Chael Sonnen News

Drake Riggs - December 15, 2017

Two former UFC stars, Chael Sonnen and Rampage Jackson are now with Bellator and booked to compete against one another at Bellator 192 on January 20. This fight will be the very first fight to kick things off for the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix where the winner will be crowned Bellator’s new Heavyweight champion. This will be Sonnen’s first fight at Heavyweight and Rampage’s third. Each fighter has one loss in the promotion but Rampage has four times as many wins as Sonnen. It’s well known what type of fighter that Sonnen is. He’s one of the best and strongest pressure wrestlers that the Middleweight division has ever seen. Rampage, however, is known for his tremendous punch knockouts and ability to entertain on the feet. So it’s clear what each will want to do in this matchup and they have even admitted it after now appearing to place a rather interesting bet on their fight.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2017

Last month, in the lead-up to the UFC’s latest stop in Sydney, Australia, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum had a run-in with surging welterweight contender Colby Covington, during which Werdum ultimately threw a boomerang at Covington. Shortly thereafter, news surfaced that Covington planned to press charges against Werdum. Unsurprisingly, Werdum – and many members of the testosterone soaked MMA community – felt that Covington had violated some kind of unspoken code by going to the police. In the opinion of Chael Sonnen, however, it was Werdum, not Covington, that violated a code.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2017

Ever since Georges St-Pierre submitted Michael Bisping to win the UFC middleweight title, we’ve been speculating as to what might come next for him. While a title unifying showdown with Robert Whittaker is certainly the most logical option, his other options include bouts with welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and even lightweight champ Conor McGregor. In the ever-interesting opinion of Chael Sonnen, though, the Canadian champ is likely to land in the cage with Whittaker next. ‘I think that he’ll fight Robert Whitaker,” Sonnen said on the most recent episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I know that it’s done verbally on both sides with no agreement on date, but that was part of the contingency for George to take the Bisping fight. Should you win, you take Whitaker. He said yes. I know things change in this business but I expect George to be a man of his word and I expect him to be at all times and I know Whitaker would take the fight, and Dana White said it’s happening. I think for me to say anything different would be a little bit reckless, but let’s see what happens there.”

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Do not count Chael Sonnen among Colby Covington’s haters. No, “The Bad Guy” has actually become a big fan of his fellow Oregonian, and thinks that other fighters should be taking notes when Covington does his thing. “I think people can learn from Colby,” Sonnen said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “He’s going to be in that pool by himself, because all these crybabies can’t stand to hear anybody boo them. He’s just being himself and it’s what all fighters should do. We’ll see these fighters come out. They want to act like some religious angel or they’re the world’s nicest guy, when they’re nothing more than a dirty rotten cage fighter.”

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…”

Justin Golightly - November 25, 2017

Everywhere Tyron Woodley turns, Colby Covington is there: On television, on the Twitter, even sliding into comment sections on Facebook. However, his antics have drawn more attention than from just the UFC welterweight champion, he basically has an entire nation of Brazilians angry at him. Something that resulted in an altercation with heavyweight Fabricio Werdum in Australia. Chael Sonnen recently opened up about his kindred-spirit in trash talk, Colby Covington, praising the surging contender while condemning Werdum. “I love [Colby Covington]. I think he’s a ton of fun and what [Fabricio] Werdum did was a scumbag move. This is the second time Werdum has done this, don’t forget. Last time we saw him get into somebody, it was 155-pound Tony Ferguson. It was just really weird. That’s my piece on that. As far as Colby goes, listen, if you wanna make an omelet you’ve got to crack a few eggs. I remind you, I know Tyron Woodley since way back when and I saw Tyron do that same thing. He had a little bit of a different approach, but don’t make a mistake, Tyron Woodley stuck his finger in every single chest and used every single microphone he had to get his opportunity too.”

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

Though his widely discussed matchup with Chuck Liddell is apparently off the table, Chael Sonnen still has plenty of exciting options in the Bellator cage. Two of the most compelling of his options are heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, and former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald. And apparently, he expects both fights to happen. “I think it’s hard to imagine that that doesn’t happen,” Sonnen said of a potential fight with Fedor Emelianenko on the most recent episode of BJ Penn Radio. “We’re only about 20 pounds apart. I get up to about 216 pounds – maybe that’s a little heavy – but right in there, [around] 216. [Fedor has] weighed in pretty consistently at 236 for the last number of years. So, you’re only talking about 20 pounds. I know some people say ‘don’t do that fight, he’s too big,’ but we’re only talking about 20 pounds. When I started this thing, we didn’t have weigh-ins. I’ve never cared what a guy weighed. I will acknowledge that there’s an advantage at a certain point to a certain size, but 20 pounds man, that’s not very much.”

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.”

Tom Taylor - October 19, 2017

On November 4, in the main event of the stacked UFC 217, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will return from a lengthy layoff to battle Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title. Since this fight was announced, the odds have fluctuated quite a bit, and now, some outlets are listing the former champ St-Pierre as an underdog.

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.