In case you hadn't noticed, Chael Sonnen is back.
The former middleweight number one contender was benched by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) back on May 18 after getting pinched for fabricating testimony in a previous hearing earlier this year stemming from his failed drug test at UFC 117 -- not to mention his felony conviction in Oregon for money laundering.
His suspension recently ended on June 29, making him eligible to reapply for his license to compete.
And he's not wasting anytime in picking a fight. Earlier this week, he asked for a "tune-up" bout against Lyoto Machida in the light heavyweight division. While the UFC considers his request, Sonnen continues to run roughshod over (who else?) some of the promotion's most popular Brazilian fighters.
Hear his take on Jose Aldo, Wanderlei Silva, and Anderson Silva (courtesy of MMA Fight Corner presented by FiveKnuckles.com) after the jump.
Chael Sonnen on Jose Aldo:
"It's like this annoying Jose Aldo that they've got number three pound-for-pound. Hey guys, excuse me, but there's no such weight class as pound-for-pound. There's no such title. The pound-for-pound does not exist but just in this pretend world. Jose Aldo has made it all the way to number three? Really? The same guy that was anointed UFC champion. The same guy that was given the UFC championship belt before he ever fought in the UFC. The only thing more absurd than that was the night they woke Matt Hughes up and informed him that he was champion."
On Wanderlei Silva:
"Wanderlei tells me that he's going to send me to the dentist. And I'm thinking, 'the receptionist generally sets those appointments, but if you know the phone number to my local dentist, I guess you could.' Then I'm thinking, 'Is he threatening me? I'm an American gangster, you are an immigrant from Brazil. Are you sure you want to go down this road with me? That's a threat? It's funny when Wanderlei says he's got to defend Brazil. Wanderlei's not popular in Brazil. Wanderlei, you are from Brazil stupid, you left it. You pay taxes in America. You started a business in America. You send your kids to an American school. You employ Americans. You were made a millionaire by an American company. If you love Brazil so much, why'd you leave it. It's cause he doesn't and the Brazilian people know that. So this big gimmick that all these guys like Anderson and all these guys that talk Portuguese and pretend they're from there, what they like to do is act like, 'Oh, we're not Americanized, we haven't even learned English, but then they run they're businesses in complete English as they're taking your dollar and your Mastercard. But on video they act like they haven't taken the time to learn English and it's phony. Those Brazilians are all phony and they suck."
"Hey Wanderlei, let me give you a threat. I will cut the power to your house and do a home invasion. You will hear me climbing up the stairs in a pair of night vision goggles I bought in the back of 'Solder of Fortune' magazine. The next thing you'll hear is me picking the lock of your bedroom door and taking a photograph of you in bed with the Nogueira brothers working on your jiu-jitsu. I will post said photograph at
www.DorksFromBrazil.com with password: not required, username: not required."
On his loss to Anderson Silva:
"I should be the reigning champion. I punch a guy 300 times, he punches me a couple and they call him the champion? In what parallel universe does that make you the winner? I am the champion. I've been the champion. Anderson's ribs have the exact same problem that his hands and his feet have, they're attached to a cowardly person. For Anderson to say that he wasn't 100-percent, I completely believe him. Who cares? But yeah, do I think his ribs where hurt? Sure. Why would I think they weren't? He's the only one who could tell if they were hurt."
On being prone to submission losses:
"Look, I've fought 15 black-belts. I beat 12 of them, and finished six of them. So to act like I've got some kind of submission or jiu-jitsu deficiency just isn't true. I know how to get out of triangles, I stopped five of his triangles on that very fight. Now with that said, I'm not trying to say I don't work on it, I work on everything, but there's no deficiency there."
Ouch.
Ultimately, it's up to UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva to put the mouthy ex-Realtor back to work. But against who? Wanderlei may be retiring and Anderson Silva is already booked.
Anyone think Machida gets this fight and defends his native Brazil? And has Chael Sonnen already worn out his welcome? Or is he a breath of hot fresh air in a stagnant division?
What's your take on his latest tirade?
Source: Chael Sonnen: 'Stupid' Wanderlei Silva is an immigrant from Brazil -- I'm an American Gangster
