"With the stuff he said and everything else, we made sure we had proper security," White said. "We had seven guys with us who do this for a living. We mapped out the whole route. We literally landed at the airport in Rio, went through customers, then jumped on helicopters that took us right through to the hotel. I came in the front door and we put him through the side door, had him in a holding room."
Sonnen, of course, has a history of making outrageous comments about Brazil in general and Brazilian fighters in specific. Even though he was in hostile territory, Sonnen didn't do much to defuse the situation.
"You know those disguises with the mustaches and the glasses you get at a joke shop?" White asked. "He had one of those on and he said 'you wonder how I got into this country, this was my disguise.' He says, 'everyone was asking me if I was one of the Nogueira brothers, and the people were asking, which Nogueira brother was I, the fat one or the bald one? The one that was good or the one that was never good?'"
When a post-press conference media scrum with Sonnen starting going south, said White, they knew it was time to get the mouthy middleweight from Oregon out the door.
"We did a scrum with him, the reporters were getting really aggressive. Someone got him with a shock pen, all kinds of stuff like that. He went out the side door, I went out the front door, we got back in the helicopters, got him back through customs, got him on a plane, and got him out of there."
Willin - The Media gave him a shock pen? Classy savages down there in Brazil...
Exactly what I was thinking. The scary part is that (mainly because of PetroBras), they have one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It's a scary thought that their economy will evolve well before their people.
and the real reason the fight isn't in Brazil anymore. Security issues. that was just the media, now imagine a soccer stadium filled with passionate Brazilians. It would have been a riot and the UFC knows it. So they found an out and took it. The fact they are still having an event pretty much proves that.
Willin - The Media gave him a shock pen? Classy savages down there in Brazil...
Exactly what I was thinking. The scary part is that (mainly because of PetroBras), they have one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It's a scary thought that their economy will evolve well before their people.
It's only the fastest growing because they are finally starting to discover the internet, computers, etc. It will taper off soon enough.
Jonny Mango - so is this the reason why the fight won't be in Brazil anymore?
Yes. He wrote a check his ass couldn't cash.
What an idiot.
Yes what an idiot he is for adding huge interest to the fight and will likely make it the biggest PPV of the year. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>
No, he's an idiot for talking smack about a lot of people then running off. What a badass he is.
He couldn't beat Silva WITH steroids what's he going to do off of them lol? He will be clowned and it will be awesome.
Jonny Mango - so is this the reason why the fight won't be in Brazil anymore?
Yes. He wrote a check his ass couldn't cash.
What an idiot.
Yes what an idiot he is for adding huge interest to the fight and will likely make it the biggest PPV of the year.
Not to mention that strategically, it was to Silva's advantage to fight in his home turf. Now that the fight is NOT going to be in Brazil, it works into Sonnen's favor.
Jonny Mango - so is this the reason why the fight won't be in Brazil anymore?
Yes. He wrote a check his ass couldn't cash.
What an idiot.
Yes what an idiot he is for adding huge interest to the fight and will likely make it the biggest PPV of the year.
Not to mention that strategically, it was to Silva's advantage to fight in his home turf. Now that the fight is NOT going to be in Brazil, it works into Sonnen's favor.
GSP commented on home turf "advantage" saying that it can be a hindrance. There is a lot of pressure fighting in front of your fellow savages...
