Former Xtreme Couture boxing coach Ron Frazier believes Chael Sonnen is good for MMA because he puts butts in seats, according to a recent interview with Fighthype.com:
“Chael is good for MMA because he puts butts in the seats; whether you love him, you hate him or you want to see him get his head smashed, he’s good for MMA.
“You know what? These guys, whether it’s boxing or MMA, they do a lot and they sacrifice a lot of their health, and people don’t realize the things they have to go through, so you know what? He came up with a marketing ploy to help him out. He’s a smart guy.
“People don’t realize this is Chael‘s second go around in the UFC. They don’t even remember the first time he was there.”
It has been well-founded that the West Linn, Oregon native’s penchant for sublime rhetoric and promotional savvy are the reasons he’s become an overnight celebrity not only in the MMA stratosphere, but far and beyond.
The former NCAA Division l standout’s promotional acumen was overly self-evident during the build up to his long awaited rematch with UFC middleweight titlist Anderson Silva at UFC 148.
The event, which took place at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, turned out to be the richest live gates in the history of the Zuffa-based promotion, setting records which included 15,016 attendees and an estimated $7 million in purchased tickets.
That surpassed the previous record set back in 2006 at UFC 66: Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz ll. Then, the attendance figures were reported to be in the region of almost 14,000 while the live gate attendance garnered $5.4 million in ticket sales.
According to President Dana White, the pay-per-view numbers for 148 could tally with UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir ll, which generated a record 1.6 million buys.
Frazier, who once trained the likes of Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin also discussed in the interview the issues surrounding TRT and PEDs in MMA.
In addition, he expressed his thoughts on the performances of both Silva and Griffin in the 148 event, as well as Ortiz’s retirement.
Apropos Sonnen, love him or loathe him, for better or for worse, the self-proclaimed “American Gangster” in his own inimitable way, has put an indelible stamp on MMA.
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