Chael Sonnen is one of MMA’s most prolific trash talkers.
The American Gangster’ gangster is without a doubt one of the most colorful personalities in UFC history, having engaged in a series of memorable feuds with the likes of Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Wanderlei Silva.
But even Sonnen has his off days.
During a recent episode of his ESPN show Good Guy/Bad Guy with co-host Daniel Cormier, Sonnen recalled one of his rare missteps while fishing for a fight with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz.
“I was going after Tito [Ortiz] back in the day. And as my way to get to Tito, I put a plan together that it was going to go through Frank Shamrock,” Sonnen said. “I had signs made where we would march around just like it was a campaign for office…the folks that made me the signs, misspelled ‘Frank Shamrock’. And then I was just a doofus! I saw those signs ahead of time, that night in the locker room. But it was still a choice: do we do this?
“I elected to do it and frankly, when the name is misspelled, I should’ve just left those signs in the back” (h/t BJPenn.com).
Chael Sonnen finally got the chance to fight Tito Ortiz in 2017
Sonnen finally had the opportunity to face Ortiz under the Bellator banner in 2017. Unfortunately, he lost the bout via submission just past the two-minute mark of the opening round.
However, the three-time UFC title challenger bounced back with wins over Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. He wrapped up his mixed martial arts career in 2019 following back-to-back losses against Fedor Emelianenko and Lyoto Machida.
Recently, the West Linn, Oregon native traveled to Brazil for a long-awaited trilogy bout with UFC icon Anderson Silva. Squaring off in Sao Paulo, Sonnen and Silva went five rounds in an exhibition boxing match. It wasn’t the threequel that fans had hoped for, but it was still fun to see fun to two of UFC’s most beloved legends throw hands one last time.
