What Chael Sonnen has done the last 3 years is incredible. In a sport where the window of opportunity to really achieve success is so narrow, he took advantage of every opportunity he could with his intelligence and will. He has the will and determination of a champion, no doubt, and that combined his intelligence got him the opportunity to contend for one. Twice.
What this man did was simply brilliant. Having suffered several losses in a cut throat sport, he fought his way back to relevance, landing him a title shot in the WEC. Again he lost by submission, but came back with a ton of heart and won the rematch. He should have won a belt that night, and he eventually got it, but it wasn't official and that sucks.
His performance landed him back in the UFC where he'd have to be at the top of his game to ever get another title opportunity. This was only 4 years ago, but 4 years ago very, VERY few people in the world would ever expect the journeyman Sonnen to become the figure that he would. And he did it with conflict. His first fight back in the UFC he got completely tooled by Maia in the first round, and this quite honestly could have been Chael's most devastating defeat as he got completely owned. However, in retrospect, this was smart as he got his toughest matchup out of the way in his first fight.
Chael came back with a win and got himself a shot at Okami, who was a win away from a title shot at the time and was expected to best Chael and finally get his deserved rematch. Chael dominated and really caught the attention of everyone, and he knew this was his time to shine. He knew he hit contender status and he ran with it with full steam. The attention was drawn, now he had to perform, which he did outstandingly in a dominating win over the widely-considered number one contender, Nate Marquardt.
With Vitor getting injured and being out extendedly, and the Maia fight already having been made, he did everything he could to ensure his next fight would be once again contending for a championship. His timing couldn't have been better, as the goliath he had ahead of him gave what many argued his worst performance. The tables were set, the cards were in place, and he f*cking DELIVERED! With Anderson suffering from an injured rib and hubris, Chael capitalized on the better fighter and did something insane that night that left the world in awe. Such awe that, even though he failed the post fight drug test with an abnormally high T/E ratio, people wanted to see a rematch. And he ran with it again.
Sonnen served his suspension, talked a ton more, doing everything he could to goad the angry champ to give him another shot, but was forced to earn it. Again he seized his opportunity, dominating a top contender and winning a number one contenders match. And again, he hyped the title fight brilliantly, bring out the inner beast in Silva and creating an incredible rivalry that will never be forgotten.
The sad end to this story for Chael is he didn't get a world title, and that's devastating. But that shouldn't discredit the amazing things he did accomplish. This man went toe to toe with the greatest fighter of all time twice, and show excellence during both at times. Unfortunately for Chael, the wrong guy was blocking the path to a world title, but there's nothing to hold his head down for. He tried his best, and though he fell short of his ultimate goal, he created a legendary rivalry, and made a SH*T LOAD of money in the process.
Congratulations Chael, and thanks for the entertainment!
Let's not forget, this is a business and a man's career, and he did a great job at securing a future for himself and his family, even without a world title.
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Chael impressed the hell out of me..
Will chael stick by his word an leave the ufc. If he does no doubt he will go to wwe 
Pretty decent summary. I've been saying all along that the Sonnen haters on here are the same guys that think WWE must be real? It was all a shtick. S
He managed to keep himself out of jail after that little real estate mess. Good job, Chael.
FWIW I'm a notorious Silva fan, and was behind my guy 100% and very anti-Chael through this whole thing. But what the guy did was amazing, and deserves the recognition.
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Wtf is this, a requiem? The guy is going to fight again FFS
inf0 - ttt
Chael impressed the hell out of me..
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He spoke his big mouth and YOU fans listened. He knew himself he wasnt going to win lastnight, after that shoulder-shot, Chael was depleted...
Well spoken.
I was never really a fan of the guy but he can back it up. I hope he can get past this loss and get back into the mix at some point.
Nice write up
Thanks!
Very good write up and I completely agree. Hope to see him back in the cage soon, especially since he said he's ready for the next one in the press conference.
I am prouder and prouder to be a fan of the one and only Chael P. Sonnen.
Pure class OP. I wish I could vote that up.
phillyslice99 - Chael is a coward and silva made him eat his words, congrats ya dummy
great post op
Thanks
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