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After finding out that Anderson Silva was signed by Brazilian football club Corinthians, Chael Sonnen has been vocal for the past  couple of weeks to the Brazilian media claiming that he became Palmeirense (someone who cheers for Palmeiras, a Brazilian football club), a big rival of Anderson’s team of heart.  

"They became my favorite team. I don’t know much about them, but I’m going to find out. I’m going to start following soccer. It’s a popular sport all around the world and Palmeiras became my favorite team, I would love to visit the club when I’m around there" said Sonnen of his new found team of heart.

It didn’t take long for Vitor Belfort to respond, saying that Palmeiras better not give Sonnen any attention, claiming it would denigrate the image of the team:

 "If Palmeiras ends up sponsoring Sonnen, they will never again sell a jersey. The guy (Sonnen) has been saying bad stuff about our country and now he’s trying to gain some money with the image of a football club? If Palmeiras decides to help him, it will be their worst investment ever"

Palmeiras didn’t go as far as signing Sonnen, not yet anyhow, but after learning about Corinthiano Anderson's big rival’s sudden love for their club, Palmeiras decided to send Sonnen a kit that includes a DVD and a jersey. When pressed about it, their spokes person Rubens Reis claimed they were only sending a jersey to a fan, no big deal:

 "We’re not worried about the rivalry (Palmeiras vs Corinthians), that’s not what we had in mind. He said he was a fan, and we sent him a jersey and a DVD for him to know more about the history of the club"

When asked if this was some type of play trying to make the fans of Palmeiras to go against Anderson, Rubens claimed the following:

"To be honest I don’t care about that. He’s a fighter, he claims to be a fan of ours, that’s it!"