Chael Sonnen set himself up for failure.
It isn’t wise to taunt an elite fighter, but that’s exactly what Sonnen did in UFC 148 against Anderson Silva, and he paid for it.
Trash talk is a part of sports. It is an extremely useful tool to gain an edge on an opponent by getting inside their head. Of course, such an edge will only be created if trash talk is used correctly.
Sonnen didn’t get it right. He took it too far, so instead of throwing Silva off his game, Sonnen’s trash talking only fueled Silva’s fire, making him an even fiercer fighter.
His turn for the worse began last year when he went on a Twitter rant in which he repeatedly dissed Silva’s home country of Brazil. The nation’s paper O Globo covered the story, which only fanned the flames.
In October of 2011, Sonnen did an interview with Mauro Ranallo of theScore.com. In it, he was quoted saying:
“You tell Anderson Silva that I’m coming over and I’m kicking down his back door and patting his little lady on the [butt] and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare, just how I like it.”
Rules of trash talking No. 1 and 2: never bring up a competitor’s family and never insult an athlete’s home. Sonnen broke both of them, and he paid for it. Silva recorded a TKO in the second round on Saturday, ending the foolery.
Dan Stupp of USA Today reported that Silva was fueled by the American Gangster’s threats. He said after shutting him up once and for all: “Chael disrespected my country.”
Sonnen blew his chance to get revenge against Silva with foolish trash talk. He could’ve evened the series and forced a third and final fight, but now he’ll never get another shot at the Spider.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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