Former light heavyweight champion, and current retiree, Chuck Liddell has some advice for reality star and current UFC fighter, Chael Sonnen: Shut up and fight.
Liddell is considered a legend in the UFC, and although he is no stranger to trash talking, he also believes that certain lines shouldn’t be crossed. So, when he heard about the comments Sonnen made about the entire country of Brazil, it stood to reason why Sonnen’s outlandish comments, (and recent lack of success) would bother Liddell. He recently spoke to MMA Junkie about his former counterpart.
“Chael’s a nice guy. I’ve met him and hung out with him. I like him, and he’s a nice guy. I can’t stand the way he promotes fights. I understand what he’s doing; he wasn’t the most exciting fighter, so he made himself exciting by promoting the fight really well, and he got himself a couple of title shots for it. It works, but that whole crazy WWE-type stuff, that over-the-top stuff when you’re fighting a guy, doesn’t make sense to me, and I don’t like it. But it is what it is. Some of the fans like it, and it gets people to watch fights, that’s fine…Some of the things he said, as far as I’m concerned, are over the line. Unless you’re known as an actor or being a WWE guy, you can get away with some of that stuff because everybody knows it’s fake.”
Sonnen recently made comments on the reality show: “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” to let Brazilians know exactly what he thought of their country, some of what he said is below:
“Greetings from Sao Paulo! I’m learning the language: breakdancing in the Special Olympics is called capoiera and cocaine is called brunch”
“Machida is not a bad guy; he’s a victim of the Brazilian education system. There are better ways to get electrolytes than drinking piss.”
“Yushin and I are in Brazil to follow in Andy’s ways. Got ballet shoes, a team of has-beens, even brought a fat talentless celeb for trainer. I could write a dissertation on this experience:”The Tragic Interplay of Delusion, Insecurity, and Incompetence: the Nog Brothers’ Story”.”
While mixed martial arts and pro wrestling are both geared toward enamoring fans and providing in-ring story-lines, obviously MMA is taken much more seriously by it’s athletes. Showmanship and antics are great tools to used to promote fights and turn fighters into household names, however, the actual performance in the ring is what matters most to the best fighters, like Liddell.
Do you prefer the more serious, calculating personality of a Chuck Liddel, or do you believe the UFC needs loud, attention-seeking fighters like Sonnen to help boost the relevancy of the sport? Either way if it’s the latter you’re looking for, Chael Sonnen is probably not the fighter you’d like to see doing all the talking, as he’s currently 0-4 in career title fights.
Perhaps he should heed the elder Liddell’s advice, focus, and try to remove that goose-egg from his title-fight win column.