Chael Sonnen was the recipient of a shock pen prank whilst being hounded by aggressive reporters on his recent trip to Brazil to promote his upcoming UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 148 title rematch against Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
UFC President Dana White, who was also in tow, witnessed firsthand the Sonnen drama unfold, and this is his take on the scenes which could be scripted for a Hollywood movie.
Original quotes reported by MMAMania.com:
We had proper security with us. We had like seven guys with us. These are guys that mapped out the whole route. We literally landed at the airport in Rio, a shuttle took us through customs, jumped on helicopters and the helicopters took us right to the hotel. I came through the front door. We put him (Sonnen) through a side door. We had him in a holding room. We went down to the press conference and he had a scrum. The reporters were getting really aggressive with him at the scrum. Somebody got him with shock pen and all kinds of stuff like that. He went out the side door. I went out the front door. Helicopters took us back. We got on a plane and got him out of there. I wanted to make sure we got in and out and got him safe. I’m still getting texts, ‘Did you and Sonnen get out of Brazil alive last night? I haven’t heard from you. Give me an update.’ I made him (Sonnen) ride in a different car than me.
Prior to and after his first unsuccessful tilt at Silva’s middleweight crown back at UFC 117, Sonnen, the 35-year-old Oregon native has been nothing short of a continuous thorn in the Brazilian’s side—he’s called him out on numerous occasions and questioned his manliness and to boot took a swipe at his family.
Furthermore, the former NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I standout has disrespected the Brazilian denizens as well as some of its most famous MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) exports—The Nogueira brothers—Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogério, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo.
Whether it’s divine intervention that the original event—UFC 147 in Brazil—has been moved to UFC 148 in Las Vegas is anyone’s guess. Still, on July 7 Sonnen (27-11 record in the MMA, 6-4 in the UFC ) will be vying for UFC gold against a man who has the hopes of Brazil resting firmly on his shoulders.
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