RIO DE JANEIRO — Chael Sonnen submitted Mauricio Rua in one of his biggest wins in the UFC, and now meets “Shogun's" longtime friend and former training partner Wanderlei Silva at Bellator’s New York debut on June 24.
Rua, who lost to Sonnen via first-round submission in 2013, sends his friend some advice ahead of his long-awaited return to MMA.
"Don’t be nervous,” Rua told reporters in a media scrum during UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "When I fought Sonnen, I made a mistake. I should have waited for the first round to be over, but I wanted to reverse the position with 10 seconds left.