UFC middleweight number one contender Chael Sonnen doesn’t have a lot of friends in arch nemesis Anderson Silva‘s Black House MMA camp, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is no exception.
“[Vinny Magalhaes] is a very good Jiu-Jitsu guy and has got to improve [Sonnen’s] triangles. He was submitted by Demian, Sobral, Paulo, Anderson, Jeremy Horn… I guess he says bad things about Jiu-Jitsu and Brazil because of that: he’s traumatized by Brazilians’ ground game,” Nogueira said in an interview with TATAME.
Magalhaes, a world-renowned BJJ champion before entering MMA, announced back in April that he would be heading to Sonnen’s home state of Oregon to improve the America’s Jiu-Jitsu game.
“Minotauro” also refers to several submission losses in Sonnen’s career, including Demian Maia, Renato Sobral, Paulo Filho, Anderson Silva and Jeremy Horn.
In their meeting at UFC 117, Sonnen controlled Silva, the reigning UFC middleweight champion, for roughly 23 minutes before succumbing to a triangle choke.
In 11 career losses, Sonnen has been submitted eight times.
“Big Nog” actually admits that he thinks “Uncle Chael” has legitimate skills on the ground, but he still does not appreciate the former collegiate All-American wrestler’s attitude.
“He’s good on the ground, knows [how] to defend himself and Jiu-Jitsu. He trains with Brazilians. How did he learn that? Were he born with natural Jiu-Jitsu skills? He says bad things about Brazil and Jiu-Jitsu but trains it”, Nogueira said on the same interview.
Nogueira, who gave Anderson Silva his black belt in BJJ, made it clear in the same interview that he is fed up with Sonnen’s personal attacks against Brazil and Silva.
“He’s a guy who says bad things about countries, the athlete, Anderson’s wife, the way he dresses… He gets into things that doesn’t matter”, he said.
The former PRIDE star also said that if Silva makes good on his promise to knock out all of Sonnen’s teeth on Saturday, he would like to take one home as a souvenir.
Nogueira was scheduled to face Cheick Kongo at UFC 149 later this month, but remains on the shelf following a brutal broken arm at the hands of Frank Mir at UFC 140.
Sonnen and Silva have their long-awaited rematch at UFC 148 this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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