Joe Ferraro

Chael Sonnen.

Chael Sonnen is doing his best to promote a fight with Anderson (The Spider) Silva.

At UFC 109, Chael Sonnen bullied the middleweight title shot right out of Nate Marquardt's hands, but in doing so, finds himself caught within a spider's web.

The new contender to Anderson Silva's crown appears to also have had an epiphany when it comes to the art of promoting a prize fight. Over the past few weeks, the former Olympic wrestling alternate has taken his fair share of pot shots towards the champ, and the Brazilian's camp has taken notice.

In a phone conversation with Ed Soares, Silva's representative, the rebuttals were mainly professional, but I did get a sense that if Sonnen chose to continue the war of words, "The Black House" family would be more than willing to oblige in verbal warfare.

"At the moment, we are completely focused on Anderson's title defence versus Vitor Belfort (at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi)," Soares said.

Soares continued by stating that "we've spoken with Chael on many occasions and have the utmost respect for him. He's never really come across in this manner, and it's obvious he's just drumming up hype in hopes to get a bout with Anderson."

While UFC president Dana White did state that the winner of Saturday's co-main event between Sonnen and Marquardt would fight the winner of Silva and Belfort, Soares didn't necessarily agree with this decision.

"We are fine if this is what the UFC wants, but if you look at this logistically, Sonnen should fight Demian Maia first. Demian beat up easily, by submission, so why not make them fight first, to determine who gets a shot at the title?"

It remains to be seen whether the UFC matchmaking team decides to go with Soares' suggestion, but when it comes to some of the comments made about his client, Soares did reiterate that it's more hyperbole than fact.

In various interviews, Sonnen referred to himself as the "alpha male" in the locker rooms and that Silva knew who the real "bully" was backstage.

"There's not much to say about that," stated Soares. "It's funny, but really, who actually listens to what Chael Sonnen has to say? The only time people listen is when he talks about Anderson. Who is he, really? If you walk down the street and you mention his name, does anyone really know who this guy is? Likely not, but if you mention Anderson Silva, people know the name."

Sonnen's dominant performance on Saturday night raised many eyebrows, as his excellent execution of a stellar game plan for Marquardt proved he is a worth contender to the title, but his comments about who many consider the pound for pound best fighter in MMA are alarming.

When referring to The Spider, he stated in multiple interviews that the champ's "fifteen minutes of fame were up" and that if given the choice to fight either Belfort of Silva next, he chose the latter, claiming it would be "an easier route" to championship glory.

Soares chuckled at the comment but wondered aloud if Sonnen's intentions weren't more secretive.

"Chael's also said a few things about Anderson's choice of clothes and that he wears earrings, didn't he? Sounds to us like he may have a crush on Anderson."

With Chael Sonnen now realizing the importance of hyping up his own fights and that fact he has an incredible gift of making statements that are worthy of their own headlines, one can only imagine the drama that will unfold in the days to come, and especially leading up to a potential bout with Silva.

Stay tuned... this could get ugly.