One of the most vocal men in the sport, UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen, appeared on UFC Connected on July 25.
The first topic of conversation was “The All-American” Brian Stann, who Sonnen faces off against at UFC 136.
“He’s a tough guy, he’s a great fighter…he’s ranked sixth in the world, a former world champion for the WEC,” Sonnen said. “I’m a big Brian Stann fan, so I’ve been having a lot of fun watching and cheering for him from my living room.”
Despite recently stating that he would have no problem trash talking Stann leading up to their fight, Sonnen has shown the Silver Star recipient nothing but respect up to this point.
As far as his favorite target, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, is concerned, Sonnen actually kept it short and sweet this time.
“Anderson and I will meet up again, either way, regardless, Anderson’s not going to be the champion by then because Yushin Okami’s going to take him out in August, in his hometown,” the former two-time All American wrestler said.
“I got no problem slapping Anderson around again just for fun, just for laughs, just to entertain myself,” Sonnen stated very matter-of-factly.
When asked if Sonnen would be in Okami’s corner in August to repay the favor of Okami coming up to Oregon to train, Sonnen replied:
Part 1 of Chael Sonnen on UFC Connected“Oh absolutely, I got a timeshare in Brazil. It’s beautiful there.”
Furthermore, when he was informed that he was public enemy No. 1 in Brazil, Sonnen responded with
“Oh that’s ridiculous…no, they love me in Brazil.”
In arguably the most interesting portion of the interview, Sonnen actually took the high road when addressing Demian Maia’s recent video where he mocked Sonnen’s triangle choke defense.
“I might take him up on that, I could probably use that. Demian Maia’s fantastic…I might take him up on that offer,” Sonnen said with a smile on his face.
Next, Sonnen was shown the video clip of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at the UFC 135 press conference, where Rampage said “I don’t know what Chael Sonnen look like,” among other disparaging remarks.
“Well basically, I couldn’t understand a word he just said without an interpreter,” Sonnen stated.
“But by the tone of it, I’d say he’s got a problem with me. So we could settle that, if he wants to introduce us, we can do that. We got a forum for that, it’s called the people’s octagon and I’ll be there.”
Part 2 of Chael Sonnen on UFC ConnectedFrom there, Uncle Chael discussed why he was willing to fill in for an injured Phil Davis against Rashad Evans at UFC 133, prior to Tito Ortiz accepting the fight.
“The company needs a main event, you can’t just leave them hanging. The cowards at 205, not one of them stepped up. And 205’s such an easy weight class, I don’t know why they have it anymore,” the controversial fighter declared.
“It wasn’t about the opponent, it was just about helping the company and making sure somebody shows up on August 6,” Sonnen clarified.
At this point, Chael was asked if he thought it was a good move or bad move for Tito Ortiz to take the fight on short notice, especially since he just fought Ryan Bader a few weeks ago.
“Yea sure, who cares good move, bad move…ya know, I don’t understand these guys are all chickens. Anybody can go train for a fight and show up in shape, a real man just shows up and lets it go,” Sonnen expressed.
On the topic of Wanderlei Silva, another known rival of Sonnen’s, he actually gave the former Pride star some credit.
As expected though, Sonnen couldn’t resist taking some parting shots at the Brazilian.
“He still brought something to the sport and a lot of fans tuned in to watch him,” Sonnen reflected.
“Whether he was doing his fake matches in Japan, or his real stuff in America, he had a presence and a following and he’ll be remembered. He should be proud of that,” Sonnen said.
From here, Sonnen was asked to evaluate the Strikeforce superfight pitting Fedor Emelianenko against Dan Henderson.
Worth noting is that like Chael Sonnen, Henderson is a member of Team Quest’s fight camp.
“Well, it’s interesting, we don’t know a lot about Fedor. He’s only had a couple fights, his real martial arts record is three wins, two losses. He looks like a pretty skilled guy, but he’s taking on, in my opinion, the most accomplished guy that’s still competing today in Dan Henderson.”
Sonnen had nothing but good things to say about one of his teammates.
“Dan’s got it done at three different weight classes. He’s beat world champions at heavyweight, world champion himself at 205, world champion himself at 185. Current world champion at 205, at 40 years old,” Sonnen reminded the viewers.
At the end of the interview, Sonnen predicted “Dan Henderson to win fairly handily.”
After Sonnen again referred to Emelianenko’s career record as just 3-2, he was asked as to why he did not consider Fedor one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
“It’s not…it doesn’t even warrant a comment, it’s just silly. He’s 3-2 guys, if that makes you the greatest of all time…ok. I’m not gonna…he’s 3-2,” Sonnen insisted.
When asked about Fedor’s Pride wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman, Sonnen continued to sing the same tune.
“Look guys, he’s 3-2. He’s had five mixed martial arts matches. He has an official record of three wins and two losses. That’s just the truth, I’m not here to disparage Fedor, I’m simply telling you his record,” Sonnen said very seriously.
The writer sincerely recommends checking out the interview as a whole, where believe it or not, Sonnen actually endorses women’s boxing and MMA towards the end of the interview.
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