"I wasn't ready for a Brian Stann style fight; I was ready to take on a Wanderlei or a Machida or something like that. I'll need to sit down and reevaluate and up the intensity, that's for sure. He's doing such a good job. Rewind to his match with Chris Leben. I really would have lost whatever they would let me bet; I would have lost it all. I thought Leben would beat him. I think Stann's an awesome guy. I didn't think he could get by Leben. Nobody has dominated Chris Leben like that - ever - in his entire career. That was kind of like an 'Oh Wow' moment when I saw that in my living room. That was a special performance. Then they gave him a really easy fight after that, and he went out and did some more great things. Even an easy fight, you've still got to go do the fight, and he did. He's really good."
-- What's this? Is Chael Sonnen being... nice? Parish the thought. That's the case, though, in a recent interview with Heavy.com, where the former Realtor has nothing but glowing praise for Brian Stann, his upcoming opponent at the UFC 136 event on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas. In fact, he's almost too complimentary, going out of his way to call him an "awesome guy" and "really good." This may or may not be bad news for the UFC, who have grown rather fond of the money Sonnen makes when his motormouth is in full effect. He does go on to say that he wouldn't count on toning down the trash talk completely, so maybe another heel turn is on the horizon. If it's not, though, will the Zuffa marketing department have a tough time selling this fight to the mixed martial arts fanbase that has grown to depend on Sonnen's shenanigans? Or is a veritable number one middleweight contender bout between two elite fighters enough to shell out $50 for? Opinions, please.
These two fighters have an intensity level that is not matched by many of the others in the company. I am confident chael can come up with some stannanigans to sell the fight with for the casual fan. For the hardcore following we will all tune in to see a great fight. Stann is no dummy either, he will sell this fight as hard as his deadpan/hardass personality will allow him to.
or he wasn't ready for Machida to laugh at his challenge and immediately accept and beg to sign for the fight ASAP, sending Chael back-pedaling to MW looking to take on someone known for getting beaten by wrestlers?
thforklift - I love Chael. But this is a tough match for him.
lol, no it's not. it's a perfect match-up for him which is why he's building it up to be the biggest challenge of his facking career when in reality his strength is stann's weakness and stann is known for having all sorts of problems with guys like sonnen.
and lol @ no one dominating leben like that, not only was leben sick that night but anderson would destroy both of them back to back in one night without even leaving the cage.
I don't know...I think he plays the respect card the whole way, in order to showcase that "patriot" aura. Stann would have to say something really aggressive to derail Chael's strategy.
Sonnens an obvious biggot who only likes white americans, thats why he's being so nice.
so untrue..the guy was recently helping Okami train for anderson..he's not a biggot
Thats just cause he hates Anderson and wants him to lose. Doesn't prove he's not a biggot. Look at all the fighters he praises that are from another country and not white.... Oh wait he never does. Now lets look at all the fighters he bashes: Wanderlei, Anderson, Machida, Bisping, Nogs, etc i rest my case.
LMAO @ acting like Anderson / Leben never happened and calling Santiago "a really easy fight"!
I figured it might go this way for this fight. It's hard to rip on a war hero so I expect more back-door shots at Stann's past opponents or other guys Chael's NOT fighting this time.
by Geno Mrosko 
