UFC on FOX 2: Chael Sonnen and His 10 Best Quotes

The Chael Sonnen show has been gathering pace in the lead-up to his co-main-event clash with Michael Bisping at UFC on FOX 2 this Saturday. Though by Sonnen-esque standards the trash talking has been kept to a minimum, where there’s a Sonnen there’s a quote and a sound bite to both shock and entertain the masses in equal measure.

"Love him or hate him" is one the biggest clichés going, but it’s a cliché that will never become blasé whilst Uncle Chael’s oratory skills are on display.

Sonnen is the most intriguing combatant to have ever graced the MMA stage—his verbal magniloquence is par excellence.

Long story short: In the realm of MMA promotional expertise, Chael P. Sonnen is nonpareil.

Enough with the encomiums—here’s a look at those quotes.

10. There’s Only One Chael P. Sonnen

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I don't like the way Bisping talks. I don't like the way a lot of these guys talk when it comes to Anderson. They all want to talk about their shot, their shot, their shot.

I don't want a shot. I've never asked Dana White for a shot at the title. I want the title, there's a tremendous difference between my mindset and everybody else's.

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He doesn’t like the way Bisping talks about Silva—hell, he doesn’t even like the manner in which the rest of middleweight division speaks about Silva and their shot at the crown.

Everyone can talk up a title shot with the Brazilian native. However, all Sonnen wants is the belt strapped around his waist.

When it comes to verbal brilliance, there is Sonnen and when it comes to having a dissimilar mindset towards championship glory, again there is Sonnen.

Succinctly put, he’s in a league of his own.

Uncle Chael has spoken.

9. Chael Sonnen and His Affiliation With God

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"You know, these guys want to talk about God. 'Oh, I want to thank God. I want to thank God.' Listen, I'm a God-fearing man, go to church every Sunday and have since I was a boy. But if I ever found out that God cared one way or another about a borderline illegal fist-fight on Saturday night, I would be so greatly disappointed that it would make rethink my entire belief system."

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The ex-realtor makes no bones about the fact that he’s indeed a God-revering person, but should His Holiness show any aversion to two guys throwing down in a steel cage then there’ll be trouble on the horizon.

Even the creator is not safe from a tongue-lashing from the great orator.

8. Mike Tyson and Anderson Silva Are Fake

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"Anderson Silva is as fake as Mike Tyson was. They called him the hardest, ‘the baddest man in the world’ but he wasn’t even the toughest guy in America and we had to sit through and listen to that over and over again as he fought lots of tomato cans. Anderson Silva has no interested (sic) in the fight with me and I don’t know what his deal is …"

"

If and when he gets that proposed title shot and if he comes up trumps, then maybe, just maybe Uncle Chael will leave the “The Spider” alone. But don’t bet on it.

That said, Uncle Chael’s comments were a bit rich given his dismal record of 26-11-1 in MMA and 5-4 in UFC fights.

Silva is currently riding a 15-fight winning streak with a record nine title defenses to boot.

Conversely, at 20, Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever, successfully defending his titles on nine separate occasions and fought some of the best fighters of his generation.

Come Jan. 28, Sonnen had better make sure he doesn’t have the digits 55 on his UFC record.

7. That Elusive 185-lb Belt

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"One night, one moment, twelve pounds of gold," he said when asked what he hopes his legacy will be. "This will all be a colossal failure if I don't have that one night.”

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Sonnen once had the UFC Holy Grail within his grasp—and like that it was gone. At UFC 117 and with less than two minutes on the clock, Anderson “The Spider” Silva wrecked his title aspirations courtesy of a triangle armbar submission.

He now has the opportunity to yet again vie for the coveted 185-lb crown, but only if he can put a halt to the British invasion that is Michael “The Count” Bisping at UFC on FOX 2.

A defeat will have serious implications for the Oregon native. For one, a rematch with Silva would be dead in the water and, more importantly, leaving his legacy of being a "colossal failure" will more or less be set in stone.

6. Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

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"You are asking me why there is so much interest in my fighting Michael Bisping, all I can say is this—they always come out in their droves to watch me fight."

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With the minimum of trash talking leading up to his co-main event with Bisping, some might think it amazing that tickets for UFC on FOX 2 show have already been sold out. However, those in the know are privy to the fact that it’s almost solely down to one Chael P. Sonnen and his promotional skills.

