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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Media, fans fawn all over Keith Kizer’s favorite UFC high-profile testosterone user

By Zach Arnold | October 9, 2011

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The face of Hypogonadism. Click on my biceps, brother, to see the most over-the-top interview ever at MMAFighting.com with Ariel Helwani

ARIEL HELWANI: “Chael, it’s been a long road. It’s been a long time between wins and a long time between fights. How does it feel to finally get back on track, as you do your Jesse the Body (Ventura) here?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “To be back on track, listen… I did the best I can. These guys are tough guys. Brian Stann is no different. He hit me hard in the body. Man, it hurt. I can still feel it. You know, all these guys are tough. There’s really nothing I can say. You know, you go do these matches, you do the best you can — but I am not here to be one of the guys. I got plenty of money and plenty of fame. I’m after 12 pounds of gold and that’s it.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Did you expect to finish him? Is that how you envisioned the fight to go down?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “No, I did not.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “So, what did you think of the way he fought you? Because a lot of people throughout the week it seemed as so the tide was turning in his favor. People were now saying, ‘You know what? Brian Stann’s ready for Chael Sonnen and he might finish him.’ And then obviously you did so well out there and you finished him. What did you think of his performance?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Well, you know, look, I think he does a fine job. I can’t tell you a lot about those matches. I’m one of those guys that has to go back and re-watch it. I don’t fully know what happens, I got to go re-watch it. But I found the submission and, you know, it worked out well. But I don’t know about those matches and these guys, as much as I respect them and appreciate them, I got one guy in my sights. I can’t stand him. He keeps me up at night and I’m going to take care of him Super Bowl weekend.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Just curious about ring rust. Did you feel a little out of it in the early stages of the fight?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “You know, the preparation was a little bit weird. I remember getting in there and there’s a feel to the Octagon and I forgot it. I forgot the feel, I forgot the smell, I forgot what it’s like to have those lights in your eyes and not have all of your senses around you. So, you got to learn on the go a little bit.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Perhaps one of the greatest post-fight interviews in UFC history right there. Not just a great performance but what you said to Joe Rogan after the fact was memorable stuff. You put it out there. You told Anderson that you want to fight him and not only do you want to fight him, but if you do lose to him you will walk away from the UFC. If he loses, you want him to leave the division. Why the division? Why not leave the UFC? Why didn’t you want to get rid of the guy?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Because he’s a coward and I don’t think he’d accept and you got to play by a coward’s rules sometimes. I’m trying to lure him into a fight, so I got to stick that carrot out there, something that I think he’ll do.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Do you think he’ll take the carrot?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “He ducked me for six years, I don’t see why things will change now. If Joe Rogan hadn’t taken the microphone out of my mouth, I would have told him, ‘Anderson Silva, I want your answer right now. If you accept, I will wait until Super Bowl weekend but if you reject, I will walk over there and whip your ass right here, right now in Houston, Texas.'”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Is a part of you a little concerned? Dan Henderson said that (Anderson) ducked him. Is a part of you concerned that he won’t take the fight?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Yeah, I don’t expect him to take the fight. He’s a coward. I truly don’t expect him to take the fight. This guy walks around, ‘I want the biggest fight.’ Well, there’s no bigger fight than our re-match, stupid. ‘Well, I want the toughest guys.’ Well, God never made a tougher man than me and my name hasn’t come out of your mouth once.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “The Loser Leaves Town match is a classic one. Why are you so confident putting your career on the line?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “I don’t ever have confidence, buddy. I’m a gambler, I let it ride. I don’t have confidence. That’s what bullies do. Anderson’s a bully. He’s the one with the confidence and picks on people he knows he can beat. I don’t know if I can beat any of these guys and that’s why I walk out there.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Did you see that video of him dancing and sing with Justin Bieber?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “No, I didn’t, did he really?” I have seen Anderson dance and, I will tell you, he’s got some pretty good moves.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “You’re impressed?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “He’s a pretty good dancer, I will give him that. I caught him at a club one time dancing and was like, you’re a good pretty good dancer.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “You were at a club with Anderson Silva at the same time?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Well, he came to Portland, Oregon, my home town, yeah. He can move a little bit.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “I remember you saying that if he ever came to your home town that he’d get kicked out, that he’d get beat up.”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Well, he had to drop his pink t-shirts, crooked hats & earrings off at the front desk like a club house, that’s the only way I an assure his safe passage.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Now, you talk about Super Bowl weekend. Why that date? Has the UFC told you that’s the date?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “I have my reasons.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “How about Brazil? Wouldn’t that be something? I think they could do a 100,000-seat stadium (show), you vs. Anderson in Brazil. Does that even interest you?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “No, that does, that really does. If they sell 100,000 tix, I hope they collect them all. I hope they put them in a nice ball, turn them sideways, and shove them straight up their ass. That’s what they can do with the Brazilian crowd. We’re going to Las Vegas, Nevada, Super Bowl weekend, the biggest re-match in the history of this damn business. Chael Sonnen, true champion, versus Anderson Silva, the guy that wears 12 pounds of tin.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “And have they told you 100% that you are now the #1 contender?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “We’ll see.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “And by the way, what was it like dealing with the Texas commission considering some of the issues in the past? Were they fair and kind to you?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Well, you know, look, they don’t have to be kind to me. They’ve got a job to do, they’re professionals. They make the rules and I follow ’em, the same as any commission out there. I believe in commissions, I believe in rules, and I believe they should be followed.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Has the Chael Sonnen era begun or is this just the continuation of what you started in August of last year?”

