While the Internet MMA community hangs on every word that UFC 148’s Chael Sonnen says, it’s somewhat surprising to see other top-level fighters come out and admit that they, too, listen to the middleweight No. 1 contender.Current UFC interi…
While the Internet MMA community hangs on every word that UFC 148’s ChaelSonnen says, it’s somewhat surprising to see other top-level fighters come out and admit that they, too, listen to the middleweight No. 1 contender.
Current UFC interim bantamweight title contender Urijah Faber, a fighter well-known for his friendly personality even during fights, thinks that fighters like Sonnen are filling what could be a big void without them.
Other fighters haven’t been quite so endearing to the colorful personality of Sonnen, but perhaps Faber has warmed up to him after years of interacting with him.
Their college wrestling careers overlapped, as both men wrestled on the West Coast: Sonnen at the University of Oregon and Faber at the University of California, Davis.
It was during those years that the two future UFC superstars would first meet.
Their time together also gave Faber a deeper insight into exactly what created the ChaelSonnen we all see today.
“The guy was coming over from the WEC as world champion and then came over and got put on the undercard for the UFC,” Faber explained. “I think he chose to make a switch and said, ‘I need to stand out in this sport, and just being the nice, intelligent guy that I am is not enough.’”
Sonnen himself and many of his training partners say that the persona Sonnen upholds is the same thing that they see every day in camp.
But Faber isn’t buying it.
“He probably won’t admit to that, but the guy made a switch and decided, ‘Hey, I’m gonna stand out in this sport. I’m gonna create my own opportunities.’ And he does it in an interesting way that people either really hate or really love.”
Anderson Silva is the most successful UFC fighter of all time. He’s stood across the cage from another human being, usually a snarling pitbull of a man, 14 times in his UFC career. Every time, ten times in title fights, he’s walked out of the cage with…
Anderson Silva is the most successful UFC fighter of all time. He’s stood across the cage from another human being, usually a snarling pitbull of a man, 14 times in his UFC career. Every time, ten times in title fights, he’s walked out of the cage with his head held high.
Many of the UFC’s top fighters historically have made their bones the conservative way—by putting their opponent on his back and keeping them there over the entire course of the fight. For a wrestler, it’s the safest route to victory. Matt Hughes and Tito Ortiz rode that style all the way to the UFC Hall of Fame. Georges St-Pierre will join them there when his career is over.
Silva is the outlier. In a sport historically dominated by grapplers, he’s a striker who has made shutting off another man’s brain, at least temporarily, an art form. His creativity, adaptability and incredible speed have made him a legend. He’s shown there are other avenues to success in the Octagon, and in doing so, become an icon on three continents.
Anderson Silva, despite being the best fighter in the UFC, is a bit of an enigma. Partially due to a language barrier, partially due to a fierce grasp on his privacy, few know what makes this man tick.
With 26 individual, but interconnected essays, I’ll give dissecting Silva a shot—it’s Anderson Silva A-Z.
Anderson Silva’s upcoming UFC 148 title defense and rematch versus longtime nemesis Chael Sonnen gets a promotional boost from MMA music video artist Pat “Banana Hands” Burner. This time, Burner, of the eponymously sounding MMABurner.com collaborates w…
Anderson Silva‘s upcoming UFC 148 title defense and rematch versus longtime nemesis Chael Sonnen gets a promotional boost from MMA music video artist Pat “Banana Hands” Burner. This time, Burner, of the eponymously sounding MMABurner.com collaborates with Tucker Betts to star in their own Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen – MMA Gangsta Rap(embedded here).
MMA’s version of the Beastie Boys (and may its recently departed band member Adam Yauch rest in peace) comes up with an admittedly “goofy and silly” hip-hop video that hopes to elicit, er, goofy and silly smiles from the not-too-serious MMA fans.
Leave the searing animosity between the true protagonists Silva the Champion and Sonnen the Challenger (for the second time) to them fighters; let the more creative fans take care of the lighter and sillier side of MMA fighting.
Why settle for just watching Silva and listening to Sonnen, when you can come up with something musical to add spice to the looming epic battle?
Here’s a sampling of the poetic repartee from the MMA gangsta rap:
…Sonnen’s gonna take The Spider down, He’s gonna get in his grill, Make him feel like he just looked under his bed and found an evil boogey-man, He’s the gangsta from West Linn, Chael Sonnen!
Well I don’t think so! The Spider be squeezing necks, And if he gets a chance he’ll just grab on your throat and rip your larynx out, Just like in that movie Under Siege—A great flick for the family, No not really!
What? Well, those familiar with the genre “comedy of the absurd” would be more appreciative. (Think Steve Martin in his early standup comedy gigs.)
And watch out for the mean double-leg lift at 1:17 and the flawlessly executed triangle choke at 1:23…whatever. But you’ve got to love those pink 70’s NBA shorts.
