Rafael Carvalho Wants To Fight Chael Sonnen
Bellator MMA Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvlaho is coming off of a successful title defense over Melvin Manhoef this past May.
With no future fights announced at this time, the middleweight champion wants to move up a weight class to fight Chael Sonnen.
“I want to challenge Sonnen,” Carvalho told MMA Fighting. “Instead of doing another title defense, make this superfight.”
Sonnen is coming off of a main event appearance at Bellator 180, where he defeated Wanderlei Silva by unanimous decision.
Carvalho believes that if a fight against Sonnen were to come to fruition, the light heavyweight's wrestling game would be the champion's only concern.
“He only has that wrestling, and I believe that after I defend his first three takedowns, he won’t shoot anymore,” Carvalho said. “I'll be honest with you, nothing he did (against Wanderlei Silva) surprised me. Standing and trading with Wanderlei is not for everyone, and Sonnen is not stupid. He realized that when he tried and almost got knocked out."
Neither fighter does have a fight announced, but Sonnen hinted in his post-fight interview at Bellator 180 that he would like to fight the legendary Fedor Emelianenko next. However, the American born Sonnen has fought at middleweight before, so a potential title bout could come together.
