MMA: 10 People Who Would Love to Shut Up Chael Sonnen

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Chael Sonnen is without a doubt the best trash talker that MMA has ever seen. Only a very minute number of fighters can match or come close to Sonnen's elite level of trash talk.

There is no criteria for Sonnen when he challenges a fighter. It is almost like he throws a dart at a board with pictures of fighters on it and whoever the dart lands on is his target for the day.

For example, the size of Sonnen's victim is no problem for him as he has called out fighters in almost every division most notably the heavyweight division where he has called out the likes of Brock Lesnar.

Is the fighter a status or an icon? Doesn't matter if you are Chael Sonnen as he has irked some of the most illustrious and celebrated fighters in MMA including Wanderlei Silva and "Minotauro" Nogeuira.

Not even whole nations are safe from Sonnen as he has recently added the nations of Croatia and Brazil to his hit-list with his comments.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Sonnen is a great entertainer and a great fighter and he is quite funny with some of the stuff he says. But there are some things that he says which borders or even crosses the imaginary lines of what are socially immoral comments to make.

Some would argue that what Sonnen says if of comedic genius. Others would say that is verbal diarrhea.

Whatever your opinion is, you can not deny the fact that Sonnen has made many enemies that would love nothing more than to shut him up.

Here are but a few of those enemies that Sonnen has made.

Georges St-Pierre

Chael Sonnen on GSP:

'If GSP said he wanted to fight me, the first thing I would say is the same thing I say every time I hear GSP talk: 'Dang it that guy sounds like a French-Canadian Minnie Mouse. That's the first thing I'd say. Then I'd say, 'Hey, GSP, let me ask you a serious question–do you have a designated driver? Do you have someone to get you home safely? Because clearly you are intoxicated'. GSP, do you have a hankering for pain? GSP, did you lose a bet with God? GSP, bring your $3,000 suit, bring your $3 date and get the three-cent tan knocked off your socialist back.' If you see GSP, give him that message for me."

I know what you are thinking; How could anyone say anything bad about GSP?

Again, GSP is another fighter who has gone through his career without saying a bad word about his opponents and he is loved and respected by many for that.

However, we all know GSP is a great trash talker. I mean, who could ever forget the blistering verbal assault he unleashed on Matt Hughes when GSP said he was not impressed by Matt's performance.

I kid.

GSP is too nice a person to talk smack and is probably the most popular fighter in the world at the moment because of his humble personality. When Sonnen decided to focus his attention on him, many fans turned on Sonnen.

Michael Bisping

Chael Sonnen on Michael Bisping via Twitter:

"It's for the best. After I got through with Bisping the only person that would ask for his signature is FedEx."

Jorge Rivera managed to get under the skin of Bisping with a few tame videos. Bisping went on to spit at Rivera's cornermen and even threw an illegal knee to the head of Rivera which Bisping claims was unintentional.

What I want to know is how Bisping will react to the words of the pound-for-pound best trash talkers in the world.

Bisping was humbled after his humiliating knock out loss to Dan Henderson but in his recent run-in with Jorge Rivera, Bisping showed he would not just watch and listen as someone mocks him and it may only be a matter of time before Bisping responds to Sonnen and attempts to shut him up.

Unlike any of Bisping's past opponents, with the exception of Jorge Rivera, Sonnen is the only one with the potential of delivering a (T)KO using words alone and without even throwing a strike. The verbal warfare between the two would be one for the ages.

Wanderlei Silva

Chael Sonnen on Wanderlei Silva via Twitter:

"Axe Murderer, my Ass. I'm more intimidated by Axe Body Spay."

Wanderlei on Chael Sonnen in an interview with Ariel Helwani:

"I kill him."

By now, you should have realized that Chael Sonnen has alienated just about every Brazilian fighter there ever was.

"The Axe Murderer" was one of the most recent targets of Sonnen's threats and jibes and the scariest man in MMA replied with a simple threat of his own, stating he will kill Sonnen.

The funny thing is, Sonnen can say all he wants about Wanderlei behind a computer screen, but when he was face to face with Wanderlei and Sonnen started trashing the Nogueira brothers, Sonnen received a subtle warning from Wanderlei, who said people who talk trash in Brazil tend to lose teeth and all of a sudden, Sonnen was very quiet and timid.

Wanderlei would love to shut up Sonnen, as the above quote shows, because of the disrespect Sonnen has shown to fighters and the nation of Brazil.

Skip to 3:52 of the video to watch the only recorded moment of Chael Sonnen lost for words.

Lyoto Machida

Chael Sonnen on Lyoto Machida and Karate via Twitter:

"I would never bash karate. Karate produced many MMA champions, most notably...um...then of course, there's...wow, I thought this would be easier."