So just sit back, loosen up and endure or enjoy!
Note on the artist: Pat Burner (real name Patrick Boerner) is also the creative force behind the soon-to-be MMA cult classic music videos UFC 145 Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans Hype Song, Alistair Overeem—What’s That in Your Ice Cream and Strikeforce Champion: Ronda Rousey Rocks! which could all be found on this linked Youtube.com page.
Karlo Silverio Sevilla is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.
(Who just called me a thief?! Was it you?! I am an undisclosed investment opportunist you son of a bitch, so get your shit straight!)
If there’s one thing we know about Chael Sonnen, it’s that he can hurl insults at other fighters, reporters, and entire countries with the lyrical ostentation of an 18th century poet (we also hear he’s an OK fighter as well). His ability to string together an eight or nine word sentence without having “uh” or “you know” constitute at least three of those words puts him head and shoulders above a lot of his peers (Junior Dos Santos is trying, you guys, leave him alone), so much so that he can almost convince us that Big Nog once tried to feed a carrot to a bus without sounding like a sundowning centenarian in the midst of an LSD flashback while doing so. Almost.
That being the case, you’d imagine that Sonnen would be able to take a joke, or at least an awkward question in stride, because those who cast stones at other people should expect stones to be cast at them, or whatever it is that they say. I’m not looking it up. But more often than not, this is not the case for the shit-spewing, trash-talkers of the world. Such is the case with Mr. Sonnen, who has shown us in such memorable moments as “Amateur Hour with Michael Lansberg” that he can’t exactly take it as well as he can dish it out.
Sonnen recently appeared on the John Canzano-hosted “Portland’s 750 -The Game” to promote his upcoming rematch with Anderson Silva at UFC 148, and when the subject of his past legal troubles came up, let’s just say that Chael went from about 0-100 faster than a McLaren F1 with Memphis Raines behind the wheel. And don’t think for a second that we don’t see the irony in poking fun at Chael Sonnen while at the same time lambasting him for excessively poking fun at other fighters. The Internet gives us a Diplomatic Immunity to do so and not even Roger Murtaugh can revoke it.
A full audio recording of the exchange and transcription are after the jump.
(Who just called me a thief?! Was it you?! I am an undisclosed investment opportunist you son of a bitch, so get your shit straight!)
If there’s one thing we know about Chael Sonnen, it’s that he can hurl insults at other fighters, reporters, and entire countries with the lyrical ostentation of an 18th century poet (we also hear he’s an OK fighter as well). His ability to string together an eight or nine word sentence without having “uh” or “you know” constitute at least three of those words puts him head and shoulders above a lot of his peers (Junior Dos Santos is trying, you guys, leave him alone), so much so that he can almost convince us that Big Nog once tried to feed a carrot to a bus without sounding like a sundowning centenarian in the midst of an LSD flashback while doing so. Almost.
That being the case, you’d imagine that Sonnen would be able to take a joke, or at least an awkward question in stride, because those who cast stones at other people should expect stones to be cast at them, or whatever it is that they say. I’m not looking it up. But more often than not, this is not the case for the shit-spewing, trash-talkers of the world. Such is the case with Mr. Sonnen, who has shown us in such memorable moments as “Amateur Hour with Michael Lansberg” that he can’t exactly take it as well as he can dish it out.
Sonnen recently appeared on the John Canzano-hosted “Portland’s 750 -The Game” to promote his upcoming rematch with Anderson Silva at UFC 148, and when the subject of his past legal troubles came up, let’s just say that Chael went from about 0-100 faster than a McLaren F1 with Memphis Raines behind the wheel. And don’t think for a second that we don’t see the irony in poking fun at Chael Sonnen while at the same time lambasting him for excessively poking fun at other fighters. The Internet gives us a Diplomatic Immunity to do so and not even Roger Murtaugh can revoke it.
A full transcription of the exchange is below, compliments of our buddies at Fightlinker:
Canzano: You came on the show a couple years ago, since that time you’ve had the Anderson Silva fight, you got the suspension for the testosterone levels, you got the guilty plea in the mortgage fraud thing in 2011…how much of that stuff is behind you? How much of that stuff are you still dealing with?
Sonnen: Uh…It’s all behind me. I’ve never been in any sort of mortgage fraud, I’m not sure where you guys get that term up. But every time I come on your show you make new things up…so. I guess it’s good. I hope you’re not still beating your wife, John.
Canzano: Oh c’mon. You didn’t plead guilty to any kind of crime?
Sonnen: Well sure, but is that what you just said? Or did you state a crime, as you do every time I come on the show and say things that aren’t true. And I said I hope that you still don’t beat your wife.
Canzano: I said that you pled guilty to mortgage fraud…
Sonnen: Right, and I said that I hope you don’t beat your wife and I was never even accused of mortgage fraud.
Canzano: What was it? Money laundering?
Sonnen: There you go!
