In the hierarchy of the UFC, there are two competitors whose names pop up more often than anybody else when it comes to chatter from other fighters—middleweight contender Michael Bisping and UFC Fight Night 26 headliner Chael Sonnen.
Bisping might be the most called out fighter on the planet, but Sonnen is definitely the most talked about.
Sonnen has painted a big target on his back over the last few years by unleashing everything from poems to uninterrupted tirades about a laundry list of fighters, and he has even taken jabs at an entire country of people.
They may call him “The American Gangster,” but it might be better suited to describe him as “No Apologies” Chael Sonnen because there’s not a single word he’s said that he would take back.
With his tendency to verbally batter an opponent the way Joe Rogan does hecklers at his comedy shows, you would think the challenges would come at Sonnen from every direction in the UFC, but he says it’s simply not true.
“I went for four years without being challenged to a fight. I have dared people to call me out a number of times. I was calling guys out from every weight class from mine to all the way up to heavyweight,” Sonnen said when speaking to Bleacher Report on Friday.
“All of the phonies from (Mirko) CroCop that does the fake fights all the way down to Anderson (Silva) back when he mattered. Nobody accepted my challenge and nobody ever called me out. I still don’t feel that I’ve been called out.”
Sonnen will point to one particular middleweight contender who does utter his name quite often, but it’s never at a time when they could actually fight. He also mentions a former Pride champion that apparently has a disdain for him, but doesn’t ever seem willing to sign a contract when a fight against him is offered.
“The only guy that pretends to call me out is Vitor (Belfort),” Sonnen said. “Vitor has never accepted one of my challenges when we’ve been available, and he’s never said he wants to fight me except when I’m under contract to headline a show against somebody else that isn’t named Vitor. So, I think that streak still stands. I still don’t believe I’ve ever been called out.
“Wanderlei (Silva) said a number of times how much he’d like to fight me, but he tells the UFC the exact opposite every time they try to get him to sign a contract. I will fight anybody at any time.”
The rivalry with Silva has been ongoing for the better part of the last year, and it’s clear Sonnen is no fan of the Brazilian slugger. Sonnen has called Silva “the worst fighter in the UFC” among other things, and his opinion isn’t changing any time soon.
Sonnen‘s barbs aimed at Silva even got under the skin of his next opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, who took the attacks personally given that he and Silva were teammates for several years while under the Chute Boxe banner.
Despite the fact that Rua is no fan of how his next opponent treats his former teammate and friend, Sonnen still doesn’t have a bad word to say about him.
Silva on the other hand—well that’s an entirely different story.
“I think those guys have a good little relationship. If somebody had done that to me, about a couple of selective guys, it would have pissed me off too. The reality is I’m on my way to Wanderlei and Wanderlei‘s trying to send Shogun in there to derail it and keep me away from him,” Sonnen said. “I think Shogun’s got a lot of pressure there. It doesn’t matter in the least.
“I’m not upset that Shogun’s upset, it doesn’t change my opinion of Shogun. I met him a number of times and I’ve always enjoyed him. I think Wanderlei‘s a scumbag and that’s not going to change either.”
So as he approaches the fight with Shogun, Sonnen is keeping his eyes only on what happens next Saturday night. He still believes there’s unfinished business with Belfort down the road, but he’s given up on ever facing Silva in the Octagon.
That just means Shogun will have to do.
“I expect the Vitor fight to happen. I don’t expect the Wanderlei fight to ever happen,” Sonnen stated.
“I think Vitor is an excellent fighter, he’s my mom’s favorite fighter, which drives me crazy. Vitor is on such a surge right now, he’s one of the scariest guys in the company at any weight class and there’s not a lot of guys that want to fight. I can imagine he and I will get matched up.
“The Wanderlei fight is never going to happen, and I’m okay with it, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop ridiculing him.”
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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