Before YouTube existed, Chael Sonnen was waiting for it. The ultimate practitioner waiting for his ultimate profession. All those years in the UFC? The years on the wrestling mats before that? Now it seems it was just an introduction, all meant to give him stories and expertise to lean on as he argues in court for his 1.28 million subscribers.
Because what would actually suit this man better? Throughout his fighting career, he barely stopped talking long enough for them to put the mouthpiece in. Sonnen was born to sit there in his custom-built studio and tell stories and joke into a camera, layering dry humor over surprisingly sincere asides until his audience isn’t sure what’s real and what’s just to pretend. is to laugh.
All this is to say that a second career as a commentator and tireless content creator (calculate the number of clips stored on his YouTube page and you’ll see that this amounts to over 1,000 videos per year) seems to be on the cards. Things are going incredibly well for Sonnen. So why would he, at the age of 47 and with a wealth of experience as a wrestler but absolutely zero fights as a boxer, decide to put on the big gloves and take on his old foe Anderson on Saturday in São Paulo, Brazil Silva?
According to Sonnen, the boxing aspect of this fight is at least partially the result of a failed negotiating strategy.
“I had to deal with Anderson and (Jorge) Masvidal in the same week,” Sonnen said. “Suddenly there’s a lot of demand for Chael P, which I wasn’t even interested in, but they weren’t interested in me either. It wasn’t like I was pushing people away. My phone wasn’t ringing for reasons like that, but suddenly I get a call from Mom (Taylor) from Misfits (Boxing), who wants to do (a fight with) Masvidal. (He asked) ‘Hey, what are the rules? I have (Masvidal) on the other line.” I texted him back and let him choose. That scared him. I said, let him choose. Team Masvidal withdrew. I never heard another word. There was something about that. They retreated. I tried the same thing with Anderson. He didn’t back down. He said: ‘great boxing rules.’ So here we are.”
Before we go any further, there’s something you should know about every interview with Sonnen. His answers are not always meant to be taken literally. They are primarily intended to entertain. Sometimes the entertainment even ties in with the subject. But it can be difficult to know what an accurate representation of the situation should be and what exactly is in it because it sounds good.
This is also what makes Sonnen so good in the role he has created for himself at this stage of his life. Today he is a professional talker about all things martial arts. Whatever the topic of the day – Francis Ngannou’s boxing exploits, Valentina Shevchenko’s refusal to give her fighters water during training, about 1 million different ways to look at Conor McGregor – Sonnen can offer an opinion. Those opinions are fun, comprehensive and memorable. But they are meant to be enjoyed more than scrutinized and dissected for facts.
That atmosphere changes a bit when you bring up the subject of Silva. The two have such an extensive history together – two UFC title fights, the first of which will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer, both won by Silva – that they are essentially connected by fights. It feels a little strange to see them in a boxing match, if only because that format seems to favor Silva So much more than Sonnen. But seeing them meet again later in their lives, this time more as friendly fighters than the bitter enemies they started out as, somehow feels right.
When he realized Silva wanted to fight him for what may or may not be a true retirement fight, Sonnen said, he was both flattered and surprised.
“I didn’t know I was important to him,” Sonnen said. “I knew we had some moments together. But during his career he had moments with other guys. He had title fights with other guys. He had tough (fights) and the media wanted his attention and he had pay-per-views and he had big salaries… with other guys. I didn’t. I just have it. Every big moment when someone comes up to me and compliments me has to do with him. Whether it was a press conference, or something was said, or maybe we met, or it was a fight they came to or they watched on TV, but to me they were all connected to him. I fought 51 men. People don’t know anything about the other fifty. Everything in my career has to do with Anderson. I didn’t know I was special to him.”
Still, Sonnen admitted, when a man picks you as his opponent for a farewell fight in his home country, you can’t help but realize that he probably didn’t pick you because he thinks you’re going to beat him up.
It’s no secret that striking is Silva’s specialty. Although Sonnen became a much better striker over the course of his career, it was still always something he did in between takedowns.
Silva has now found his second wind in the boxing ring. He has fought five professional boxing matches, defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and defeated Tito Ortiz before losing a decision to Jake Paul in 2022. Sonnen’s boxing work was limited to the gym, and when one of his coaches recently asked if Silva was a southpaw, he had to admit he didn’t know.
“I fought him,” Sonnen said. “And I don’t know.”
Under such circumstances, many fans might feel that it would be a win for Sonnen if he were to go the distance with Silva in this fight. And that would be a great moment, right? The two exchange punches one last time before ending in an embrace as time passes. That could even count as a victory of sorts for Sonnen in a match like this.
But if he said this is what he was hoping for, how entertaining would that be? Who would want to waste a YouTube click on that?
“I don’t really care about the rules,” Sonnen said. “I’m going to try to beat him. And one thing I don’t like, and one thing I won’t do and won’t try now, is feather the nest for a trap. “Oh, I didn’t have time to train. Oh, I was alone in the room with my son. Oh, boxing’s not my thing.’ I don’t care if we do a cooking competition, it’s me against him. This is my last chance to beat the man I’ve never beaten at anything. He keeps me awake at night. He is following me. I will be devastated if I lose this fight and I will never come to you and tell you what the rules were. If I have to, I’ll kick him in the balls. I’m going to take this man down. I have four rounds to do it and watch my words. I’m not going to screw this up.”
