MMA fans will (not) be shocked to hear that UFC bad boy Chael Sonnen actually does take Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training seriously.
Xtreme Couture jiu-jitsu coach and M-1 light heavyweight champion, Vinny Magalhaes, announced early this morning via his Twitter that he will be a part of Sonnen’s camp leading up to his rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva:
Forget about my last post about competing. Instead, I’m heading to Oregon to help the UFC MW Champ get ready for his title fight in Brazil.
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) April 3, 2012
For those who aren’t familiar with all things Chael, he has claimed on numerous occasions that he is the true UFC middleweight champion for dominating Silva during their first meeting at UFC 117.
The fact that he tapped to a triangle choke at the 3:10 mark of the fifth round seems to not have any relevance.
Despite the loss, Sonnen bounced back with consecutive wins over top 10 middleweights Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, earning him a second crack at his arch nemesis at UFC 147.
The bout will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 23, where Silva will undoubtedly be a huge home crowd favorite.
Magalhaes was the runner-up on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, suffering a TKO loss to Ryan Bader in the finals.
While the Brazilian boasts a fairly modest 9-5(1) MMA record, he won five in a row (all finishes) and has won over a dozen gold medals against elite jiu-jitsu competition.
Prior to joining Sonnen’s Team Quest-based team, Magalhaes had considered training for the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling Championship in September. The ADCC Championship is widely considered the highest level of no-gi jiu-jitsu competition in the world.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com