6ULDV8 -They would have to overcome their differences...I love the story. Lets make it happenAnd any red-blooded American on this forum that doesn't think Sonnen/Stann 2016 wouldn't be the most awesome thing ever is a liar and an idiot.
That is all.
Oh my God that Presidential race would be awesome!
Weren't you a mod or am I confusing you with someone else? 
To me, the end of Chael's career wasn't really sudden and wasn't accompanied by sadness, as Elias claims in the first line of this piece.
He's simply been caught more and more often in his deceit as his schtick wore on -- and now, we're entering an era where his continued PED use is not acceptable.
There's nothing really to be sad about and it's good that the UFC is doing the right thing.
ThePrinceThatWasPromised - I agree nearly 100% with the article. I'm not going to get into a pissing match with people on the thread but I think you're pretty spot on. People who disagree aren't seeing it through the same lense. They're thinking as fans, not as observers. Most non-MMA fans see Chael Sonnen and asked "is this guy serious?". We pretty much encouraged his behavior because he's talented, an underdog, funny, and just charming as fuck. Aside from a few fan favorites (Barnett, Overeem) guys get ostracized for the very same things Chael did as part of his whole schtick. I started off hating Chael Sonnen but ended up loving the guy. I'd still pay to watch him fight in the Dairy Queen parking lot. That said, good stuff Elias. As someone else who posted here since ~16 it's nice to see your writing progress.Very nice of you to.read it, and comment, brother. Thanks for the kind words, as well.
yellow's alphamalesouth -If If don't think Chael ever made bigoted comments you need to pull the blanket off your head.chawkins -Thisspent years spewing bigoted speech
He never did any such thing. At worst, what he said was nationalist.
Didnt even waste my time by clicking the link to read further.
You're better than that Elias.
RorysBitch -Elias has done a TON for this sport. He has always been honest. I will always support him.Elias Cepeda -RorysBitch - Id love for you two post 3 examples of people on here encouraging fighters to go out and commit crimes.I think most people will.understand that what is meant is that with our eyeballs and ppv dollars, we've encouraged it, and that by giving him more opportunites and defending him and repeating his misleading statements, the ufc and fox encouraged it.
I get you have to get clicks but statements like that just make MMA look bad as a whole, and for you to be on a major news site like Yahoo. Its not a good look IMO.
Say you get on the main page, and someone who doesnt normally read about MMA just happen to see your article.
You really think you are helping the sport of MMA by telling those people MMA fans encourage its fighters to commit crime? or use drugs?
Gimmie a break.
Say Chael wasnt a good talker, if he didnt do all that trash talking to sell a fight. Do you think the UFC, or Fox would of stood behind him?
No.
People enjoyed Chaels trash talk and ate it up. Thats what brought the eyeballs and ppv $, not the mortgage fraud or failed drug tests.
To say MMA supports and encourages its fighters to commit crime and use drugs is a joke. An I think its sad that you are in a position to portray the sport in a positive light, yet choose to do the complete opposite to try and get a few clicks.
Outside of the nonsense about MMA fans encouraging crimes - which is absurd - I thought the article was pretty accurate about the walking contradiction that Chael Sonnen is.
The story about the kid is the most interesting of all. Only a pathological liar would lie like that completely needlessly, in a do-gooder situation.
MountainMedic -RorysBitch -Elias has done a TON for this sport. He has always been honest. I will always support him.Elias Cepeda -RorysBitch - Id love for you two post 3 examples of people on here encouraging fighters to go out and commit crimes.I think most people will.understand that what is meant is that with our eyeballs and ppv dollars, we've encouraged it, and that by giving him more opportunites and defending him and repeating his misleading statements, the ufc and fox encouraged it.
I get you have to get clicks but statements like that just make MMA look bad as a whole, and for you to be on a major news site like Yahoo. Its not a good look IMO.
Say you get on the main page, and someone who doesnt normally read about MMA just happen to see your article.
You really think you are helping the sport of MMA by telling those people MMA fans encourage its fighters to commit crime? or use drugs?
Gimmie a break.
Say Chael wasnt a good talker, if he didnt do all that trash talking to sell a fight. Do you think the UFC, or Fox would of stood behind him?
No.
