New Chael Sonnen Interview – Not Fit for Print?
From: Ring Girl
Member Since: 3/13/03
Posts: 8008
Hey everybody —
I had the fortune to do an interview with Chael recently for a website on spec…but it turns out they weren’t comfortable with the content of the interview in the end. So, lucky for you guys — you get it posted right here for you! Some classic Sonnen gems in here…
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Becca Borawski: What made you decide to go into MMA and what age were you when you made that decision? Was your family supportive?
Chael Sonnen: I watched the UFC at my friend Jeff’s house when I was a junior in high school. I knew right then that I wanted to do it. I was a wrestler and I only wrestled as a way to find out “who was the toughest.” At the time, the best wrestler in the World was the best fighter in the world. UFC replaces, or at least supplements, that barometer.
BB: Aside from the technical skills you learned, what do you think your wrestling background gave you that has been helpful in MMA?
CS: Discipline. Wrestling is so hard and has such a long season, longer than any other sport that calls itself tough. Please understand that an MMA guy weighs in 3 times a year, and fighters barely “make weight” for their matches. Wrestlers weigh in twice a week. MMA guys get so wrapped up in the minutiae of their training that they over think EVERYTHING: their strategy, their diet, even their walkout music. A wrestler shows up having no idea who else will, and takes on all comers, all in the same day.
BB: Do you have any advice for someone who does NOT have that background, who may have come into martial arts in their teens or twenties instead of as a child? Is there something they can focus on to make up for that?
CS: Train with Team Blackhouse. For someone who lacks the lifelong foundation but still wants to make it big, you need as many shortcuts and shoddy tactics as you can possibly get. That’s where Blackhouse makes its name. You’ll learn how to kick like a fighting chicken, drink urine, ballet dance for five rounds, stab wealthy people in back alleys, rely solely on a translator, and carry yourself with the limp-wristed swagger and self possession of an aging action star who was never that good in the first place.
As you know, I am deeply immersed in gang activity. That is why when Anderson comes to Oregon, he must drop his earrings, crooked hats, and pink shirts with Savannah at the front desk of Team Quest. This is the only way I can assure his safe passage.
BB: The landscape of MMA was very different when you were starting out and you travelled pretty far for a lot of your early fights – what was the process like of getting fights? Was it difficult? Did you have many options as far as opponents or did you take what you got?
CS: Fighters were hungrier then, hungrier for blood and hungrier for a chance to shine. Now a lot of them are just flat-out hungry. Look at how freakishly nonathletic the heavyweight division has become. I could watch two fat kids fight over an ice cream any day of the summer.
BB: Were there any great experiences, or a fight in particular in which you learned something really important, early on in your career?
CS: I learned that triangle chokes are the refuge of cowards who will never succeed in life or in MMA. I refuse to sink to their level. Take that kid Jason Miller. Jason Miller comes from the absolute bowels of obscurity. He’s so beneath my notice that if he was in a lineup with Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, I wouldn’t be able to pick him out.
BB: Is there anything you did in one of those early fights, or in preparation for one, that you would recommend someone else NOT do?
CS: I took every opportunity there was; I never said no to a match. There wasn’t enough competitions at that time, so I jumped at everything. I fought the #1 guy in the world 3 times just because nobody else would. Taking time to prepare is important. Being eager is fine, but at a certain point you are begging to get hurt.
BB: If someone came up to you, who had been training in MMA for a little bit and was thinking of putting themselves out there and taking an amateur fight – what reasons would you give them as to why they SHOULD do it? Especially if they don’t want to have a career – should someone do it just to test themselves?
B: Competition is great. It’s great for goal setting, for confidence, for realizing that your own capabilities are often far beyond what you thought they were, it’s great to be part of something beyond yourself, it’s a great way to make friends. It’s an experience that you will never forget and if it’s something you want to do, like anything in life, go out and do it.
BB: Even amateur fighters have a lot of options as far as organizations they can fight in. Having been both a promoter and a fighter, what would you tell an amateur fighter to look for when deciding whether or not to work with a certain promotion?
CS: I’m thinking of moving to an island just outside of the “10 mile mark.” I’ll be elected President and print my own money. Then Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson, Todd Bridges, Andy Dick, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and a few of my other close friends and I can carry on. Lindsay will join us in due time, once she gets her parole worked out. We’ll have a strict non-extradition policy, unless the person in question is from Blackhouse, in which case we’ll tie them to a spare ICBM and disinfect the beach where they landed.
BB: What are the most important things a fighter needs to find out about their opponent?
CS: Depends on the opponent. If it’s GSP you need to know that he wears a Speedo, shaves his body, and greases. If it’s Wanderlei you need to know that he is a real triple threat: stumble, fumble and fall. Anderson’s repertoire comes entirely from The Nutcracker ballet and the Karate Kid sequels, so write that down. Don’t let Lyoto exhale on you; it’s not dragon breath, it’s just generic piss and it’ll throw off your game. Big Nog and Little Nog are actually the same person, much like Michael and LaToya Jackson, so don’t sweat it if both of them call you out.
BB: One of the great things about fighting amateur is getting experience in front of the crowd – any advice on dealing with that stage fright/anxiety/pressure of being in the cage for the first time?
CS: Hey, remember when Matt Hamill tried to take Rampage down with a double and when it didn’t work he tried it 8 more times? Don’t be that guy. If something’s not working, don’t keep throwing it in the hopes that it’ll stick. That’s a free piece of advice for you, Bisping. The next one will cost you.
BB: How much do you think the actual numbers of an amateur record matter versus the experience a fighter gains by doing amateur fights, win or lose?
CS: A fighter’s best experiences will be within the amateur ranks. The camaraderie is different, and the rules are safer. It’s an incredible safety net for skill-building. Don’t worry about wins and losses, just compete. I lost my first amateur fight and re-matched that guy in the UFC. If you get caught up in W’s and L’s this sport isn’t for you. Remember, you have a 50% chance of failure. It’s only a 2 man sport. If you’re not taking something away from each and every fight, you’re going to end up like Wanderlei and Mark Coleman, gleefully slapping each other’s faces in a Japanese shaving commercial.
BB: As the sport becomes bigger and the pool of fighters becomes bigger, I think it is becoming more important for fighters to distinguish and market themselves, even on the amateur level. As someone who is rather infamous for your style of self-promotion, what advice would you give a young fighter as far as distinguishing themselves and creating their character?
CS: Fighters don’t have character, they are the lowest form of society like strippers, Mayhem Monkeys, and Josh Gross.
BB: With brevity in mind, what are the three most important pieces of information or advice you would give a new fighter?
CS: Get a coach: Everybody has a coach. Mike Tyson, Kobe, Tiger, they all have coaches. Listen to him and trust him.
Work hard: Lots of fighters have “training camps.” If you have to have a camp to train, you aren’t going to get very far. Get a workout room and show up everyday.
Focus on strengths: It’s better to have a single strength than half-hearted skill in ten martial arts.
