Chael Sonnen is set to put his oratory skills to the test as he gears up to host the forthcoming Only Fighters World MMA Awards at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Weekly, Sonnen, ever the master rhetorician, spoke candidly about the awards, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste.
Most people would think that being the star attraction and with an audience to lap up his every word would play to Sonnen’s strengths—his loquacious magniloquence.
In this case, they’d be wrong.
However, he did have a few choice words for some of the aforementioned.
I’ll get back to that later.
This is what Sonnen had to say about the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards and why he was chosen to host the ceremony:
“I like the show. I like the format. I think it’s great for the industry and great to get recognition for the sport as a whole.” […]
“They hired me because I’ve got personality and attitude. I’m not up there to do stand-up. I’m just up there to award people and recognize them. I’m not going into this to be a comedian; I’m going into this to be Chael Sonnen and hand out awards.
“It’s not my night, and I’m not there to bring drama. People have worked hard and they deserve to be recognized, and I’m not going to interject myself.”
Sonnen even took time out to give “The Axe Murderer” an honorary mention:
“Everybody is welcome to come, from the real fighters to the fake fighters, which means even Wanderlei Silva should press his finest suit and limp on down to the Palms on Nov. 30.”
Nonetheless, the ex-realtor had nothing but praise for the young phenom Jon “Bones” Jones:
“I think the stuff Jon Jones has done as a fighter and the ways that he’s done it have been a big deal.”
Now, everyone knows that Sonnen loves a piece of Anderson Silva; it brings out the best in him—or is that worst?
Be that as it may, since he fought and lost to “The Spider” at UFC 117, Sonnen has been nothing but a thorn in Silva’s side—using every opportunity to attempt to rile and provoke the UFC middleweight champion into a rematch. (At this moment in time, Silva has accepted the challenge, but on the condition that the fight takes place in Brazil).
That continued after Sonnen upended former Marine Brian Stann at UFC 136, when he proceeded to call out Silva with the now famous words: “Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!”
Followed by his proposed fight stipulations: “If I beat you, you leave the Middleweight division. If you beat me, I’ll leave the UFC forever.”
Well, when asked whether he would really retire from the UFC if he lost in a future matchup with Silva, this is what he had to say and then some:
“Well, of course it was true. I meant every word of it. Anderson says he wants to get rid of me, and this is his chance. I knew Anderson Silva was a coward. I’m privy to what goes on behind the scenes. I’ve watched him duck and dodge and choose his opponents. He’s as phony as Mike Tyson was.
“But in a million years, I never thought he would publicly let it be known. I thought if I called him out in the ring and put everything on the line that he would stand up and give me a thumbs up or a nod or he’d send one of his handlers in the back to say he accepted my challenge.
“In a million years, I never thought he would cower publicly. That’s not his culture. What an insult to the entire heritage of the Brazilian people that Anderson did not accept a challenge. That is not the Brazilian way. I was shocked.
“I was shocked he sat there and covered his mouth like a little fancy boy instead of standing up and saying, ‘Let’s do this.'”
So far we’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of Sonnen. Now it’s time for his humorous side.
Sonnen’s thoughts when asked which girl he’d be rooting for in the Ring Girl of the Year category:
“We only had one and that was Chandella [Powell]. The other was the IQ card girl. Arianny [Celeste] kind of walks around and holds up her latest test score. One time when there was a title fight, she got all the way up to five and we were very proud of her.”
Just for that comment on Arianny Celeste alone, Sonnen deserves an Oscar. It’s comes straight out of the Sonnen school of put-downs—it’s a classic.
And there you have it, MMA’s own nonpareil trash-talking, mudslinging and king of smack, gets to host the 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards…Hollywood style.
More information on the awards ceremony and nominees can be found here.
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