Sonnen shot himself in the foot with this comment because Karate has actually produced many MMA champions. In fact, the very person Sonnen was addressing, Lyoto Machida, practices Shotokan Karate and is a former Light Heavyweight Champion.

Georges St-Pierre and Bas Rutten practice Kyokushin Kaikan and Chuck Liddell practices Kenpo and they are/were some of the most prolific champions in MMA history.

Machida proved to the world Karate has a place in MMA when he displayed fantastic skill and technique when he pulled off a flying front kick to the face of Randy Couture and subsequently knocked him out.

However, Sonnen remains a critic of Karate and is outspoken about it as the quote above shows.

If a fight between Sonnen and Machida was set up, we would see Machida look to knock out Sonnen with his Karate skills and shut Sonnen up.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller

Chael Sonnen on Jason Miller via Twitter:

"Comment on Mayhem how? In terms of his coaching contract, or generally not being worth the gas that brings his fifty-cent hair dye from China?"

The trash talk leading up to this fight would undoubtedly be some of the greatest trash talking we will ever see in all of sports and will be of astronomical proportions.

Jason Miller is one of the most entertaining fighters in and out of the ring/cage and is a very skilled practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which he has used to submit the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba.

When it was announced that "Mayhem" and Bisping would be the coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter," Sonnen couldn't wait to give his two cents and he took to Twitter to give his opinion on the coaches.

We haven't heard much about Miller's opinion on Sonnen but we all know if Miller was to respond, we would witness one of the best verbal exchanges we will ever see in MMA between the best trash talkers in the sport and two of the best in all of sports.

The two have actually fought before where Sonnen picked up a unanimous decision win over Miller but a rematch between the two is very enviable as the jawing leading up to the fight would be of legendary proportions.

Anderson Silva

There are a plethora of quotes from Chael Sonnen bashing Anderson Silva. Here is one of them.

Chael Sonnen on losing to Anderson Silva:

"I should be the reigning champion. I punch a guy 300 times, he punches me a couple and they call him the champion? In what parallel universe does that make you the winner? I am the champion."

Anderson Silva beat Chael Sonnen nearly a year ago and Sonnen is still ranting and raving about why he is the champion and why he is the better fighter.

Sonnen looked like he was going to win the championship until Silva managed to achieve one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history and submit Sonnen after getting beaten around for four-and-a-half rounds.

The irony lies in the fact Sonnen was mocking Anderson's and the Nogueira brother's submission abilities in the lead up to the fight, only for him to get submitted by Anderson who has been coached by the Nogueira brothers for many years.

One could argue Sonnen is still bitter about losing to Anderson Silva and that is why he continues to taunt and ridicule Anderson Silva.

If a rematch between the two was set up, Anderson would love nothing more than to shut up Sonnen for good and we would be very likely to see a completely different Anderson SIlva than the one we saw fight Sonnen back in UFC 117.

Brock Lesnar

Chael Sonnen on Brock Lesnar at the UFC 115 Q&A:

"If Brock Lesnar was here right now, I'd take my boot off and throw it at him, and he'd better polish it up before he brings it back to me," Sonnen said. "Talking about he's the baddest guy in the UFC? Brock, quit eating so many raw eggs and doing push-ups because it's affecting your realm of reality. Are you kidding me? I'd slap you in your face, and you wouldn't do anything."

"'I'm Brock Lesnar. I've got this $5 haircut and a knife tattooed on my chest.' I'll shove it up your face if you get in Chael Sonnen's way."

Brock Lesnar's reply in an interview with Jim Rome:

"I don't know who he is...is he a fighter?"

Brock Lesnar is one of the most physically imposing men to compete in this sport. It would be understandable if someone in his own weight class called him out, but for someone who is two weight classes below heavyweight to call him out takes serious courage.

The only man with the balls and the tenacity to call out a man who is much bigger than everyone really, is Chael Sonnen.

Brock Lesnar is famous for cutting off all ties to the outside world over the time he is not fighting so it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't actually know who Sonnen is.

If Chael Sonnen said what he said in the above quote to you, you would feel a little bit annoyed. However, in an interview conducted shortly after Sonnen made this comment, Lesnar seemed to not even care in the slightest and claimed he had never even heard of Chael Sonnen.

Lesnar can give as good as he takes. When he worked in the WWE, he was blessed with the opportunity to work with phenomenal entertainers such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his experience with the WWE helped to hone his mic skills.

Skip to 7:52 to see Brock Lesnar confused.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Chael Sonnen on the Nogueira Brothers at the UFC 115 Q&A:

“I think a black belt under the Nogueiras is saying, like, ‘I got a free toy in my Happy Meal.'"

