Chael Sonnen News

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Back in early November, Michael Bisping surrendered the UFC middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre, succumbing to a rear-naked choke after absorbing quite a bit of punishment. In an effort to bounce back from this loss as quickly as possible, Bisping then accepted a short notice fight with the cinderblock-fisted Kelvin Gastelum, replacing former champion Anderson Silva. While some people applauded Bisping for this get-up-and-go attitude, others scolded him (and the UFC) for booking the fight so soon after his concussive loss to St-Pierre. If you’re one of the people who criticized Bisping for taking this risk, Chael Sonnen has a message for you. He gave his take on the situation on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

In 2018, Bellator MMA will crown a heavyweight champion by way of an action-packed heavyweight Grand Prix. This headline-dominating tournament will kick off on January 20, when three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen takes on former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Then, in the subsequent months, we’ll witness matchups between Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir, and lastly, Ryan Bader and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. In the opinion of Chael Sonnen, any one of these dangerous competitors has a real shot at winning it all.

Jason Kindschy - November 29, 2017

BJPENN Radio is back at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more of what you crave! 8:15PM ET- Our first guest is the man they call “Hot Chocolate,” Danny Roberts. As UFC on FOX 26 draws near, we’ll preview Danny’s showdown with Sheldon Westcott in Winnipeg on December 16th. After working past some personal issues outside of competition, Roberts aims to show the world his true potential and climb the ranks in the talent-rich welterweight division. We’ll get “Hot Chocolate’s” opinion on the current landscape of 170, where he fits into the battle for ranked status, and we’ll also discuss some of MMA hot topics.

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Chael Sonnen is very familiar with rising UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, having coached him on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter. That said, Sonnen claims that for a long time, he couldn’t actually identify the one thing that made Gastelum so good. While it was clear the young fighter had few weaknesses, his true strength was difficult to identify. “I would watch him every day in practice,” Sonnen said in the latest episode of Beyond the Fight. “I would tell him, ‘Kelvin, I don’t know what it is you’re good at, but I also don’t know what your weaknesses are.’ He was just naturally in very, very good position. He naturally would follow the basics. Hands up, chin down. He naturally was a little bit shorter for the weight class, and it was harder for guys to get underneath him. He naturally just didn’t mind pushing the pace and competing, which is a really big part of it. It’s not just the punches and the kicks. You’ve got to have a competitor, man, you’ve got have a guy who’s got some dog inside of him. He just had all of these things. But I just kept telling him that, and it almost turned into a laughable moment. I’d keep saying that, every time he’d fight, and I was congratulating him, but I’d say ‘man, I’m not positive what it is you’re good at. I just sure can’t find your weakness.’ The guy was impossible to submit, so hard to take down, wouldn’t give up, powerful hands, buried his chin so he could take a shot…”

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2017

Colby Covington is one of the most talked about fighters in MMA right now. Unfortunately, much of the talk about him has been negative. Public discourse surrounding the welterweight star picked up when he insulted the entire country of Brazil after his recent win over Demian Maia. It reached a boiling point when he had a run-in with Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum in Australia, and got a boomerang thrown in his face in the process.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2017

Bellator MMA finally has a plan in place to fill its vacant heavyweight throne. Throughout 2018, the organization will promote a heavyweight grand prix featuring eight of its premier heavyweights and light heavyweights in Frank Mir, Fedor Emelianenko, Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Ryan Bader, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Chael Sonnen. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Rampage discussed his role in this tournament, and immediately divulged that he’s rather unexcited about the prospect of a fight with wrestling specialist Chael Sonnen. The former UFC light heavyweight champ, after all, has always taken issue with opponents who focus on the takedown.

Russell Ess - November 13, 2017

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor brought some of his “Notorious” publicity to Bellator on Friday during the Bellator 187 event that took place in Dublin, Ireland. McGregor’s teammate Charlie Ward knocked out opponent John Redmond at the last seconds of round one and “The Notorious” scaled the cage and jumped in to celebrate Ward’s win. Marc Goddard, who already had some history with McGregor was the referee for the Ward vs. Redmond bout had a word with McGregor who then erupted and shoved and yelled at Goddard in the cage. McGregor was also seen slapping another official while sitting on top of the cage as the official tried to get him off.

Tom Taylor - October 30, 2017

Over the last year or so, there has been a significant trend of fighters calling out competitors in other weight classes in an effort to procure the biggest and most lucrative fights possible. UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor has flirted with a bout with welterweight king Tyron Woodley. Woodley has eyed fights with McGregor and UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping. Bisping is fighting a former welterweight in Georges St-Pierre. Former UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones briefly eyed a heavyweight fight with Brock Lesnar. The list goes on. And while this trend seems to aggravate many members of the MMA community, current Bellator light heavyweight star Chael Sonnen, who foresees a heavyweight scrap with Fedor Emelianenko down the road, is all for it. “Just before you and I got on the phone today I was reading something about a St-Pierre versus McGregor matchup, and I love that,” Sonnen said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I have a little bit of resentment because of the fights that we missed because of where the sport was at, and [the UFC] specifically, they weren’t willing to change guys’ weight classes. What comes to mind is Matt Hughes versus Anderson Silva, also Anderson Silva versus Jon Jones. Those were matchups that the athletes were willing to do, the fighters wanted to see, the media wanted to see, but the promotion was pretty locked in on the policy of everybody stays in their own division.”

