10 Things UFC Wants You To Forget About Chael Sonnen
9. Boring Fight Style
Chael Sonnen is one of the better known fighters in the UFC because of his ability to cut a world-class promo at the drop of a hat. It is a fallacy that he is so popular because of his fighting style indeed those who watch all of the American Gangsters fights will know that many of them can be quite tedious. Having been a NCAA Division 1 All-American competing out of the University of Oregon (where he picked up a Bachelors degree in Sociology), Sonnen like so many others is an MMA fighter built up from the wrestling base. Though the amateur wrestling style has been proven to be one of the most successful in MMA, there can be no denying that it often doesnt make for an entertaining bout. Wrestling-orientated fighters will always look for the takedown to avoid engaging in their less preferred striking skills before attempting to pin their opponent on the mat for the remaining duration of the round, dropping just enough elbows to prevent the referee from standing the fighters up. Unfortunately, this can be the case with Chael. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MZJHVccewo Of his 28-career wins, 16 have hit the judges scorecards; such a high volume of decisions is normally indicative of a Lay N Pray fighter. Though the UFC have on numerous occasions when marketing a fight tried to convince us that Sonnen is some kind of dangerous finisher, the reality is that he is a grinder who normally smothers his opponents en route to victory. Two notable exceptions to this include his fantastic submission victories over Shogun Rua and Brian Stann, both of which at least documented that the Team Quest fighter capable of stoppage victories against high calibre opponents.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
