UFC 148's Sonnen understands if 'fake Brazilian' Silva unhappy with venue change
LAS VEGAS – For months, it seemed one of the most-anticiapted rematches in UFC history would take place in front of 80,000 screaming Brazilians.
Instead, when the UFC was unable to secure a suitable Brazilian venue for Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II, the company moved the fight to Las Vegas, where it now serves as the headlining bout for UFC 148, which takes place July 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
While Sonnen (27-11-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will no longer find himself entering the proverbial lion's den, he admits he's a little disappointed he'll miss out on being a part of such a historic event. As for Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC), Sonnen believes he has a right to be upset, even if he is a "fake Brazilian," just like his countrymen Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
"I don't know that I fault him," Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "He was told he would get a fight in Brazil. He, like Wanderlei and like Vitor, pretend to people they're from Brazil, even though they left over a decade ago. Vitor and Wanderlei live in gated communities in Las Vegas. Wanderlei drives an Aston Martin, OK? He lives in an American home and drives a $200,000 car made in England. That's how loyal he is to Brazil. He claims Brazil when it's convenient, kind of like Vitor. Vitor was born in Rio and goes on – quoting here – to vacation to Rio. A vacation to his hometown. That's how long he's been gone form there. These guys are Brazilian when it's convenient – when they go back and take Brazil's money back to America.
"It's just like Anderson. He pretends he's from Brazil. He pretends he can't even speak the language, at times. Of course, he bought a $2 million mansion in Beverly Hills out of money he made in North America. The point that I'm getting at, these fake Brazilians – that when it's convenient claim that country – he wants to fight there? Fine. I get it. He was told the fight was going to be there. So if he's upset it got moved back to the country that made him famous and rich, that's up to him. I get it."
Strong words from Sonnen, who rarely limits himself when addressing the man he nearly beat at UFC 117 in August 2010. Sonnen reinvented himself in the months leading up to the fight, channeling his inner pro wrestler and bringing trashtalk to a level rarely seen in MMA. He nearly delivered on all of his guarantees, grinding "The Spider" down for four-and-a-half rounds before succumbing to a triangle choke with less than two minutes left in the fight.
Sonnen has kept his sights on the champion since that time, defeating Brian Stann and Michael Bisping en route to earning a second shot at the belt. He's continued to take shots at Silva (and Brazilians) along the way. So intense has the rivalry become, many MMA observers began to even question whether the UFC could guarantee Sonnen's safety in Brazil. The company did so during a recent press conference in Rio de Janeiro, but UFC president Dana White today admitted it wasn't easy.
"It's not fun taking Chael to Brazil," White said. "I'm not a big fan of that. I was actually very confident (when) we did the big stadium – we'll pull this thing off. We'll bring Chael down there. I didn't think Chael was going to say the type of [expletive] he was going to say down there. It's one thing when you're sitting in your living room in America and you say crazy [expletive] like that, but I can tell you that was one of the most surreal press conferences I've ever been in.
"I joke about it, saying we would have to dig a hole under the octagon to get him out of there, but now I'm starting to believe it. It's crazy."
But all the questions will be answered on July 7. And while a recent bitter feud between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans seemed to dissipate a bit as the fight date approached, the Silva-Sonnen rivalry appears as strong as ever. Sonnen knows this may be his last chance to unseat the 37-year-old pound-for-pound kingpin, and he's guaranteeing success.
"He ducked me for six years," Sonnen said. "For six years I called him out. There's no way around that. There's no two ways around that. You can go on the Internet and find it with me poking my finger in his chest. If anybody poked their finger in my chest for a fight, they'd be fighting me right then.
"He ducked me for six years. He had other business. He had to fight a one-legged Canadian named Cote. He had to fight the amazing Thales Leites. He had to go to England to take on the undersized, dangerous Lee Murray. He was busy in Japan with Ryo Chonan. He didn't have any time for the gangster from West Linn, Oregon, Chael P. Sonnen. He still doesn't have time.
"He's not agreeing to this fight. He's fighting because Dana is making him fight. I am a volunteer army. I wasn't drafted for this position. I have volunteered for this position. I have begged for this position. I just know one thing: On July 7, Bruce Buffer will announce, 'And still undefeated and still undisputed and still named Chael P. Sonnen.'"
Sonnen's answers were part of a Wednesday night media session in Las Vegas, where he touched on a number of topics in relation to UFC 148. Additional excerpts from the conversation are below.
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MMAjunkie.com: What are your thoughts on the card moving to Las Vegas? Do you see it as any advantage at all in not having to fight in Brazil?