The headline act featuring 205-pounders Rashad Evans and Phil Davis doesn’t have that kind of clout to make such a financial impact on a Zuffa-promoted show, but Sonnen’s does—he knows it and so do we.

He’s a fighter first, but he’s ShowBizNiz 24/7.

5. Poet Laureate

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"You're looking at the reflection of perfection. You're looking at the man who gets all your attention. You're looking at the man with the biggest arm. At the man, with the greatest charm, the man in Chicago who will do harm to the guy three doors down.

Whatcha gonna do, when you know who? Howya gonna deal, with the man of steel? How ya gonna react to Sonnen's attack? Tune in on the 28th! 8 p.m. Eastern Time! You'll find out who the real champion is."

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At the UFC on FOX 2 press conference in Chicago, Sonnen showed off his poetic skills akin to the form of rhyming couplets, something I’m sure Muhammad Ali—“The Greatest”—if he were present, would’ve been mightily impressed with.

That said, Uncle Chael is missing one thing—a rhyme that predicts Bisping’s fate come fight night.

4. Chael Sonnen Believes He’s the UFC Middleweight Champion

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"Well, for those of you who can't see, this is the championship belt that I took from Anderson Silva. In this country, possession is 9/10 of the law. Finders keepers, losers weepers. If he wants it back, he knows where he can find it."

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In a recent interview on ESPN2’s Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable, Sonnen appeared with a replica UFC belt and pronounced that he was champion of the UFC 185-lb division.

The above quote is Sonnen’s take on how he came to be in possession of the Ultimate Fighting Championship belt, which he again had on his person at the UFC on FOX pre-event press conference in Chicago.

Still, it seems that Sonnen hasn’t cottoned on that no matter how dominant you are during a combative matchup, if your hand ain’t raised at the end of the proceedings, it more or less indicates that you lost the bout.

The 9/10 of law that Sonnen alluded to highly favors “The Spider,” as he’s still in possession of the coveted title.

3. The Ace of Spades

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"You know, I think Bisping does a lot of stuff really well. The biggest problem he's got is that he just drew the Ace of Spades. I'm not just another fighter on the roster or a middleweight. I'm the middleweight champion; undefeated and undisputed. I can beat any man God ever made. Michael Bisping does not survive."

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In an interview on ESPN Radio, the self-proclaimed “American Gangster” went all verbal thuggarocious on “The Count.”

If this is the Sonnen that shows up on fight night, Bisping’s going to be in a whole world of pain.

Ace of Spades he might be, but undefeated and the middleweight champion—I think not.

2. Sonnen Is MMA Royalty and Bisping Is a Snot-Nosed Brit

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"I am going to knock the teeth out of this snot-nosed Brit who calls himself royalty, who calls himself a Count," Sonnen wasted no time in declaring. "I am MMA royalty and America will tune into the Chael Sonnen show next Saturday on Fox."

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Sonnen, ever the supreme promoter, first lambasts Michael Bisping whilst at the same time questioning his authenticity as a Count (which he’s not, I might add), before claiming to be royalty himself and for the coup de grâce, he expertly promotes the UFC on FOX 2 event.

Genius would be an understatement.

1. Chael Patrick Sonnen: CEO Zuffa, LLC Promotions

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"Does anyone here know there is a fistfight going on in the United Center on Saturday night, at 8 p.m. in the East and 5 in the West, and yours truly will be headlining it? Is anybody here aware of that? Do you know that Chael Sonnen Promotions, in conjunction with Zuffa, is putting on UFC on Fox 2 this Saturday? Have we talked about that yet? Does anybody know that yet?"

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Taking centre stage within close proximity to the Chicago White Sox stadium, Sonnen held court amongst the folk who had congregated to witness the master rhetorician at work—he didn’t disappoint.

First he went all politician on the native Chicagoan peeps—sharing his thoughts on Stop Online Piracy Act, Protect IP Act and the president, Barack Obama.

And then boom—Sonnen’s alter ego took over. The personification of entertainment did what it said on the tin: entertained.

In true essence, the Sonnen show had arrived in Chicago.

UFC on FOX 2 is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2012, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

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