The subject of teammates not fighting each other has been a long standing source of debate among the MMA community. It also is a major annoyance to UFC president Dana White. White would like to not be hamstrung in making potentially huge fights just because guys train together, but many fighters honor that agreement to the end.

The subject came up with middleweight champion Anderson Silva and he had this to say to SporTV (translation via Orcus):

(Dana saying that teammates should fight each other), It's funny to say that, right? If that was the case, I would like to ask him if he'd like to split the UFC with Lorenzo, each would have their own show fighting for audience and sponsorship and everything else that involves their business. They're friends, partners... What I think is that friends shouldn't fight. Dana doesn't fight. He sells well the fight, he's a good promoter, but he isn't a fighter. I have nothing against Dana, I admire him, but he doesn't know what this is, and he can't say that two friends should fight. We spend more time together than with our own families. We share the pains, the frustrations, and just because he wants to sell a fight that he thinks it would be cool and that the public would like to see two companions fighting. He wants to match a fight with two friends? That's impossible, it only happens with people who aren't real friends. We have a philosophy in our team that, regardless of two being from the same weight class and the same objective of being UFC Champions, we know that this won't happen. MMA is not a collective sport. It's not normal for me to fight a guy that I live with everyday. It's natural to him, because he doesn't fight and hasn't even got pinched once.

Follow after the jump for Dana's response...

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PRIDE and UFC star, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, or 'Big Nog' has a conspiracy theory. He thinks there's a rivalry between American's and Brazilian's, and he implies that MMA Judges in the US are biased against the Brazilians.

He said as much when he talked to Globo TV. Here's a translation from Bloody Elbow's own Orcus:

"Americans have a rivalry with Brazilians, that is obvious. And why is that? It’s because the UFC has three hundred fighters under contract, and from those three hundred fighters we are fifty. The Brazilians are fifty, and we have more belts than they do."

"So from three hundred we are fifty, and with those fifty we get there and take care of business. They win (more) because they have more (people), they have a bigger infrastructure inside their gyms, they have support for the sport since they’re kids. But the sport is growing in Brazil and I believe that..."

"They look at us with (malicious) eyes, let’s say it like that. If you’re going to fight an American in the US you have to win the fight with emphasis because otherwise… You can’t win it by a thin margin."

Off the top of my head, the only controversial decision involving a Brazilian fighter losing to an American fighter recently, would be Lyoto Machida losing that razor thin decision against Quinton Jackson. For the record, I do disagree with that decision, but even then, it was a really close fight, and it wasn't really a robbery.

We do see a few crazy scorecards every now and then, but I don't think we can really blame that on nationalism, racism, or whatever, rather than them simply being bad at judging fights.

Nog's brother, Rogerio was even awarded one of those controversial decisions. I wonder if Jason Brilz has his own conspiracy theory on this.

With Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort set to compete as coaches on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil and then expected to fight at UFC 147, it was inevitable that we'd see some trash talk kick off. The two fought all the way back at UFC Brazil in 1998 with Belfort getting a 44 second TKO win.

While Vitor won their first meeting, it's Silva that has gotten in the best pre-rematch shots via his Twitter.

Here are the tweets in question with translations provided by Orcus:

Original: @SpiderAnderson "Eu poderia ajudar @wandfc para sua luta com @vitorbelfort !!ajuda aceita Irmao,Quero aprender aquele chute que vc deu ...

@SpiderAnderson,ajuda aceita Quero aprender aquele chute que vc deu Bem na Boca dele!!! Quero fazer igualzinho

Translated: @SpiderAnderson, I want to learn that kick you landed on his mouth, I want to do it exactly the same.

My opponent is an excellent athlete. He only has one flaw: he's such a drag. I then ask you: do the annoying know that they're annoying?

This could be quite a fun ride to the rematch.

It is no secret that Anderson Silva's days in MMA are numbered. He is getting older and we hear chatter from him and his camp constantly that he'll be out of the sport in a handful of fights. Anderson has been on the shelf since his dominating August victory over Yushin Okami but is supposed to face long-time rival Chael Sonnen after Sonnen's win over Michael Bisping at UFC on Fox 2.

In a recent interview with UOL Esportes, Silva talked about Sonnen and many other topics (transcription by Orcus).

On Sonnen:

A lot of people who hears the crap he says end up thinking; "I don't like MMA, it's a joke." What he does only hurts the sport in general. That's never good. We are in a good phase with MMA and we have to capitalize on it. It looks like Chael doesn't understand that, all he wants is for people to get angry.

On getting older:

I’m no longer the same, everything hurts and it takes much longer for me to recover (from injuries).

More after the jump including Silva discussing a desire to fight GSP and never wanting to fight Jon Jones...

