Oct-20-2009

Chael Sonnen – The Real Straight Talk Express Rolls into LA

UFC 104 Official Event T-shirt - White Related Products UFC 104/105 Softshell Poly Knitted Jacket - Camo UFC 104 Official Program UFC 104 Official Event Tee - Black Related News James Te Huna: Last pick becomes a wanted man UFC 109 Musings Ladies and gentlemen: The quotable Chael Sonnen Sonnen calls fight a 'miserable 15 minutes of my life'; recovered from flash KO Better Late Than Never, as Couture Submits Coleman in UFC 109 Main Headlines James Te Huna: Last pick becomes a wanted man UFC 109 Musings Better Late Than Never, as Couture Submits Coleman in UFC 109 Main Chael Storm – Sonnen Earns Shot at The Belt Danzig’s Back with A Win; Davis Impressive in Debut

By Thomas Gerbasi

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has made no bones about it – his dream match would be against a familiar face – himself. But while Silva considers a mythical bout against his clone to be one for the ages, one of the contenders to his crown, Chael Sonnen, believes a bout against himself – at least the version of a few years ago - wouldn’t be so competitive.

“If I could fight myself from four or five years ago, I’d beat that guy up pretty easily,” said Sonnen. But the topic of conversation isn’t the idea of hypothetical matchups best suited for science fiction; instead, it’s the evolution of Sonnen in the last couple years to where, at 32, he may very well be in his fighting prime. It hasn’t been an easy trek to get here – a place where he has won three of his last four, including victories over then-unbeaten Paulo Filho and Dan Miller – and while he says he owes his recent success to “really hard work”, he also credits the attitude instilled in him during his wrestling days.

“I came from a wrestling background, and at a wrestling tournament, you don’t pick your opponents; you don’t take the call that says ‘hey, will you take on this guy?’ You show up and you take on whoever weighs in,” he said. “And I came into fighting with that same mentality. I fought Jeremy Horn when he was the number one guy in the world three times and the reason I got to fight with him three times is because nobody else would do it. When I first got into the UFC, I got in there against a guy named Babalu (Sobral) because at that time nobody else would fight him, and I volunteered. So I got in a little bit over my head, but it also provided me with my opportunities to get me to where I am now. I’ve got a few losses on my record where I jumped in and wasn’t quite ready, but over time, my abilities have caught up with my confidence and my goals and I am kinda starting to catch a stride.”

This stride comes at a perfect time for the native of Milwaukie, Oregon, as he will next be facing highly-regarded contender Yushin Okami this Saturday at UFC 104 in Los Angeles. For fight game purists, it’s one of the most important middleweight matchups of the year, but with Okami’s grind-it-out style, the end result isn’t always pretty.

“You don’t want to get beat by anybody, but especially him,” said Sonnen. “I gotta prepare for a guy and try to hype a fight with a guy that doesn’t even understand what hyping a fight means. I’m a one man band in this thing. I’m going at it alone, and when we get in the ring, if he backs up like he likes to always do, there’s just no end game here – there’s no way to win.”

He pauses briefly, then continues.

“So anyway, I’m just gonna go and beat the guy up because it’s the only thing that he and I can do together in friendship.”

That’s Chael Sonnen, not only one of the top 185-pounders in the game, but perhaps the best interview in the sport, pound for pound. And he does it with a blunt honesty that – and I’ve said it before – is sorely lacking not only in professional sports, but in all walks of life. That’s no surprise though, because blunt truth can get you in trouble sometimes. Has it ever gotten Sonnen in some hot water?

“I don’t think it does too much,” he said. “There are some guys who will get their feelings hurt here and there, but I’m not a big name caller. I don’t pick on guys very much. I’ll just point some things out and make them take a little look at themselves. I’ve even had guys come and go ‘hey man, I read an interview you did on me and you were right about that. I didn’t even realize I was doing that.’ (Laughs) So I don’t know if it’s gotten me in trouble too much, and at the end of the day, this is the fight business. We aren’t fight friends. This isn’t Eminem insulting 50 Cent during an interview from across the country. If somebody’s got a problem with what I’ve said, well, let’s go fight. We can settle this. We don’t have to do this through the media and sing songs about it, we can also just go fight. So anytime this gets me in trouble, the solution to the problem is very evident – it’s an eight-sided cage called the Octagon – I’ll see you there.”