CHAEL SONNEN: “Undefeated and undisputed. I’d say we’ve been at this a while.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

25 Responses to “Media, fans fawn all over Keith Kizer’s favorite UFC high-profile testosterone user”

  1. JR Kline says:

    never knew he was such a fan of pro wrestling….. whats next? coming back under a mask after he loses the loser leaves town match?

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    Now that is how you hype up a fight….

    He is having fun with it…. And making the fans enjoy it.

    • Joe says:

      This fight could be gigantic, potentially a watershed event for the UFC with Fox there to do the promotion. Can you imagine these two on halftime of an NFL playoff game? And best of all for the UFC, this fight is likely to deliver in terms of action and in a way that showcases all the components that go into the MMA game.

      As for the fight itself, I say Silva by sub once again. Sonnen was the best he’s ever been last night, particularly the way he used his jiu-jitsu to gain dominant positions on the ground (instead of just punching from guard as usual). However, he left himself open for subs at least twice, particularly the triangle Stann almost threw up before the bizarre referee standup.

  3. Kelvin Hunt says:

    How can you not like Chael Sonnen? He talks smack…and comes to fight…what more do you want?

  4. david m says:

    He has surpassed BJ Penn as my favorite fighter.

  5. RST says:

    Best post fight speech ever!

    And I sure do want to like Chael for doing what Dana should be doing as far as attempting to force anderson to fight or move before he ladida’s his way into his overpaid retirement in a weak cleared out division.

    But Chael let me down last time and I can’t forget it yet.
    Had it in his grasp and then blew it.
    And then double blew it.
    So he wins at talking, as usual, but I’ll wait to be genuinely impressed until I actually see it.

    • RST says:

      But I don’t like doing a rematch in brazil though.

      They’re 10 times worse then the usual drunk fratboys.

      anderson has been cruising long enough without letting him bring his whole country into the ring with him for his first genuine challenge in almost 4 years since Hendo.

  6. Jason Harris says:

    Anderson needs Sonnen, especially if like most of the champions he gets paid according to PPV buys. I heard the Rio card did something like 250k buys….Anderson DOES NOT draw on his own, his opponents tend to sell his fights.

    Chael could make the PPV huge. If Anderson is smart, he enjoys the extra bankroll Chael is bringing him.

    But who knows, maybe he’ll suddenly discover an injury that he hadn’t announced before like when it came time to rematch Hendo.

    • edub says:

      His injury was reported after the match. I sincerely doubt a fight with Dan Henderson would cause Silva to fake an injury, considering how little trouble he had with him last time out.

      • Jason Harris says:

        From 2009:
        http://www.mmafighting.com/2009/08/11/anderson-silvas-manager-not-interested-in-dropping-title-hende/

        White has hinted that Silva will defend his title against Dan Henderson next, but Soares said he doesn’t consider Henderson to be the top contender in the UFC’s middleweight division.

        “If he wants to be a valid contender, I think he should fight the winner of Nate Marquardt against Demian Maia [at UFC 102], and that will provide a true No.1 contender.”

        When asked what he plans to do if or when the UFC offers a Henderson title fight, Soares quickly replied that, “We’re going to explain to them our situation,” and that he thinks White “will listen.”

        “We’ll fight super-fights at 205 [pounds] until a valid contender comes up,” he said.

        —-

        Funny how when it came time to fight Hendo, they just wanted superfights at 205, then when it came time to fight Jones, they just want to fight at 185. Nevermind that instead of superfights Silva went on to fight Maia next.

