Chael Sonnen has been hyping his upcoming main event showdown with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on UFC Fight Night on Fox Sports 1 – the debut of mixed martial arts on the No. 1 contender to ESPN’s WWL belt – with a series of hilarious and expectedly ballsy slam poems. But the American Gangster took it to a whole different level the other night on UFC Tonight, when he told that guy and the other guy to shut their mouths so he could break off one hell of a new rhyme.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Wagenheim got to sit down with Sonnen to get a little more personal this week, and the result is a must-read interview for any fan of Sonnen, and probably even for the people who don’t like him. Among the juiciest nuggets is the idea that Sonnen, who has never been a champion in the UFC, might be looking past Rua for one more title shot, and the target would be Chris Weidman and his new Middleweight belt.
Sonnen might have been the second-happiest man in the UFC after Chris Weidman knocked out Silva a little over a month ago to seize the 185-pound belt. Now Chael, who has never faced Weidman, has that road to the title he requires in order to keep his career going. It’s a treacherous roadway, for sure, one that could lead right over a cliff if Weidman loses his rematch with the ex-champ in December. But if the New Yorker remains champion, Sonnen at least has a chance to be part of the conversation.
“Here’s what you have to understand: The landscape changes so incredibly quickly that you have to be flexible,” he said. “Opportunities open up all the time. I’m a reactor, in large part. I can do my part to manipulate or guide my own career, but like everyone else, I mostly am left to react to situations. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” (Via SI.com)
(Seriously, read the part about Wagenheim’s son asking Sonnen a question. I’m so upset there’s not video.)
Sonnen will be a part of the conversation as long as he’s able to run his mouth better than anyone in the business and take a few punches in the process. Of course, if he doesn’t back it up against Rua on Saturday, this conversation will be pointless. Additionally, it will probably become pointless if Weidman doesn’t successfully defend his title against Anderson Silva at UFC 168 on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas.
But I, for one, would like to see Sonnen win a title before he retires, even if I’m not even positive that he could beat Ronda Rousey at this point.