So when Okami gets the translated word from Sonnen’s official UFC bio that the Oregonian considers him “a step in the wrong direction. Unmarketable. Not pleasing to watch and a horrible interview,” he’ll have his chance to settle things with his foe on Saturday night. That’s the beauty of the whole thing, and when it’s all said and done and the two combatants shake hands and go their separate ways, one of them will presumably be walking away with a spot in the title picture. Some diehard fight fans believe Okami should already be there thanks to his 7-1 UFC record. Sonnen could end that talk this weekend and put himself in contention.

“In the great scheme of things, I’m one of the top guys,” he said. “I don’t know what will happen next though. I know I’m at the top of the list now, but there are a few guys there. The one difference between me and those other guys (Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt) is that they already fought Anderson and they failed. I would be the new face that hasn’t competed with him yet, but I don’t know, there’s something to be said for a rematch too, so I’m not discounting that either.”

And truth be told, Sonnen doesn’t even care if it’s Silva holding the belt when he gets his shot. Fighting the pound-for-pound king isn’t some sort of vision quest. What matters is getting the title, no matter who has it. That doesn’t mean Sonnen will resist a chance to address Silva’s recent foray into the light heavyweight division.

“I want to be the champ and that’s it,” he said. “If Anderson gets beat, I no longer want to fight Anderson. I don’t blame him for going up to light heavyweight – it’s a lot easier division than ours. I think there’s a false mystique when he flies up to light heavyweight and beats up these slow, unathletic guys. ‘Oh my goodness, he’s the king of two divisions.’ Well sure, anybody can move up a weight class. Look at Randy (Couture). Randy slid up from 205 to heavyweight and he wins a title every time he does it. The toughest guy to fight is the one a weight class below you. We’d have the same problem at 185 if one of the ’70 pounders moved up – ‘jeez, this guy’s a little faster than what we’re used to’ So I, for one, am not impressed that Anderson went up to 205 and beat up some slow light heavyweights.”

If it looks like Sonnen’s laying the groundwork for some pre-fight hype between himself and Silva, maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. But what is clear is that when it comes down to it, Sonnen is willing to back up whatever he says. Just look at the 24-10-1 record that includes the names Horn, Filho, Miller, Sobral, Demian Maia, Amar Suloev, Tim Credeur, Trevor Prangley, Terry Martin, Jason Lambert, Akihiro Gono, Jason Miller and Forrest Griffin. A lot of guys say they’ll fight anybody – Sonnen means it.

“I will take on whoever, and a lot of guys say that because it’s got a nice ring to it, and then behind the scenes, when Joe Silva calls, all of a sudden their arm hurts, their knee hurts, or their shoulder’s sore. They need to get their tonsils removed or they need to play in a movie when they really don’t know how to act,” he said. “Guys come up with a lot of reasons not to get in there, and I have a lot of reasons too. I’ve never felt good when it comes to fight. Not one time have I walked in the ring feeling good. But when that music comes on, I will make that walk every single time, regardless of the opponent. I never think about who’s across from me.”

And at the end of the day, for all the talk, Sonnen knows that he now has the responsibility to live up to his words, something that may be what drives him the most.

“When you say things like that, it becomes true and you do need to be ready to back it up, but like I said, if I get hurt or I get sick or anything happens between now and the 24th, when the music hits those speakers, I will suck it up and make that walk,” he said. “And if I’ve got to take my medicine like a man, I’ll take it like a man, but either way, I’ll be in that ring on the 24th. And if Okami or anybody else wants to dispute something, I swear to goodness I will give them their opportunity. And I’ll end it on this – Yushin Okami is coming off an injury. Nobody is as good returning from an injury as they were prior to their injury, and I could’ve beat Okami when he was tough.”