Canzano: Okay, so it was money laundering. …In connection to a mortgage.
Sonnen: But you can see the problem when I come onto your show and you make things up. Don’t you see the problem when a hometown guy comes on and you make things up? This is why I don’t like to do your show. You’re unprepared, you’re unprofessional.
Canzano: Look, I’m looking right here at the research. I’m looking at the case…
Sonnen: You’re looking at the research?! I guarantee I know what you’re looking at, you did Google. ANd I’m glad that you admitted it on the air that that’s your level of research, John. You’re about the most unprofessional guy there is. And, boy, I hope you’re done beating your wife. Let’s just call the interview over.
Canzano: Chael! Come on, man! Seriously?
*Sonnen hangs up*
As you can see, this reporter was clearly out to get Sonnen, having nothing but his own personal gains in mind, hence the true middleweight champion’s appropriate retaliation. Money laundering is one thing, but MORTGAGE FRAUD?! He’s not a monster, for Christ’s sake! That’s like calling someone who has a few speeding tickets a rapist!! How this so called “disc jockey” had the intestinal fortitude to imply that Sonnen would use his position in the real estate business to swindle people out of their hard-earned money is just insane. Sonnen simply took their money under the false pretense that his people would make “repairs” to their homes, repairs that he secretly knew would never actually be carried out. The gall of this guy!
Help us vent our frustrations at this DJ’s narrow-minded insolence in the comment section.
File this one under the “not sure if serious” department: Chael Sonnen says that Anderson Silva truly is the Mike Tyson of our generation. But he also says some more stuff:You hear those things but they told us that about Mike Tyson too and what a wimp…
You hear those things but they told us that about Mike Tyson too and what a wimp that guy turned out to be when he finally got some real competition. He’s kind of like the Mike Tyson of our era where they say certain things but at the end of the day when they lock that cage door he’s not going to have a friend and he’s not going to have a two-by-four and I’m sure he could use either one when I get my hands on him.
Mike Tyson was undefeated for five years, and he wasn’t fighting scrubs during that stretch run. Also? He was absolutely and utterly terrifying during that time period.
Nobody in this world would argue that Tyson was not the baddest dude on the planet during his heyday in the 1980s. Tyson was 37-0 when he was finally defeated by Buster Douglas in 1990, and the vast majority of those came by utterly vicious knockouts, often in the first or second round.
Mike Tyson wasn’t a wimp. But I get that he’s a sympathetic character right now, even after all of the legal trouble he went through, so taking pot shots at him might help get you a little bit of publicity.
Anderson Silva? He’s not a wimp. Nobody that steps in that cage for a living is a wimp. Sonnen knows this, so we can file this one under “just saying stuff” as well.
But he’s also not the Mike Tyson of our generation. If Silva was known the world over and was a truly legitimate sporting star in the eyes of the mainstream, then he might be viewed as Tyson-like. As it is, he’s just the scariest man in professional cage fighting. And hey, that still stands for something.
(FoGriff: A laid back guy in every sense of the word.)
Watching Matt Serra and Forrest Griffin discuss anything from their past fights to the condition of Griffin’s car (which makes me feel a hell of a lot better about the condition of my own) is kind of like watching an Abbott and Costello movie, minus the mythological creatures and slapstick hijinks, of course. The two effortlessly riff off one another like a pair of old pals, which makes Serra’s recent trip to Vegas to film his ongoing series for the UFC, Fight Camp Insider, all the more entertaining.
Taking the typical “light on actual fight discussion, heavy on pizza discussion” approach that Serra has mastered in previous outings, the pair of former champions also make sure to discuss such topics as the shrinkage caused by an ice bath (which I can only assume must be insane), FoGriff’s Ted Bundy-esque mode of transportation, and the ability of Ray Longo to clear a house using only the power of his mighty deuces. Oh yeah, and they manage to find enough time to briefly hype Forrest’s upcoming trilogy match with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148.
Video after the jump.
(FoGriff: A laid back guy in every sense of the word.)
Watching Matt Serra and Forrest Griffin discuss anything from their past fights to the condition of Griffin’s car (which makes me feel a hell of a lot better about the condition of my own) is kind of like watching an Abbott and Costello movie, minus the mythological creatures and slapstick hijinks, of course. The two effortlessly riff off one another like a pair of old pals, which makes Serra’s recent trip to Vegas to film his ongoing series for the UFC, Fight Camp Insider, all the more entertaining.
Taking the typical “light on actual fight discussion, heavy on pizza discussion” approach that Serra has mastered in previous outings, the pair of former champions also make sure to discuss such topics as the shrinkage caused by an ice bath (which I can only assume must be insane), FoGriff’s Ted Bundy-esque mode of transportation, and the ability of Ray Longo to clear a house using only the power of his mighty deuces. Oh yeah, and they manage to find enough time to briefly hype Forrest’s upcoming trilogy match with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148.