Chael Sonnen: I would prefer to not have to travel. But you never factor that stuff in because you can't control it. You try not to think of anything that's out of your control. And the bottom line is the octagon is the octagon. I don't want to travel. He doesn't want to travel. One of us have to. He did it the first time. It's only fair that I return the favor out of sportsmanship. They moved the fight to Las Vegas, now we both have to travel. We've both got to get on a plane and go to Vegas. That's just the way it goes.
MMAjunkie.com: Is there any part of you that's disappointed that you don't get to travel to Anderson's home country, play the bad guy and take on that challenge?
Sonnen: The only thing I liked about the opportunity of Brazil was that it was an 80,000-seat venue. St-Pierre and Shields had set the record in Toronto with 55,000 seats. If you have a chance to be part of history, you don't want to miss those opportunities. So if we're going to do a stadium, and that's where the opportunity is, then let's do it there. That was disappointing. But geez, I'd hate to be a professional athlete and complain about anything. I'd hate for someone to see this and think we're sitting here complaining when we get to do what our childhood dreams are. That's not my intent.
Adam Hill, Las Vegas Review-Journal: There were a lot of questions about whether or not you would be safe in Brazil. Did you ever feel it would be a risk to go down there?
Sonnen: Of course it's a risk to go to Brazil. It's a risk to go to Las Vegas, though. I was in Chicago for my last fight, and this guy asked me that about going to Brazil. I said, 'Yes, there's a threat to go to Brazil, but you might want to check your local paper. You guys aren't a haven for civility. You're in Chicago. I wouldn't let my mother or girlfriend just roam around.' I don't know that there's anything added because it's in Brazil. I don't do anything, anyway. I sit in my room, and I walk to the venue. But sure.
I feel like sometimes people want me to deny that or something, or that as a fighter you're supposed to be like, 'I'm never scared of anything.' I'm just a person. I have every human emotion from fear to sad to happy to excited. I experience them all. When a fighter comes out and pretends, yeah, he's not scared, that's playground talk. That's talk that you do when you're a little kid. Whoever talks the toughest is the toughest when you're a little kid. I don't care whether you're scared, happy or sad. When my music hits those speakers, I will make that walk.
Rafael Hernandez, El Octagono: Do you think a lot about your first fight with Anderson? You were the first person that basically whipped his butt for four-and-a-half rounds, then you were submitted. Do you think a lot about that fight?
Sonnen: Unfortunately, that wasn't the first endeavor that I've set out to that I've failed at. I had matches from the time I was a kid in wrestling that I worked so hard for and were so important, and I blew it. So unfortunately, I've been through that before. I've dealt with not getting what you want and having to walk out with your head up anyway. That's just part of what we do. We have horrible odds in this sport. You have a 50 percent chance of failure in this business. That's very bad odds, but that's just the deal, and we've all got to face it, and we've all got to walk out there and do our best anyway. I do think about it.
Dave Sholler, UFC: You have quickly become a part of one of those most heated rivalries in MMA history. What are your thought on the evolution of rivalries in this sport such as Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber and Rashad Evans vs. Jon Jones?
Sonnen: I've got a lot of thoughts. I get faced with, 'How are you going to handle this? You lost your last fight. You've got to come back.' Dominick Cruz just did that. Urijah Faber choked him out. I was there for that fight live. Boom, he came back and won the second match. It was such a tight fight. … So when this trilogy got announced, as a fan, it was like, 'Oh, thank goodness. I didn't know we'd get to see this.' As far as Evans and Jones goes, that was a great fight, and I don't see who the loser was. You've got the two best guys. And for me going into that fight, if Jones get cleaned up, he's still a badass. If Evans gets cleaned up, he's still the man. For me, there wasn't going to be a loser. Let's find out who's ahead of the other one, but these are such good guys, and sometimes you'l;l have rankings and a the No. 2 gets beat by the No. 1 guy, and he falls to No. 9. How does that work? So for me, it's still Jones and Rashad. Then Dan Henderson makes his claim in there and some other guys.
I like it. At the end of the day, we don't have to get along. Everybody in every walk of life has somebody in the office they'd like to beat up. All of them. They talk about it. They go home, and they go, 'Oh, this guy's driving me crazy. I wish I could smack him. In our field, we can. Some of these guys come in there and talk about their respect and all this stuff. That's a bunch of crap. You hear about the history of the martial arts. Where did you get a history of the martial arts from? Hollywood? Besides the UFC, there is nothing to condition us or educate us on the martial arts besides what you saw in Hollywood. This is a fistfight in a steel cage. I'm not going to apologize to my opponent. And if I like him or I don't like him, we're still going to go out and compete hard to find out who's the best. It's a mutually exclusive term. Only one guy can be champion, period.
Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times: Do you wish you could get more of an interaction with Anderson similar to how Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber are able to interact during the buildup to their fight?