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2017

At this point, it’s hard to say who Conor McGregor will fight next. That said, there appear to be two frontrunners: Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz. In the opinion of three-time UFC title challenger and current Bellator MMA star Chael Sonnen, the answer to the Ferguson or Diaz question is pretty simple. While a trilogy bout between McGregor and Diaz is undeniably compelling, he believes the interim champ Ferguson is the more sensible choice. “I love the Nate Diaz fight, and history says you always go to a trilogy,” Sonnen said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “History does say that. The problem they’re running into right now with that sumbitch McGregor capturing the championship is that you also need to move a division forward, and that’s very important. That’s very important that you pay attention to the integrity of that as well. Tony has earned the right.”

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2017

UFC 217’s main event, a middleweight title fight between champ Michael Bisping and challenger Georges St-Pierre, seems to have the world divided. There are some members of the combat sports community who believe Bisping will come out on top. Others are convinced St-Pierre will win. File current Bellator star Chael Sonnen into the latter category. “I like that fight,” Sonnen said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I am picking Georges in that fight, but I really like it. I’ve competed with Bisping twice myself, once in MMA and once in grappling. Tough sonofa bitch. I’ve only trained with Georges, so maybe I come to you with a little different perspective, but it appears a lot of what’s being said about this fight is Bisping’s size. Anytime you talk about size, what you’re really talking about is, the [bigger] guy is stronger, right? We don’t really care about who weighs more, we care about who’s stronger than who. This is a weird one because Bisping is meaningfully bigger. He will cut to make 185, he will get into the ring about 200 pounds. Georges St-Pierre will weigh in about 183 pounds, he will get in the ring at 183 pounds. However  – this might surprise you – Georges is meaningfully, meaningfully stronger than Bisping.”

Jason Kindschy - October 25, 2017

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with three awesome guests! 8:15PM ET- First up, the undeniable “King of the Slam,” Gerald Harris, joins us to recap his farewell performance last week at XFN 22. “The Hurricane” yet again finished his opponent with a brutal slam, but this time rather than a knockout, Gerald broke his opponents arm in the process. We’ll discuss his career as a martial artist, what Harris has planned for life outside the cage, and much more.

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2017

In the latest episode of his “Beyond the Fight” series, UFC veteran and current Bellator star Chael Sonnen shared his belief that former UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre should not be counted out in his UFC 217 showdown with Michael Bisping. “People think Bisping is going to kill him,” Sonnen said of widespread perceptions that St-Pierre will lose this fight. “Luke Rockhold, one of the best middleweights of all time, former champion, Luke Rockhold’s opinion matters. He says it’s not even a close fight, that Michael Bisping runs him over.”

Russell Ess - October 10, 2017

There are coaches for all aspects of mixed tiatial arts. You have head coaches that bring everything together and others that help on a specific discipline such as wrestling, striking, or jiu-jitsu. Then, for some athletes, they also hire a mental coach to help them through their mental blocks or issues that can hold back an athlete from their full potential. Georges St-Pierre and Vitor Belfort are examples of some of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts that have worked with a mental coach during their careers. Now, with the sport being highlighted by promotional beasts such as Conor McGregor, could fighters use a promotional coach to hype themselves up and build more fan interest?

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

Last Saturday, in the main event of the action-packed UFC 216, Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson stepped into the cage to battle for the interim lightweight title. Though Lee started strong, mounting and very nearly finishing Ferguson in the first-frame, his gas tank seemed to empty as the fight progressed. From there, Ferguson was able up the aggression, wear his foe down, and ultimately, lock up a choke for the win.

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2017

Over the last few weeks, there have been rampant rumors surrounding a potential Bellator clash between Chael Sonnen and retired MMA legend Chuck Liddell. While Bellator President Scott Coker recently made an effort to deflate these rumors, Sonnen has recently injected life back into them. Speaking on a recent episode of his You’re Welcome Podcast, the Bellator star claimed that he’s prepared to fight Liddell right now and that Liddell has actually been offered a fight by Bellator.

Justin Golightly - September 27, 2017

The man, the myth, the legend, any cliche about superstars of any sport could be said about Chuck Liddell. He’s one of the fighters who carried UFC’s torch into new eras and put more butts into seats that you could count. He recently appeared on The MMA Hour talking about his long-hinted at return from retirement, but still no concrete plans. That won’t stop one guy from mentioning his name. The guy being ‘American Badass’ Chael Sonnen. Chuck Liddell recently got stopped by TMZ and asked about if that’s a guy he’d come back and fight. Chuck Liddell: Chael Sonnen Would Be 'Warm-Up Fight,' If I Came Back https://t.co/5Se9P1kgIs

Russell Ess - September 19, 2017

There is no doubt that Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars that the UFC has ever had. The brash Irishman just took part in one of the biggest fights in history, making his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather. “The Notorious” talked his way to make a crossover into another sport and made the biggest payday of his career in doing so. This all happened with the support of fans from around the world and wouldn’t have been possible without their interest.

Russell Ess - September 4, 2017

Ever since Chael Sonnen failed two drug tests in 2014, “The American Gangster” has been rather open about his use of banned substances. The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger has previously said that he has taken “everything in the world that you can’t take.” Now, with his former opponent Jon Jones facing his second incident being flagged by USADA, Sonnen questioned Jones’ history of banned substance use on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.