Chael Sonnen ‘Would Love To Kick Georges St. Pierre’s A**’
Notorious trash talker and former fighter turned analyst Chael Sonnen retired from the sport of mixed martial arts a few years back after receiving a hefty two-year suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) due to multiple positive tests for performance-enhancing-drugs (PEDs).
Sonnen’s suspension, however, is up this July, and at age 39, talks of a potential return to action seemingly always come up, although “The American Gangster” has continuously stated that his fighting days are behind him.
If he were to return to the Octagon, however, Sonnen does have a select opponent in mind, and his choice may surprise you.
Check out what Sonnen said on today’s (May 23, 2016) edition of The MMA Hour below:
“I would love to kick Georges’ [St. Pierre] ass,” Sonnen said. “I’ll tell you this. This is a true story. I got a call one day and it was from Kenny Florian, and he says ‘hey, you want to work out?’ I was in LA and I said yeah, and he goes, ‘okay, well Georges is in town. Do you want to work out with Georges?’ And I said yeah. So we go to this gym.
“We went hard. I think I could’ve gone harder, but we went hard, and I came in second. And it drove me nuts, man. It drove me nuts. But I really think I could’ve done better. It was close. It was fine. If you ask him, he might try to put me over. I’m not trying to put him over right now, I’m just telling you what happened. He won that go, but I could’ve done better with him, and it’s driven me nuts ever since. I thought, man, I could’ve gotten that guy. I could’ve done better.
“He knew he got the best of me,” Sonnen continued. “So at the end of the workout, he tried to pay me a compliment. He goes, ‘thanks for not using your size; if you would’ve used your size, you really could’ve crushed me,’ which was really his way of saying, ‘hey man, I just beat you.’ And I knew what he meant, and I knew it was meant to be a nice thing. It stuck with me, man. This is a workout that was years ago and it stuck with me.”
St. Pierre, a former long-time welterweight champion, is a man many consider to be the very best 170-pounder of all-time, and one of the best fighters to have ever competed period.
He too has been in a semi-retirement over the last few years after vacating his title in 2013. Rumors of St. Pierre making his comeback have been nonstop since the day he handed over the belt, but it’s unclear as of now whether or not the Canadian star will ever fight again.
Although a scrap between Sonnen and St. Pierre appears to be highly unlikely, “The American Gangster” knows for sure that it would sell like crazy, and as a master of self-promotion, Sonnen says the sport needs more fighters who can sell fights:
“Everyone would watch that,” Sonnen said. “… I’m not trying to hype a fight with Georges here. I’m just saying. But yes, as far as a fight, if you’re just looking at what could sell tickets, yeah man. I mean, these guys (current UFC fighters) are doing a good job right now, but they’re really not. I’m being nice, man. These guys are terrible. It’s so hard. It’s so hard sometimes. Like, what do you want to do here? You guys, you’re just terrible.”
What do you make of Sonnen’s rather unexpected story?
