Andre Galvao Says His Match With Chael Sonnen ‘Won’t Be Easy’
There isn’t a lot of people who fancy Chael Sonnen’s chances leading into his grappling match with Andre Galvao in the main event of Metamoris 4. However, Galvao himself thinks the fight will be anything but easy.
In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com the multiple time jiu-jitsu champion broke down his fight with “The American Gangster” which is booked for August. Galvao thinks it’s normal Sonnen wanted to fight someone with his accolades as it wouldn’t make sense if he fought anyone else:
“It won’t be easy,” Galvao said. “I think he’s trying to find ways to work now that he’s out of the UFC after testing positive. He was training to fight Wanderlei Silva, so he will continue training. The fact that he accepted to fight a guy like me is normal. He would never be able to fight a wrestler or a non-popular jiu-jitsu guy at Metamoris because it wouldn’t make sense.
He has evolved and that’s natural. If you fight MMA, you should know jiu-jitsu. That’s a fact. That’s why he trains jiu-jitsu like every other MMA fighter. Evolution is a consequence of training, and he has evolved a lot.”
Two of Sonnen’s last three wins have come by way of submission so it is evident that he has been developing his ground game. His most recent came against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 26. Prior to that he submitted Brian Stann at UFC 136.
“If people think that (I will beat him up easily), I’m happy to hear that,” he continued. “But I see him as every other opponent. I must respect him and be ready for every situation in the fight to be able to win. He has competed at the highest level because he’s a world-class wrestler, and in my opinion that’s grappling. He’s not a fool on the ground.”
Galvao is a former training partner of Anderson Silva, so he should be prepared for any trash talking which “The Gangster From West Linn Oregon” might throw his way. But with that said, he never approved of any of Sonnen’s comments about Brazil.
“He was too harsh. No respect at all.” Galvao said. “I’m Brazilian and I will always be. No matter what he says or said about our country, it won’t affect me. My motivation is the same. I must stay calm and focused on the fight. I learned to respect other people and their culture. If he thinks he can talk about our country, it’s his problem. He’s the one who loses with it.”
How do you guys think Sonnen will fair against Galvao come August 9?
