Chael Sonnen may call himself the “Undefeated, Undisputed” champion of the UFC, but the trash-talker has impressed in the octagon even in defeat.
While he never achieved his goal of becoming world champion, Chael Sonnen became a fan-favorite in the UFC with his loud mouth, creative insults, and willingness to take on the top fighters at any point.
He sold pay-per-view fights entirely on his mouth, crafting heated feuds with some of the most dangerous men in the world to get the crowd behind him.
Here are five of the best fights from Sonnen’s career that every MMA fan needs to see, which include his fights against Anderson Silva that broke UFC fans’ hearts.
Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images5. Chael Sonnen choked out Brian Stann before calling out Anderson Silva
A year after his loss to Anderson Silva in their first fight, Sonnen returned to the octagon to pick up an impressive win over Brian Stann.
Sonnen outwrestled Stann all over the canvas for the bulk of the fight, utilizing his wrestling skills to dominate his opponent.
Stann survived the first round but was forced to tap out in the second to a triangle choke from The Bad Guy.
While the fight was entertaining, the post-fight interview was what made UFC 136 must-watch. As he began his interview with Joe Rogan, the first words out of Sonnen’s mouth were “Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck!” as the crowd exploded into cheers.
The Bad Guy called out the UFC Middleweight champion, offering a new stipulation for their fight: if Sonnen won, Silva would leave the Middleweight division, but if Silva won, Sonnen would leave the UFC forever.
4. Chael Sonnen stepped in at the last minute to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight belt
UFC 151 was supposed to pit UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones against Dan Henderson, but an injury to the challenger saw a frantic search for a replacement.
Lyoto Machida turned down the opportunity at short notice, before Sonnen jumped in – and up a weight class – to accept the challenge on just a few days’ notice, which Jones declined.
Bad blood between White and Jones saw the fight with Sonnen sanctioned and booked for UFC 159, as the fans rallied behind the Bad Guy in his first bout at Light Heavyweight.
While he was beaten in the first round in a TKO victory, the story behind Sonnen vs Jones makes this fight a must-watch for any MMA fan.
3. The rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva was an incredibly exciting bout
After his devastating defeat to Anderson Silva (more on that later) at UFC 117, Sonnen built himself back up with wins over Stann and Michael Bisping to earn a rematch with the champion.
Their second fight at UFC 148 did not go as well for Sonnen as the first fight, with the stipulation he added to the bout clearly affecting him.
#OnThisDay UFC 148 Silva vs. Sonnen 2 –
Chael had dominated almost the entirety of the first fight and plenty wanted to see if he could finish the job this time. Nope, he wins rd1 then throws the worst spinning back fist ever seen in the second, down goes Sonnen(rd2 1:55)(4/4) pic.twitter.com/515gnILLc7
— Kuba MMA🇵🇱🇱🇹 (@OsOFrostyMMA) July 7, 2024
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While he was still impressive with numerous takedowns on Silva, the Brazilian was much better than in the first bout.
So much so that it took the champion only two rounds to take down Sonnen, battering him with knees and fists to earn a second-round TKO win to end his hopes of becoming UFC Middleweight champion.
2. Rampage Jackson was beaten by Chael Sonnen years after their feud first began
Rampage Jackson began his feud with Sonnen while both men were still in the UFC, but the ensuing fight would not occur until years later in Bellator.
The A-Team star spoke about Sonnen’s claim he’d leave the UFC after losing his second fight to Silva, which saw the Bad Guy clap back with a brutal verbal beatdown.
Things would quiet down until six years later, when the pair clashed in Sonnen’s debut at Heavyweight after leaving the UFC for Bellator.
The trash-talker dominated Jackson over three rounds, proving his bark is just as bad as his bite in what turned out to be the final win of Sonnen’s career.
1. Chael Sonnen dominated Anderson Silva for four rounds before losing the title fight in heartbreaking fashion
Sonnen’s greatest performance should have ended with him lifting the UFC Middleweight title belt, if not for one momentary lapse of concentration.
The UFC legend dominated Silva for the first four rounds of their first fight, as the Bad Guy looked certain to walk away with the belt.
He continually took down the champion, outwrestling him and taking little damage from one of the greatest Middleweights of all time.
Sonnen knew he just had to survive the final round to achieve his lifelong goal of becoming world champion, but one mistake took that away from him with minutes to go.
Despite dominating for the bulk of the fight, one mistake saw Silva desperately lock in a triangle armbar, forcing him to tap out in the most heartbreaking finish in UFC history.