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Fabricio Werdum returns to the UFC at Saturday night's UFC 143 for the first time since losing to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 in October of 2008. Werdum will square off with Roy Nelson in the night's co-main event in a fight that will elevate one man's stock and put them closer to title contention.

Werdum spoke to Globo recently and spoke about his plans to take the fight to Nelson (translation by Orcus):

I can tell you that he'll need to keep his hands up, because a knockout might happen. He'll need to keep his hands way up, in high guard. I think I'll hit his legs a lot. Roy Nelson is very tough and can endure a lot of beating, he showed that against [Junior dos Santos], but there's always a weak spot. I'll try to look for that flaw during the fight. I think I will win with agility and mobility. I am well mentally, as well as physically, much faster and this will be determinant in this fight, due to the fact that he's slower, a fatty.

It will be a very strategic fight. It's my return to the UFC, it will be very important to me. When I have the opportunity to KO or submit, I will do it. I don't like to win by points, it happens sometimes, but my prevision is this: knockout or submission. The main thing is the victory. My mom always tells me that the important thing is to raise the arm in the end (laughs).

The "fatty" line was said in a joking way, to be clear. It wasn't meant as a direct insult.

Nelson does leave some openings on the feet and we did see Werdum get some shots in on Alistair Overeem, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him want to turn this into a three round fight on the feet.

SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit

Demian Maia is no stranger to Chael Sonnen, having submitted him in just over 2:30 when they met at UFC 95. Being Brazilian also makes Maia a target in Sonnen's trademark anti-Brazil rants.

So one might think that Maia would not be Sonnen's biggest fan. But in a recent article on SporTV, Maia was actually extremely complimentary when discussing Chael and their interactions (translation by Tom Mendes):

We have talked a few times. I think he's very intelligent, he knows what to say. I think he sometimes pushes the envelope, but he's good in attracting the media to himself. He's a very tough fighter, and deserves to fight for the title. I have nothing against him, and it's obvious that you don't need more than two brain cells to see that he's joking. I told him that he should become a comedian. There's a lot of passion in the sport, and there are people that don't like him. He has his style, he's more conservative, different than myself. But I think Sonnen is a very intelligent guy.

So I guess we can count Maia among the group that "gets it" when it comes to the Sonnen act.

Sonnen faces Michael Bisping at Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 card while Maia will compete on the same card against Chris Weidman.

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 2

When Mark Munoz got injured it forced Michael Bisping into a match with Chael Sonnen and left Demian Maia without an opponent for the UFC on Fox 2 card. The immediate demand from fans was for the UFC to move Rousimar Palhares (who scored a quick win at UFC 142) into a fight with Maia. It turns out that Palhares turned down the short-notice no-rest fight (at least according to Dana White on Twitter) and the promotion settled on giving the fight to Chris Weidman.

For his part, Maia says that he didn't want to fight Palhares. Not because he was afraid, but because he thinks that Brazilian middleweights shouldn't face each other. Via SporTV (translated by Tom Mendes):

"It was rumored (a fight with Palhares), but I thought there would not be any possibilities (of it happening), because he just fought, it doesn't make sense for him to throw himself into another fight right now. "Toquinho" trained a few months for this fight. Just because it was fast doesn't mean there were no wear and tears. But I don't even think about that. To be honest, the Brazilian fans should be more worried about seeing us fighting foreigners. There are (only) a few Brazilian fighters in the division and I think that, aside of the title, since it's Anderson who is the champion, the Brazilians should not face each other."

SBN coverage of UFC on Fox 2

Junior dos Santos has had a pretty impressive run int he UFC. It kicked off with him getting a shocking knockout win over heavy favorite Fabricio Werdum in 2008 which his most recent fight being a heavyweight title win on the UFC's debut on FOX.

If his amazing rise through the UFC ranks wasn't enough, now it appears the champ is interested on setting his sights on a new challenge down the road. Via UOL Esportes (translation via Tom Mendes).

First, Junior speaks:

"The more goals you reach, the bigger your dreams become. I'd like very much to test myself in boxing. In the gym I train boxing a lot and I see it as a sport that brings something different. You have to be more loose and faster. If the opportunity arises, I'd like to try it, but first I have to defend this (UFC) belt"

Then his coach:

To have Junior fighting at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (in 2016) would be a dream, but today his priority is MMA. If one day he has the opportunity he could try to fight for the title.

Obviously 2016 is a long way off but it's interesting that they're even considering the possibility. At that point dos Santos would be in his early 30's but there are some career amateur boxers who never turn pro and continue to compete well into their 30's. I don't expect he'd fare particularly well in the strange point-fighting system of Olympic boxing against guys who have been doing the same since they were kids, but it's something that would at least make me kind of interested in watching Olympic boxing.