receive eight stitches in his mouth, according to longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) reporter Jonathan Snowden, who today (July 9) tweeted news of the appeal while rubbing elbows with the cast and crew of The MMA show with Mauro Ranallo.

In addition, Sonnen's trainer, Scott McQuarry, told Snowden his student deserves a rematch:

"We're going to ask for a rematch. We deserve a rematch. If the only way Anderson Silva can win is by cheating, we need to keep a closer eye on Silva before and during a fight. And we need a rematch now. Legal knee or illegal knee, there's enough doubt with all the fouls to warrant a rematch."

See video of the blow in question by clicking here. Did Silva's thigh make contact with Sonnen's face?

The appeal, which was eventually abandoned to pursue a rematch from the UFC brass, comes in stark contrast to Sonnen's post-fight comments, who not only admitted to joining his Brazilian nemesis in a clothing tug-of-war, but also downplayed the intentions of the knee that signaled the beginning of the end to his championship rematch:

"Yeah, Anderson grabbed my trunks but I grabbed his right back. It goes both ways. We can't sit and nit pick some of that stuff. It's a two man sport. It's kind of like moving the chains in football, it evens itself out. What goes around comes around. Anderson grabbed my shorts tonight, I'll grab someone else's shorts down the road."

On the knee on the ground:

"You know, I don't make those decisions and I hate those rules anyway. You know, I'm an old school guy before we had rounds and weight classes and all that stuff. We're in a lot better spot now, I don't propose we should go back to that but I don't care about legal or illegal. I could see him, I could see it coming. That's just the way it goes."

Whether or not Team Sonnen can create enough of an uproar to get the UFC to consider a rematch remains to be seen. Until then, you can see a still-shot of the knee, as it lands, by clicking here. for more on Sonnen's loss to Silva at UFC 148, including talk of retirement, click here.

For the rest of the UFC 148 results and reactions click here.