Sonnen: Maybe. Sometimes it's awkward when you're with a guy. Sometimes that's a little bit hard. Cruz and Faber have known each other for a long time, and people forget these guys have done work multiple times. A lot of fans lose sight of that because the WEC often gets forgot. But this is a trilogy. This is a tremendous fight. This is what history gets written about – when the two best guys meet up for the second and third time. I'm so envious of their spot. I think it's just awesome.
As far as Anderson, he's one of these guys. For me, he's very funny. He wants to come out. He wants to pretend certain things. He wants to pretend you're friends. He wants to talk about friendship to avoid fights. He does that to avoid fights. He's not in it for friendship or respect. He's in it for the money. That's it. You take the money out of it, you take Anderson Silva out of it. He's a fake. Some of these guys think it's respectful to bow to your face and put a knife in your back when you turn around. I will tell you to your face that when you turn around, I'm going to put a knife in your back.
Rafael Hernandez, El Octagono: Have you considered brushing up on your Portuguese or getting a translator so you can find out exactly what Anderson Silva is saying? Usually when they get translated, there's always words getting thrown in or words getting taken out.
Sonnen: It happens. Ed Soares tries to get involved. Look, Ed Soares is not in the UFC. He's never been in the UFC. He's never been paid by the UFC. He never will be. Somehow, this guy has got himself in the UFC video game. That's what a great job Ed Saores has done. They ask a guy a question, Ed Soares gives an answer that never happened and continually works. God bless him. He's the dirtiest player in the game next to Monte Cox.
MMAjunkie.com: So what is your mindset coming into this rematch? Since you did perform so well until the submission, do you approach it in the same way you did the first time, or because of the loss do you believe you have to retool and reinvent for the second meeting?
Sonnen: I will never stop trying to get better. I will never look at anything and say, 'OK, that's done. Let's move on.' Everything has to get better, bigger, stronger, faster, more technical, tougher – everything has to get better. But as far as the first fight, this is the truth: That was a misunderstanding of the rules. The way I thought it worked was if you tapped, you lost that round. So I thought what they would do is they would go to a judges' decision, they'd go four rounds to one, and we'd go home, and I'd be the new champion. And if anyone had explained to me that that stops the bout in its entirety, I would not have tapped.
MMAjunkie.com: So then this training camp has really just been about better educating yourself on the rules?
Sonnen: It was a complete misunderstanding. Now I get it. I had never been in a five-round fight. I just didn't know.
Rafael Hernandez, El Octagono: You talk about always getting better, but is the ultimate prize always the title?
Sonnen: Absolutely. I don't think there's any other reason you should be in this sport than to be champion. A lot of my aggravation or chip on my shoulder isn't towards Anderson. It's towards all the other guys in the UFC. When they stick a microphone in a guy's face and he calls out anybody other than the champion, they should fire him right then. They should just say, 'Look, man, you're not UFC material. You've got to go. This is for guys that want to be champion, not for guys that want to put on their little tough-guy T-shirts and cut in line at the local strip club.'
You get these fake tough guys all the time. I've got to see these fake tough guys when the camera comes on, puffing their chest up, and in the back they're asking Anderson for an autograph. It makes my stomach sick. I don't want his autograph. I want to spit on him. I want everything that he has. I'm jealous, and I'm envious, and I would never apologize for that.
There can only be one champion, and you have to fight it out. He's not going to give it up. I'm not going to give it up. We're going to have to fight this thing out and figure it out like men. It makes me angry when I see these guys be offered opportunities and say, 'No.' It makes me angry when guys sign to do a fight, and they pull out. My dad didn't feel good. He went to work everyday. He was a plumber. He got up when it was dark. He went to bed when it was dark. And I would never disrespect him by not showing up to an athletic event that's 25 minutes long because I don't feel good.
MMAjunkie.com: Earlier tonight, Dominick Cruz said rivalries make you better as a fighter, and you shook your head in agreement. With that in mind, do you consider Anderson a rival, and has he made you better?
Sonnen: Anything that gives you motivation makes you better – anything that gives you purpose and gives you a drive. Our sport is so hard, and it's very unpleasant. I wake up certain mornings depressed because I know what I've got to do that day before I can be done. The training is so hard, and it's so miserable – not just physically but mentally. To get in the car to get to practice on time is hard, and if you can find something that helps to motivate you? You see guys all the time wearing headphones. They've got some song that just kind of gives them a little pep. You see a guy go through the coffee line and get a shot of coffee before practice. It's that hard just to change your clothes and be on the mat every single day on time. So if you can get a rival, if you can get some motivation, you know in your head somebody else is out there somewhere in the country – somewhere in the world – working, it will make you better.
MMAJunkie