Chael Sonnen is already writing checks with his mouth.
Sonnen took to the microphone to show off his usual skills in the aftermath of a bizarre five-round boxing bout with longtime Brazilian rival Anderson Silva. Because the bout was structured as an exhibition, there was no official winner, but Silva appeared to dominate Sonnen in the fifth round. MMA Fighting scored the bout 50-45 in favor of Silva.
Sonnen didn't think so.
“I thought I won the first three rounds,” Sonnen told media after the fight. “You have to understand that he let me win the first round. He always lets me win the first round. That's part of his strategy, finding out who you are. He lets everybody win the first round. I did the same thing in the second and third rounds that I did in the first round.”
“But somewhere in the fourth round I started to feel unwell, I had a nosebleed or something so they called the doctor. It was like, you know, I'm making it look a lot worse than it actually was. I won two of the three rounds but I thought I won the fight.”
Sonnen often brags that not only is he undefeated (in fact, he's 31-17-1 in MMA), but he also beat Silva in their previous UFC bouts. At UFC 117, Sonnen out-grappled Silva for over 20 minutes before Silva caught Sonnen with an arm-triangle in the fifth round. In their rematch at UFC 148, Silva won by TKO in the second round.
Sonnen explained that he still has the advantage over “The Spider” due to his liberal interpretation of how the bout will be scored.
“You have to understand, my last two fights, whether I like it or not, were stoppage losses, so a draw is a big step in the right direction,” Sonnen said. “On the other hand, I won all six rounds I fought Anderson Silva. He never won a round against me, and that's the reality of it.”
“Tonight, he won the round, so the draw means a lot to me and winning the round means a lot to him.”
Silva has yet to reveal his plans after the third bout with Sonnen, but Sonnen's camp is unclear as to what happens next: he wants to face fellow former UFC star Jorge Masvidal.
“All of this was just part of the process,” Sonnen said. “I was boxing Jorge Masvidal. I was called to the fight and I agreed to the fight. It's all part of the training process and I learned some things tonight. Anderson got in a good mood and he tricked me a lot, and I don't like to be tricked there. I like to see that unfold. But, I mean, he moves one way and hits you with the other hand, shows you the right hand and hits you with the left. He's very tricky, very quick.”
“I say that because he's over 50 years old. If he can trick me and get his hands on me, I'm going to have to respect Jorge Masvidal a lot more than I think I do.”
Masvidal is currently scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a boxing match on July 6. Masvidal regularly exchanges harsh words with Sonnen in public, and Sonnen hasn't hesitated to respond.
Once the issues between Masvidal and Diaz are resolved, Sonnen expects the former “BMF” champion to follow through on everything he’s been saying and face him in the ring.
“To be fair, Masvidal is a little overrated in his own mind,” Sonnen said. “I can't remember the last time he won a fight. He threatened me, saying, 'I'm not going to use my right hand. I'm going to put that in the contract.' I said, 'Okay, you idiot, put that in the contract. I'm not asking for that, but put it in.' And he said, 'I'll pay you $10 million.' I'm not asking for $10 million, but again, you idiot, put that in the contract. Just keep saying it.”
“The situation with Jorge Masvidal is only getting worse. Some guys I'll play with, some guys I won't. Put me in the 'no' category. If you don't want to fight me, don't try.”
