Chael Sonnen: You got to know how to lose
Chael Sonnen co-hosted the UFC on Fuel TV 4 weigh-ins today, and took the opportunity to shoot down rumors he…
Chael Sonnen co-hosted the UFC on Fuel TV 4 weigh-ins today, and took the opportunity to shoot down rumors he planned to appeal Saturday’s UFC 148 loss to champion Anderson Silva.
“Well, listen, the knee really hurt,” said Sonnen. “All those shots hurt. Here’s the reality. We don’t do instant replay in this sport and we shouldn’t. It comes down to a judgement call and wherever the referee says the knee landed officially, that’s where the knee landed. That’s an excellent official, they all are, he made his call and that’s the way it goes and I will never complain or look back.”
“Let’s make sure we don’t call it illegal. The referee’s judgement is what stands. I trust in that and it works both ways. I’ve thrown knees before, the referee makes his decision, that is the decision and we would never appeal it, except with knees. If we would have a chance to re-do it, that’s a different thing, but we would never go and appeal the decision. Part of competing is you got to know how to lose. It’s really easy to win, but you’ve got to know how to lose. Sometimes you have to man up, swallow it, and walk out.”
On potential retirement, Sonnen said now was not the time to talk about it, or even think about it.
“I don’t think any athlete should even begin to talk like that or even think like that,” he said. “You let about 30 days go by. Anything in life, you don’t want to make a decision based on emotion. You have very big highs and very big lows in this sport. You don’t want to make any drastic decisions. I think it’s an insult to the fans when guys like to come out and say ‘I’m retired.’ What they really mean is ‘Hey, I’ll see everyone in 18 months because I’m coming back.’ I don’t want to see that. When I get to that point in my career I’ll make a statement and never look back.”
In response to rumors he may go the WWE, Sonnen said he would love to go, to the stands.
“Well, listen. I tried to go to the WWE. It’s in Vegas, on the 16th of this month, but I was leaving Vegas. I’d love to go to WWE. I’d love to get my popcorn. I’d cheer on CM Punk, but I go back to my promoter, Dana White, at the end of the night.”
In response to the question “WHAT were you thinking?” Sonnen addressed the Spinnng Elbow to Hell that effectively ended the fight.
“You know, I really wish that I knew,” said Sonnen. “And I don’t know. Listen, had that landed, we’d all be talking about what a wonderful spinning punch it it was, but it didn’t and I fell down like a doofus.”
Finally, he expressed admiration for the champion.
“It’s very rare in a competition where a guy will fall apart and come back within the same night. … In my first fight with Anderson, he fell apart, and then at some point he said, you know what I think I can win this thing. And I really admire that in him. I look up to that in an athlete. He does that, Randy Couture does that really well. And Anderson did that in this fight as well. In the first round, he offered very little resistance and he came back strong.”
Chael Sonnen made a lot of fans with his epic, months-long, pre-fight trash talk. But he lost some, too. His exemplary post loss conduct is winning them back.
Through some unexpected, curious chemistry, Chael Sonnen is now providing the sport with a too often needed lesson in how to lose with dignity and class.