10 Things UFC Wants You To Forget About Chael Sonnen
8. Brazil And The Nogueiras Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwRT_Fhd6_0 Chael Sonnen has built up a reputation as the pound-for-pound trash talking king of MMA; many believe the man we see so often using his God-given charisma to bait fighters is far different from the man whose first stint in the UFC began at UFC 55 with a loss to Renato Babalu Sobral. No matter who his opponent is, he will undermine, tease and torture them with his cutting words before setting foot in the Octagon. Even men who arent meant to fight Sonnen have been subject to this treatment. During one TV segment, Sonnen believed he was off-the-air and when asked if heavyweight Travis Browne could become the champion that year, Sonnen said could you imagine? then chuckled before asking if they were live and retorting with oh uh, no. When he was to fight Anderson Silva he criticised the then-Middleweight champions MMA credentials, saying that getting a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from legends the Nogueira brothers is like getting a toy in a happy meal. He also said that one of them Big Nog is a punching bag and the other Little Nog is irrelevant. Of course this angered many fans and fighters alike who consider the Nogueira brothers to be two of the toughest and most skilled MMA practitioners ever. Chael couldnt just stop there though. He went on to insult Andersons birthplace Brazil. He insulted the education system and their economic climate saying that the children of Brazil dont have technology to entertain them and they instead sit out on the streets playing in mud. Even Dana White, who doesnt mince his words for anyone, had to express that these opinions were Chaels and not shared by the entire UFC. It was the insulting comments made about Brazil that would trigger his long feud with Wanderlei Silva.
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.