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Sonnen:

"Sonnen is a kid who does not know what he’s talking about, who thinks it’s cute to do this type of marketing. Sonnen is a guy who never practiced a martial art in his life. He doesn’t know what respect or leadership is. He never respected any teacher, so he said those things. He’s a guy who has no respect for anything. Wanderlei gave him an earful at the right time and I was pleased. After the fight with Anderson, Sonnen has apologized for the comments he made toward us. I think marketing yourself is fine, but what he said indicated a real lack of respect toward us...Sonnen was totally wrong. It was a great lack of respect toward us. The guy talked too much, and even though he was doping, he still lost to Anderson. Even with Anderson hurt and Sonnen doped, Anderson still defeated him. God is just."

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira are two of the most humble and respectful athletes in sports and have virtually gone through their entire careers without saying a bad word about anyone.

However, Chael Sonnen's outrageous comments about the Nogueira brothers and their friends and allies prompted the icons to reply.

Sonnen insulted the Nogueira brothers with the above statement at the UFC 115 Q&A session.

However, Big Nog has finished 20 of his 32 wins via submission and has never been submitted himself, one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

Sonnen disparaged the Nogueira brother's submission skills and the world would love to see Sonnen take on Minotauro who would look to submit Sonnen and show him why he is one of the greatest BJJ fighters in the world.

Mirko "Cro-Cop"

Sonnen on "Cro-Cop":

“A member of the Croatian parliament couldn’t get his own mother out of a speeding ticket. What are they going to do, lead their 200 strong military into a battle? My hometown could invade Croatia in 15 minutes and while Mirko stands there holding a dart and a spitball, you will understand what he was really elected to".

"Cro-Cop's" reply via an interview with gol.hr translated by middleeasy.com and sherdog:

"I never trash talk anyone and I never go low on that level. Who is that guy Chael Sonnen? I remember his face," said Filipovic. "I'm not the first one he has targeted. The last time I was at the UFC, I asked a high-ranking UFC official is (Sonnen) really crazy or just hungry for shameless promotion? The UFC guy told me: He's both. So that says it all. he is both a crazy person and hungry for promotion."

"…I'm not angry or anything at Sonnen, but I will say one thing, I hope nobody gets offended, I don't want to sound disgusting…but you can see on that guy's face that he is limited and stupid and his IQ is not higher than the size of the shoes he's wearing. His way of communication, his idiotic rambling and mockery about legends such as Minotauro, Fedor, Wanderlei Silva and me, the people whose fame he will never reach. I can't be mad at him because he doesn't understand some things, like a little child..."

"This is democracy, any idiot can say whatever they want," he said. "I just wish if he had 20 kilos (44 lbs) more, I would kick his a** so hard that the steam would be blowing out of his impolite a**. Or maybe if he comes in Croatia as a tourist one of these days, I hope to find him at the beach and have a little 'conversation with him."

Ouch.

Not even the legendary "Cro-Cop" is safe from Sonnen's words.

Just like the Nogueira brothers, "Cro-Cop" is one of the most humble and respectful figures in the sport but Sonnen managed prompt "Cro-Cop" to hit back at Sonnen with some harsh words of his own.

The above quote shows when provoked, "Cro-Cop" is as good as Sonnen when it comes to trash talking.

Even though a fight between the two will never happen, the war of the words is entertaining and a victor is yet to be determined.

Watch "Cro-Cop" respond to Sonnen in the video.

Dana White

Isaac Brekken/Getty Images

Hear me out on this one.

The UFC is the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world.

The UFC is trying to expand into other countries and one of the countries that the UFC is trying to expand into is Brazil.

If Chael Sonnen continues on his crusade against Brazilian fighters and continues to insult the nation of Brazil, would Brazil support the UFC if it was to expand into that country if one of the most influential fighter under contract for them constantly barrages the nation with insults?

However, in the USA, Chael Sonnen is without a doubt one of the most marketable fighters that the UFC has under contract because of his skills as a fighter and of course, his skills as a trash talker.

Millions of people tune in to see him fight, whether it is to see him get shut up or to see him win, the fact of the matter is, Chael Sonnen is a big draw for the UFC and can generate large revenue for the organization.

But, when Chael Sonnen's words conflicts with Dana White's business interests, it may be plausible to say that Dana sometimes wishes that Sonnen would keep quiet.

Furthermore, Dana wishes to take the sport of MMA to New York and the committee who decides upon the fate of MMA in New York will pick at any thing that is of a controversial nature to argue against bringing MMA to New York and some of Chael Sonnen's very questionable comments could provide a foundation for an argument for those who don't want to see MMA legalized in New York.