Ask any hardcore mixed martial arts fan whether or not they believed Chael Sonnen had a shot against Nate Marquardt in the week leading up to UFC 109? More than likely, you'd be enlightened with answers that didn't convey a positive opinion of the outcome for Sonnen. Some fans believed Sonnen's wrestling could be the ultimate deterrent to Marquardt's style, and to those fans -- I salute you.
To many fans, out picking the experts and shaming us in our theories as to how the fight was going to play out was a bittersweet victory on a Sunday morning. Fighters, on the other hand, find comfort in knowing that they've not only beat the odds, beat the experts, and beat the consensus opinion, but they've also lined their pockets with some hard earned cash as well.
Chael Sonnen has also done something that we haven't seen masterfully done since the days in which Tito Ortiz was considered to be in his prime. He's mastered the ability to sell himself as a 'heel', but instead of coming up short -- he delivered on the promise that he would win on Saturday night and put himself in a position to potentially battle current champion Anderson Silva.
Instead of talking down his opponent, Sonnen referred to him as a "decent human being". He saved his most vile comments for Silva, bashing him for his earrings, pink t-shirts, and sideways hat. But it didn't end there. He scrutinized the notion that Silva was the top fighter in the world, and stated he would "expose him" because he's "no more real than the Loch Ness Monster". Pretty colorful, huh?
Not surprisingly, this has caused a divide in the MMA fanbase. Some fans aren't buying into Sonnen's antics as a legitimate part of his personality, and they can see that he's trying to sell himself as controversial. Those fans, however, can appreciate what Sonnen is trying to do -- he's trying to build hype around a fight in order to amass a bigger payday.
Chael Sonnen Proves Controversial Self-Marketing Persists Despite Detractors
Chael Sonnen pounds on Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. Photo by Dave Mandel, Sherdog.com