        Another one from 2009:
        http://www.mmaconvert.com/2009/09/09/anderson-silva-vs-dan-henderson-ii-was-close-for-ufc-105/

        There was also UFC 105 in Manchester and a third unannounced show.

        There were two main events in play for those dates: Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson for the middleweight title and B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez for the lightweight title.

        When Jackson-Evans was in danger for Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., Penn-Sanchez was moved to that date. Then Silva, who had complained about facing Henderson again (Silva won via choke in March 2008), told company officials he would be undergoing surgery.

        ——-

        And if you keep looking, once Henderson had signed to Strikeforce, Anderson no longer needed surgery and was OK to fight ASAP. Why would he duck him? You’d have to ask him. But he damn sure didn’t want to fight him.

        • edub says:

          There’s a clear reason why Soares (not to much mention of Anderson in those articles)doesn’t want Anderson to fight Hendo from those article. Except it has nothing to do with ducking. It’s that Anderson crushed Henderson in their first fight and he doesn’t consider him to be much of a valid challenger. He spoke of fighting Patrick Cote more than he did of fighting Henderson a second time.

          And I would completely agree with Soares 2 years ago (2009), that Henderson still wasn’t a very compelling match up for Anderson to go against after the dominant performance in the first fight.

        • Jason Harris says:

          Ed Soares coming out saying Anderson has to rehab an injury and hinting they may not even take the fight:

          http://mmajunkie.com/news/25620/silvas-camp-sonnen-crossed-a-line-not-in-position-to-determine-champs-return-date.mma?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mmajunkie+%28MMAjunkie.com+Feed%29

          “Chael is not the person that’s going to determine when [Silva] is going to take the fight,” Soares said. “When he’s going to take this fight is when his shoulder is completely healed up, and he’s ready to start his training camp for the fight.

          “It’s not because Chael says he wants to fight in February. Who is Chael to determine that? Chael needs to take a number and wait his turn. He got his opportunity, and he tapped. It’s not the first time he’s tapped, and I guarantee you it won’t be the last.”

        • edub says:

          What does any of that have to do with Dan Henderson?

        • edub says:

          Dan Henderson isn’t Chael. He didn’t beat the top contenders at 185 to challenge Silva, and he was barely competitive in the two rounds they fought against each other.

          And for all the articles you posted, nothing was said about Dana trying to get Dan to fight Marquardt for a chance to challenge Silva. Does this mean that Dan Henderson was ducking Marquardt.

          Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson are different people.

        • Kelvin Hunt says:

          Soares isn’t saying that they aren’t taking the fight…what he is implying is that Anderson Silva is the champion..and he’ll fight when he’s good and ready…not just because Sonnen throws a date out there(Superbowl weekend). I’m pretty sure Anderson Silva fears no man…

        • Jason Harris says:

          I was comparing the situations. When they didn’t like the Henderson fight, they were hemming and hawing in the press about Anderson’s health and him needing surgery. When that fight was torpedoed and Henderson was out of the picture, surgery was no longer necessary.

          Sonnen is pushing for the Silva fight, and now his management is hemming and hawing in the press about Anderson rehabbing an injury. Reading stuff like “Chael needs to take a number and wait his turn. He got his opportunity, and he tapped.” doesn’t make me think they want the fight. Wait his turn? Does someone else have a turn in front of him?

          I have respect for the skill of Anderson Silva, but he’s no more skilled than a guy like Lyoto Machida. He just fights in the most shallow division in MMA. If he was fighting the level of competition Machida fights, his record would look the same. Big fish, small pond.

        • edub says:

          “Sonnen is pushing for the Silva fight, and now his management is hemming and hawing in the press about Anderson rehabbing an injury. Reading stuff like “Chael needs to take a number and wait his turn. He got his opportunity, and he tapped.” doesn’t make me think they want the fight. Wait his turn? Does someone else have a turn in front of him?”

          Dude, were not talking about Sonnen here. I think his management is setting up an out to not fight Sonnen. The problem is Chael Sonnen is not Henderson, and Dan had very little success against Anderson which is the complete opposite of what Chael did to him.

          You keep bringing up things from the past, but don’t bring up the fact that for the all the hinting Dana did, he never flat out said Henderson was the #1 contender. Even after the Bisping KO he said he had to earn it against Nate, and Dan wouldn’t take that fight. He took the big contract from SF, and went to fight Jake Shields.

          “I have respect for the skill of Anderson Silva, but he’s no more skilled than a guy like Lyoto Machida.”

