Three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen was the first person to ever make long-reigning middleweight champ Anderson Silva before Chris Weidman emerged as a legitimate contender.

Despite still coming up short against “The Spider” on two occasions, Sonnen is still angling for a third crack at his Brazilian adversary if he does indeed make a return to the cage before the end of the year following a nasty leg injury in December.

"I was very envious of where Anderson was. I didn't think he was the best and I wanted to fight and beat him. I wanted to everybody know that. I wanted to win in a fashion that it was not even going to be close,” Sonnen told Globo, a Brazilian media outlet.

“I want to have a third fight (against Anderson ). I still want to beat him for some source of competition. I also want to face Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva. I don't wish them a bad life but in a fight I can't step back and I have to punch their faces.

Despite making countless disparaging marks about Silva since the spring of 2010, Sonnen also made note that he has since met Silva’s family and he considers him a “very nice guy.”

“The American Gangster” pushed the legendary Brazilian fighter to the brink at UFC 117 in August 2010, winning four-and-a-half rounds with his dominant takedowns and top control.

However, Silva threw up a Hail Mary submission attempt, a triangle choke, with less than two minutes remaining in the fight and Sonnen tapped out.

In their rematch at UFC 148 in July 2012, Sonnen again quickly got the fight to the tap and won another round against Silva decisively.

As luck would have it, Sonnen completely whiffed on a spinning back fist attempt in the second round and Silva rained down strikes on his fallen opponent before the ref stepped in.

Would a trilogy bout between Sonnen and Silva be considered quality matchmaking by fight fans?