Out of all the things Chael Sonnen could say in order to get inside of an opponent’s head, he seems hesitant to do so against Brian Stann.
In an interview on The Fight Fix, Sonnen revealed that preparing for Stann is more difficult compared to his previous matchups because of how much respect he holds for him.
“When I get a fight, when they call me and say ‘Hey do you want to fight so and so?’ the answer is yes,” Sonnen said.
“It was different with Brian (Stann),” he said.
At UFC 136, Sonnen and Stann will meet in a middleweight bout to likely determine the next challenger for the UFC middleweight title. The respect and friendship Sonnen has for Stann is evident and it has obviously bothered him prior to his bout.
However, Sonnen said he had a private conversation with Stann and was assured the fight wasn’t “a big deal.”
“It’s the right thing to do. It’s what the company asked us to do, it’s what the division needs. We’re two of the top guys,” he said regarding his bout with Stann.
UFC 136 will mark Sonnen’s first bout in a year following his loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 117 last August.
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