          That’s your opinion, as your entitled to one. Not much validity should be given to it though.

          Anderson has proved time in and time out that he is the best PFP fighter in the world. With only one guy ever coming close to beating him in the UFC.

          Him ducking Chael is a perfectly legitimate argument. Him ducking Henderson, not so much.

        • Jason Harris says:

          “Dude, were not talking about Sonnen here.”

          Perhaps you aren’t. Check the subject line.

          “Dan had very little success against Anderson “

          Go back and watch the fight. Henderson put Anderson on his ass and was smothering him on the ground, then went out looking for his BIG RIGHT HAND and Anderson tagged him with a punch. Winning round 1 clearly then losing in the beginning of r2 is “very little success”? Different definitions, I suppose.

          “Anderson has proved time in and time out that he is the best PFP fighter in the world.”

          Anderson is a very talented fighter in an extremely thin division with a manager that makes sure he fights beatable guys. How you get declared the greatest ever with wins over guys like Maia, Lietes, Lutter, Cote is beyond me. Internet forums drink the kool-aid hard on Anderson, nobody else is buying is which is why Dana White is out there telling the world he’s the greatest P4P fighter because Silva can’t sell a PPV to save his life (check the numbers for UFC Rio if you don’t believe me).

          The division was awful before Silva got there, Franklin was defending against guys like Nate Quarry before Anderson got a shot after 1 win (because the division was so desperate for contenders). The competition hasn’t gotten much better. There are no big fights at MW so most guys go down to WW if they’re small or up to 205 if they’re big. Or if you want a hardcore internet fanbase to say you’re the best eva! you stay at MW and beat up on lesser competition.

          Regardless, the game begins again and now we’re watching Soares try to protect Silva by planting the seeds of Sonnen not deserving the fight. Of course. Unfortunately for them, Sonnen generated enough heat on the PPV that there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that they’re ducking the fight if they do. Sonnen might just have been smart enough to put their backs against the wall.

        • edub says:

          Yes, apparently different definitions, and different views of the fight. You are obviously on the side that a round where Henderson got a takedown, then held on for dear life was some type of monumental achievement. When all it was the aforementioned “holding on for dear life”. The second was more than Dan just missing on one right hand. He was picked apart on the feet then on the ground. He then gave up his neck, when Anderson could’ve really just kept punching for the finish.

          The fight wasn’t close.

          As for this “Perhaps you aren’t. Check the subject line.”

          That’s why I said WE (in caps just for you), because I took umbridge with one simple line: “But who knows, maybe he’ll suddenly discover an injury that he hadn’t announced before like when it came time to rematch Hendo.”

          That’s the only thing I’m discussing with you at this point. I don’t care what your opinions are on Sonnen (or frankly any other road you try to take this conversation down), if I did I would have said something about that. I called you out because you implied that Anderson ducked Henderson, when the timeline and statements (not just the two articles you look up) imply that he just didn’t seem to think Henderson was worthy of a rematch. Which in turn was a view shared by Dana White.

          “How you get declared the greatest ever with wins over guys like Maia, Lietes, Lutter, Cote is beyond me.”

          Strawman. He’s not considered the best fighter in MMA’s short history because of those wins, it’s because of wins over Nate, Chael, Yushin, Rich, Forrest, Dan, and Sakurai.

          “because Silva can’t sell a PPV to save his life (check the numbers for UFC Rio if you don’t believe me).”

          One, something I already know. Two, another example of something that has no pertainance to this conversation.

          He’s naturally a 185lb fighter. He’s just cleared out the entire division. Shields could easily have stayed at 185 to fight him, he didn’t. Diaz could’ve called him out instead of GSP, he didn’t. 185 lbs is probably just in behind HW for thinnest division in MMA, however it still doesn’t preclude the fact that Anderson has dominated everybody put in front of him (including top 5 guys from multiple divisions).

          He has the best record against high ranked competition in the sports history. One slip will see the French-Canadian pass him by, but til then he is rightfully looked at as the best we have seen.

          “Regardless, the game begins again and now we’re watching Soares try to protect Silva by planting the seeds of Sonnen not deserving the fight. Of course. Unfortunately for them, Sonnen generated enough heat on the PPV that there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that they’re ducking the fight if they do. Sonnen might just have been smart enough to put their backs against the wall.”

          Are you just talking to yourself here, or what?

  7. edub says:

    I can’t wait for the odds to come out. I’m most likely taking Chael. Especially if he is above +200.

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