CHICAGO — Chael Sonnen was his usual brash-talking self when promoting his upcoming fight with Mark Munoz on Wednesday, even acknowledging that when he wrestled against Munoz in college, he took a cheap shot — and he’s not sorry about it.
Munoz, who was an NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, has said in the past that when he took on Sonnen during an Oklahoma State-Oregon wrestling meet in college, Sonnen illegally attempted a jiu jitsu-style knee bar in an attempt to hurt him.
“When we wrestled, Chael — in the heat of the battle — he got a knee bar and cranked on it a little bit,” Munoz said. “It happens. You get things tweaked on and everything and that’s what happens sometimes. The ref is there to stop it. It’s water underneath the bridge now. Chael has fought for a long time. He’s a great fighter and it’s going to be an honor to fight him. He’s got awesome MMA wrestling, I’ve got great wrestling. You’re going to see a lot of wrestling going on.”
It was magnanimous of Munoz to say that Sonnen’s actions came in the heat of the moment, but Sonnen said that actually wasn’t the case.
“Mark’s explanation, the heat of the moment, I appreciate it,” Sonnen said. “But it was a calculated and premeditated event.”
Sonnen said he’s perfectly willing to play the role of the bad guy who tried to hurt his opponent in a college wrestling match, although he’s long since stopped thinking about his college wrestling career. What Sonnen is focused on is having a shot at Munoz in the Octagon.
“I assure you,” Sonnen said. “On January 28, I will be ready. It will be one more in the win column, one more on the mantel and one more for the bad guy.”