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    Cagewriter

    Chael Sonnen: Great promoter or greatest promoter?

    By Maggie Hendricks | Cagewriter – Thu, Jan 26, 2012 6:30 PM EST

    That belt's origins are still unknown. (Getty)CHICAGO -- "Chael's nuts."

    UFC president Dana White started off the press conference with the statement that everyone in MMA has thought, but not said. Sonnen, who walked out with a UFC championship belt and the words, "Undisputed, undefeated!" flowing from his mouth, showed again he is the best promoter in MMA.

    White barely had to say anything to promote Saturday's bouts on Fox, because the Sonnen Show took center stage. His opponent on Saturday, Michael Bisping, tried to keep up with Sonnen, but his attempts were futile.

    Sonnen explained where he picked up the belt ... kind of.

    "Well, for those of you who can't see, this is the championship belt that I took from Anderson Silva. In this country, possession is nine tenths of the law. Finders keepers, losers weepers. If he wants it back, he knows where he can find it."

    "I think you can get it on eBay for $29.99!" Bisping said.

    Sonnen even broke into rhyme.

    "You're looking at the reflection of perfection. You're looking at the man who gets all your attention. You're looking at the man with the biggest arm. At the man, with the greatest charm, the man in Chicago who will do harm to the guy three doors down."

    White, standing between Sonnen and Bisping, couldn't help but smile as Sonnen spit out rhyme after rhyme. He was particularly happy as Sonnen added the time and station of the fights to each exclamation.

    "Whatcha gonna do, when you know who? How ya gonna deal, with the man of steel? How ya gonna react to Sonnen's attack? Tune in on the 28th! 8 p.m. Eastern Time! You'll find out who the real champion is."

    If Sonnen keeps the act up -- and there's no reason to believe he won't -- White won't have to work to promote a single Sonnen card. Why would he, when the "champ" does the work for him?

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    Watch Full Count!
     
    • mike
      mike  •  3 months ago
      Chael now just needs Bobby "the Brain" Heenan in his corner - thatd be great!
    • PhillyGreen
      PhillyGreen  •  3 months ago
      THANKS FOX AND UFC. IT IS FREE AND THE LAST TWO FIGHTS ARE BETWEEN TOP LEVEL FIGHTERS. THANKS DANA AND FOX! FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
      • Artic Titan
        Artic Titan 3 months ago
        WELL SAID!!! and i second it. Thanks Dana and FOX. These are going to be some terrific fights.
    • Johnny B
      Johnny B  •  Yuma, Arizona  •  3 months ago
      I like hearing Sonnen smack talk. His so full of it. His funny. UFC will probably hire him a their official promotion machine.
    • what the...
      what the...  •  Miami, Florida  •  3 months ago
      26-11-1....ko'd 2x....Submitted 8x....Has never ko'd anyone... 1 title fight which he dominated and couldn't FINISH!!!!!....This man is alegend in his own mind.
      • Manpreet
        Manpreet 3 months ago
        He's never knocked anyone out?

        He sucks...he should just be quiet...

        Good Stats What the
      • Shadowbuster
        Shadowbuster 3 months ago
        He has 7 TKO's and 4 submissions, Thats pretty good. Lets face it nither of these guys are fan favorites but would love to see Chael kick bisbings #$%$
      • Casey
        Casey 3 months ago
        Bisping is sooo much better with the jab and retreat style, mixed in with cheap shots.

        Both of these min are disliked heavily, I would rather have Sonnen win over Bisping because I don't want to hear his mouth or see that title around his waist.
    • Council
      Council  •  Carlsbad, California  •  3 months ago
      Go to Youtube and do a search on "Superstar Billy Graham'. Much of what Sonnen used here was pulled from Superstar's interviews and promos... and for me, that's just freakin' AWESOME!! SBG Was AGES ahead of his time in terms of attitude, presence, and mic skills. This is the guy who Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Scott Steiner, etc.... were copying (they've even said as much).
      As for me, I got no problem with that... it's Chael paying tribute to a guy who revolutionized sports entertainment - like Sonnen, SBG was a guy people LOVED to hate...and loved him for it. Heck, when I do my Karaoke thing every Friday night, I do SBG quips as well, mixed in with some Macho Man, Nature Boy, and American Dream.