People enjoyed Chaels trash talk and ate it up. Thats what brought the eyeballs and ppv $, not the mortgage fraud or failed drug tests.
To say MMA supports and encourages its fighters to commit crime and use drugs is a joke. An I think its sad that you are in a position to portray the sport in a positive light, yet choose to do the complete opposite to try and get a few clicks.
You're too kind. Thank you.
Always an enjoyable read from Elias.
I'd like to have some understanding as to how this article is not spot on?
Hey TBidness, thanks so much for reading and posting, brother.
Wow i can't believe Yahoo sports would actually publish that shit.
I hope he just goes way soon!
TBidness - Always an enjoyable read from Elias.
I'd like to have some understanding as to how this article is not spot on?
DaemonDragon -I don't feel its that shaky, tbh. As his behavior began to garner results it of course encouraged him to continue that behavior. That behavior was emulated by others.TBidness - Always an enjoyable read from Elias.
I'd like to have some understanding as to how this article is not spot on?
There's the one paragraph about fans encouraging criminal behavior which is shaky to say the least, however the rest is filled with solid insights on Chael.
Typical of people here to focus on the one shaky paragraph - the fact it appears early doesn't help. Most here are lazy as fuck readers, and probably bailed on reading past the one paragraph they didn't like.
Overall it's a good article, and well above the standards of MMA journalism. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
JustPeed - Wow i can't believe Yahoo sports would actually publish that shit.
Do you actually not believe that it, in fact, happened, or are you just upset that it did?
DaemonDragon -TBidness - Always an enjoyable read from Elias.
I'd like to have some understanding as to how this article is not spot on?
There's the one paragraph about fans encouraging criminal behavior which is shaky to say the least, however the rest is filled with solid insights on Chael.
Typical of people here to focus on the one shaky paragraph - the fact it appears early doesn't help. Most here are lazy as fuck readers, and probably bailed on reading past the one paragraph they didn't like.
Overall it's a good article, and well above the standards of MMA journalism. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
I'm glad you did as well, thanks man.
Yeah, the paragraph was not about fans encouraging criminal behavior, it was about the UFC, FOX and fans rewarding Sonnen for all that he's done with their jobs, dollars and eyeballs. that has included excellent fighting, but also criminal behavior, failed drug tests, repeated lying and offensive speech. People can certainly disagree with that but it's a pretty self-evident fact, in my opinion.
DaemonDragon -TBidness - Always an enjoyable read from Elias.
I'd like to have some understanding as to how this article is not spot on?
There's the one paragraph about fans encouraging criminal behavior which is shaky to say the least, however the rest is filled with solid insights on Chael.
Typical of people here to focus on the one shaky paragraph - the fact it appears early doesn't help. Most here are lazy as fuck readers, and probably bailed on reading past the one paragraph they didn't like.
Overall it's a good article, and well above the standards of MMA journalism. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
Elias, when promoting a piece you wrote - and this is a good one - maybe don't post the most controversial part considering it will absolutely be seen out of context.
I put off reading and commenting on this for that reason.
However, upon reading, it is a very good piece. It's based on facts, which is more than most writers even attempt. Despite criticizing Sonnen, you've still managed to put him in a relatively good light.
And I'm a Sonnen fan.
Elias Cepeda -You're responding to Chael's number one nuthugger, Elias.yellow's alphamalesouth -chawkins -Thisspent years spewing bigoted speech
He never did any such thing. At worst, what he said was nationalist.
Didnt even waste my time by clicking the link to read further.
You're better than that Elias.
You know what, Chael Sonnen is better than the bigoted stuff he's tossed out there over and again in order to promote fights. Chael has used prejudiced and hateful speech to talk about people from other countries, other ethnicities and who speak different languages blatantly for years.
He's said stuff along those lines that would have gotten any of us fired from our jobs, repeatedly.
It's one thing to excuse it because you feel he doesn't mean it and was doing it just for fight promotion (I wouldn't agree, but it's a legit perspective) but to pretend he hasn't said bigoted stuff is either naive or denial.
That was a decent opinion piece, but I think it could have used some heavier copy editing. It seemed kind of unfocused and rambling. Big Sonnen fan, and I thought that was a fairly reasonable treatment of his character, for what its worth.