Chael Sonnen is the most beloved man in the short history of MMA.
Surf the various MMA forums on the internet and you’ll lose count of the many threads showing concern (ahem) for his safety once he sets foot on that beautiful South American city of São Paulo, Brazil. (It really confounds me why anyone would be so infuriated with Sonnen. Just kidding.)
Now, there’s always a risk in just about anything, anywhere. Just ask your characteristically shy insurance salesman. And Sonnen is, indeed, a more attractive target than most fighters for anyone with malicious intent to pull a prank or worse.
Just the same, even if he has riled up Brazil with some of his “interesting” comments on Anderson “The Spider” Silva and his countrymen, fears that the wrestler could be harmed when he vies for The Spider’s UFC Middleweight Title are largely exaggerated.
There could be some hooligans among the hometown crowd, but generally Brazilians are great sportspeople who will prove gracious and protective hosts to a visiting athlete. Even one in the mold of Sonnen.
We can count on Dana White and the UFC top brass to ensure that the strictest security measures will be in effect in São Paulo for all UFC fighters. And it shouldn’t be surprising if they issue extra security personnel and procedures for Sonnen.
Gladly, Sonnen claims to be unaffected by any concern over fighting in Brazil with these brave words (from Brian Knapp’s Sonnen’s Spidey Senses):
“I don’t fight Anderson in Brazil. I don’t fight him in Chicago. I don’t fight him in Las Vegas…I fight in the Octagon. They can set that (expletive) up wherever they want. When my music hits those speakers, I’ll make that walk, regardless of the city.”
But the biggest reason that Sonnen will be safe in Brazil is this: the Brazilian government will do its part in implementing an airtight security plan for UFC in São Paulo and for all other international events held within the country’s territory, due to its hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro!
Also, Brazil is the venue for the 2013 World Youth Day and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
No way is Brazil going to give the international community any reason to doubt its capability to host an efficient and safe Olympics by suffering a black eye in the security department in any of its cities prior to 2016.
Foreigners will always associate any Brazilian city with the whole nation regardless of their distance from São Paulo.
We can count on Brazil to do its very best to prevent any man-made harm from befalling an athlete, popular or notorious. Especially if he’s a citizen of one of the traditional superpowers of the quadrennial Olympic Games, the United States of America.
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