      I really REALLY want to see the footage from this press conference now...
      • Chaos
        Chaos 3 months ago
        You watch FAKE Wrestling? WOW!! That stuff is lame.
      • Jon
        Jon 3 months ago
        Fake wrestling does have some dam hot women on it.
      • MichaelT
        MichaelT 3 months ago
        Come on Chaos. I know pro wrestling sucks, but in the 80's and 90's almost everybody was watching it.
    • Fletcher B
      Fletcher B  •  Newark, New Jersey  •  3 months ago
      Why do people say he dominated Silva when he tested positive for PED's?
      • Terrence
        Terrence 3 months ago
        because he dominated silva.
      • Fletcher B
        Fletcher B 3 months ago
        And Jose Canseco was a great power hitter...
      • Ike
        Ike 3 months ago
        Because fanboys who know nothing about MMA think sitting in a BJJ blackbelt's guard without being able to pass while taking more damage from the bottom is considered "dominating" I don't get it either.
    • Jon
      Jon  •  Bozeman, Montana  •  3 months ago
      Why do some comments get deleted?
    • Biddles
      Biddles  •  3 months ago
      Sonnen is hands now the greatest personality to ever be a part of mixed martial arts. Being able to back it up, to go toe to toe with the best in the world, with a style and perseverance like no one else sets him apart. It also ascends his promoting ability (trash talk, marketing, comedy) to an astounding level. I predict this guy to have his own TV show, Movie, and probably about 8-12 best seller books in the next 10 years. The sky is the limit for this dude.
      • Ike
        Ike 3 months ago
        LOL! You must have loved WWF. Sonnon can't back up anything. going "toe to toe" while on ROIDS against an injured opponent and then tapping. isn't "backing it up" sorry. Neither is throwing a record number of strikes and not causing ANY damage. Getting your face smashed into meat loaf when your in top position isn't doing it either.
      • Biddles
        Biddles 3 months ago
        Haters hate those who hate themselves. I respect and admire both fighters Silva and Sonnen tremendously. You can't even spell his name right... He was NOT on roids, it was TRT which is a BIG difference. Not even in the same ballpark... However, no one expects you to know that... Love seeing you repeatedly fail in your attempts to correct people with your imagination; keep them comments flowing!
      • Hector
        Hector 3 months ago
        Sonnens hilarious. By far the best #$%$ talker ive seen in the UFC
    • Pete The Great
      Pete The Great  •  Tampa, Florida  •  3 months ago
      I dont care what people say. This guy is funny. Now lets just hope this fight is as entertaining as the press conference
    • frank
      frank  •  Elmhurst, Illinois  •  3 months ago
      i would agree more if he wouldnt have tapped out to silva and passed out like a man
    • x factor
      x factor  •  Toronto, Canada  •  3 months ago
      This fricken #$%$ cheated and lost and we still applaud him ...he is what wrong with us as fans we need to applaud the good guys in the sports the maias, gsps, dos santos , velasquez just to name a few not this arrogant #$%^&*( who hasnt won a big fight yet)...the gall to show up with a title and then say hes the champ...look u idiot u lost a fight to a man u had been dominating for 4 rounds (because on drugs) and then fricken talk shiate about him #$%$ bro get ur head outta ur #$%$.. u cheated and lost to a man that was injured sorry that makes u a bum.win saturday pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee so i can see a healthy silva wipe the floor with ur lay and pray #$%$ please ur a cheating bum steroid using biotch
    • r t
      r t  •  3 months ago
      as muc has i hate chael, he and i do have something in common: the only way we would have a UFC title belt is to buy one.
    • croyler
      croyler  •  Fort Collins, Colorado  •  3 months ago
      What do you do to a guy with an incredible chin and an unstoppable wrestling attack? You submit him from your back because the human body is filled with weak spots. Paulo Filho arm barred Chael from his back, Demian Maia triangled Chael. But Bisping will do no such thing and the englishman is toast.
    • M.S.
      M.S.  •  Pompano Beach, Florida  •  3 months ago
      This will be the first fight ever where both guys will be heavily booed... Bisping just has a big mouth, hes no a liar, cheater or crook like Sonnen is...
    • tIn cUp
      tIn cUp  •  3 months ago
      worst thing is in order for Chael to lose Bisbing has to win.
    • jeff
      jeff  •  Victoria, Canada  •  3 months ago
      "Well, for those of you who can't see, this is the championship belt that I took from Anderson Silva. In this country, possession is nine tenths of the law. Finders keepers, losers weepers.
      Sounds like theft to me, lets add that to the list of illegal acts Sonnen has committed over the past couple of years. Not taking anytrhing away from the skills he has in the octagon (when he wants to) but the guy is a douche.
    • BEL TRAN
      BEL TRAN  •  Irvine, California  •  3 months ago
      no kudos for rashad though!! he should'a KOed (Knocked the SNOT outa newbie boy!) Phil Davis.
    • Micheal
      Micheal  •  Houston, Texas  •  3 months ago
      I don't hate Chael... he's an idiot. He's a tard that "almost", "could'a", "would'a".... he promotes the way he does hoping that people will watch just to see him get his #$%$ whooped. Fine I get it. The problem with that strategy is that when people do tune in to watch his fights they realize he's a boring lay and pray fighter. Let's sum up the facts:Sonnen is 5 and 4 in the UFC. FIVE AND FOUR??? With ONE STOP. He has only finished 1 person, and that person was a very green fighter. Let's take a look at his other "quality wins" Decision over Dan Miller 5 and 5 in the UFC. Who has Dan beat? No one. Yushin Okami... another decision... Ya. Yushin, The same guy that Anderson cold cocked. YushinMarquadt..... yet another decision.... Anderson Ko'd Nate in the first round....Trevor Prangly? Trevor Who?? Sonnen's one claim to fame... he almost beat Silva.... I remember the fight, Silva didn't have a mark on him....Sonnen's face was a different story. So "beat up" for four rounds is a stretch of the imagination. Chael was ahead on the cards.. but he hardly beat him up, the state of Chael's face proves that. So what Chael "almost" beat a guy with a broken rib (proven by X-rays) while on a PED. The guy is a clown and a one trick pony. He has powder puff hands, a weak submission game, and repeatedly commits the error of trying to back out of the guard. Now the hard is going to say he should challenge Jon Jones? ON what planet does this idiot live?
    • Sainter
      Sainter  •  3 months ago
      I think this dude is way out there.
    • asaki
      asaki  •  College Station, Texas  •  3 months ago
      Gotta agree with Sonnen there. If you can't earn it fairly, steal it!
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