[ad_1]
Whatever your opinion on Chael Sonnen, no one can deny that the "American gangster" puts his money in his mouth.
And it's quite a joke that before Conor McGregor, was the voice that stood out in the world of MMA. Sonnen has modernized the way a fighter is supposed to sell a contest. As serene as it is charismatic, Sonnen can always command an audience with a gesture of the hand and a phrase.
Sonnen's promotional skills, sometimes abrasive and often hysterical, designate him as a target for many fighting fans. Proclaiming yourself as the greatest fighter of all time with a record of 31-15-1 tends to raise a few eyebrows.
More: UFC
But it is undeniable that Sonnen will fight anybody, no matter when and where. This weekend is not different. Sonnen fights the legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. The two veterans will face in the second semifinal of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. The winner will progress against Ryan Bader in the final showcase.
Sonnen started as a light heavyweight, then settled at the middleweight for the brightest period of his career. A short return to the light heavyweight before retirement in 2013 seemed to sound the death knell of the self-proclaimed "Bad Guy", ie before Bellator knocked on the door.
Tito Ortiz tried to get Sonnen out of retirement in 2017. Despite the loss to his fierce rival, he continued to fight. Sonnen defeated the all-time great Wanderlei Silva and then Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson in his debut as a heavyweight.
At age 41, Sonnen now enters the Bellator's cage with one of the most feared fighters in the history of the sport, called the last emperor by his legion of fans. But this is not the first time Sonnen has taken on a challenge. Sonnen has already fought unquestionably the two biggest fighters of the UFC, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva (x2).
Sonnen, who comes from the world of wrestling, explains why facing the best of the best is not such a wild concept.
"I have only one resentment in this sport and we only do it three times a year. I hate that. As a wrestler we would have five to six games a week, 30 a month, "said Sonnen.
"In the world of wrestling, you fight these big names two or three times in one season, you'll have four or five seasons in college.
"I'll take any game, you can bring me a bum or a champion and I'll treat them all the same way."
Sonnen & # 39; s Record
Fights: 47
Victories: 31
Losses: 15
Prints: 1
Main opponents: Jones Silva (x2), Jon Jones, Michael Bisping, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva, Paulo Filho
The tradition of struggle is the one that pits the best against the best month after month, year after year. For example, Sonnen came across Tito Ortiz 20 years ago, while they were both college wrestlers. Their confrontation in 2017 was a battle to settle their very very old scores, but for Sonnen, it's his struggling DNA that pushed him to accept the challenge although he stayed three years in withdrawal of his last professional fight.
"Even the guys I do not really like in this sport, I do not want them to lead a difficult life.I just want to beat them in competition," says Sonnen. "But I'm looking for that kind of things I do not try to fear anyone.This is the fight.Fedor brings nothing but me.We have so many cowards in this sport.
"Our fans are becoming cowards. The fighters in the locker room have been hens for years. It's really who my message is meant for. It's not for Fedor, it's for the guys on the list who duck and dive and call ill and do not want to gain weight and need more money.
"Any other excuse they can think of instead of going out and doing most of the work. Who is the message for?
As is common in the mentality of a wrestler, there is always talk of the next game.
"I always resist the term inheritance, it's a [term] but I resist, 'continues Sonnen. "I had a good college [years], had great memories and was an All-American.
"But other than that, I do not think I've said those words for 20 years, I do not want to be reminded of something I did.
"As my life progresses, I want to have new goals, so I'm not a big heir. But personally, I can tell you that, given the losses I suffered, they kept me up and hurt me. I do everything to avoid them and I would like to win this game. "
The fight and his education formed Sonnen and gave him an insatiable appetite for work, but also made him a fighter to admire. He "hates" days off, reconciles commentary shows with fighting, and admits that he is "jealous" every time he watches a fighter bathe in the spotlight of a great night of fighting.
Sonnen will be remembered as a fighter that you could not shut up and you could not stop fighting. It's a decent legacy, even if he did not stand up to the GOATS of the sport. Wanderlei Silva, Jones Jon, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, Silva Anderson, Michael Bisping, Rua Mauricio, Quinton Jackson and now Fedor Emelianenko – Sonnen's record mentions a man who fears no challenge.
"Maybe I need to reevaluate," said Sonnen, questioned this week on whether he considered the fight against the best in the world a unique legacy. "It may be an honor, but I do not see it like that. I look like hard.
More: UFC
"I have never been able to enjoy my career, which I regret.I would have done.I would have liked to enjoy some moments, but it has always been so difficult: the work, the stress, the Environment, the competition and everything that happens on the line.
"I never thought of it like that. When I was a wrestler, you faced everyone. In combat, I never considered myself lucky, but I may be wrong.
"I think I was lucky, but I have never looked at it like that, there are guys on the list and we meet and fight every time we can and go from there. I guess there's something about that and maybe I should appreciate it more. "
TO BE FOLLOWED: Bellator 208: Chael Sonnen reveals that he never respected the heavyweights before the battle of Fedor Emelianenko
[ad_2]
Source link
