Retired two-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen may be done inside the Octagon, but that doesn’t mean his passion for combat sports has completely faded.
On Thursday, The American Gangster tweeted a sight many fight fans likely never expected to see: Sonnen not only training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while donning a gi but also getting promoted to purple belt.
The face of BJJ just got his purple belt. http://t.co/gLzG6suU8ypic.twitter.com/bcR1m4Fmtw
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) September 5, 2014
A former two-time All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, the charismatic grappler has apparently set some lofty goals in light of his brand-new belt:
Blue today. Brown by METAMORIS in May. Black by Abu Dhabi in Sept. http://t.co/2EjIp7dXC3pic.twitter.com/yyyltZGhHi
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) September 5, 2014
For those unfamiliar, the ranks in BJJ go as follows: white, blue, purple, brown and black.
Uncle Chael was always recognized for his impeccable takedowns and his top control inside the cage, but submission defense was a gaping hole in his game for a good portion of his career.
As of August 2011, with 11 losses on his ledger, Sonnen had been submitted eight times.
However, after a brutal Hail Mary submission loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117, Sonnen began to round out his game by working with the likes of multi-time BJJ world champion Vinny Magalhaes.
Rather than secure a takedown and rain down ground-and-pound from his opponent’s guard, Sonnen would instead opt to mount, or take the back, and look for submissions.
While he recorded submission wins over Brian Stann and Mauricio Rua, he came up short against upper-tier competition in Silva (a second time), Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
The 37-year-old is unlikely to ever return to MMA, as he is serving a two-year suspension for two consecutive failed drug tests for performance-enhancing drugs, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com.
Nevertheless, Sonnen competed in the main event of Metamoris 4 last month, engaging in a no-gi jiu-jitsu matchup with nine-time BJJ world champion Andre Galvao.
Galvao got the submission win when he locked up a rear-naked choke around the nine-minute mark of the bout.
Sonnen will also return to broadcasting when he calls the Battleground MMA pay-per-view next month alongside WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross, per MMA Fighting.
With a mixed martial arts career most likely in the rearview mirror, could Sonnen now become a force on the BJJ competition scene?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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