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Chael Sonnen Bio

Chael Patrick Sonnen (pronounced /ˈtʃeɪl ˈsÊŒnÉ™n/; born April 3, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He is currently signed as a middleweight with the UFC, and holds notable wins over former WEC champion Paulo Filho (Sonnen being the only fighter to defeat him in 21 professional fights), former King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt, former IFL champion Dan Miller, former ICON Sport champion Jason Miller, former Bodog Fight champion Trevor Prangley, former WEC champion Jason Lambert and Yushin Okami.

He was an NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, two-time University National Champion in Greco Roman, and a US Olympic team alternate. Sonnen is currently ranked as the #2 middleweight in the world by Sherdog.com. Sonnen also works as a real estate agent and was running for State Representative in Oregon's House District 37 as a Republican. On June 16, 2010, Chael quit the race for the Oregon Legislative Assembly.

Mixed martial arts career

Early MMA career

Chael started his MMA career at the age of 24 in 2002 by defeating future ICON Sport Champion Jason Miller, he went 5-0 in his first five fights, until his loss to Trevor Prangley, which he later avenged in 2006 at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4. He also fought The Ultimate Fighter winner and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Chael went 13-6-1 in his first twenty MMA fights.

First UFC stint

After being 13-6-1 in his first twenty fights he was called up to the UFC, to face former IFC and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato Sobral at UFC 55, where Chael lost via triangle choke. Afterwards he avenged his first ever MMA defeat by defeating Trevor Prangley at UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 by Unanimous Decision. Then for a third time he fought Jeremy Horn at UFC 60 and lost via Armbar. And after going 1-2 in the UFC, he was released from his contract.

Bodog Fight

After being released from the UFC, he was signed by Bodog Fight. He achieved his first victory in Bodog Fight by defeating Tim Credeur via TKO. After that he fought Alexey Oleinik to a Unanimous Decision vicory. Then he defeated Tim McKenzie by a Anaconda Choke. After Mckenzie, Chael fought UFC and Pride veteran Amar Suloev and won by a TKO. After Bodog, Chael defeated future Ultimate Fighter member Kyacey Uscola at SuperFight 20: Homecoming.

World Extreme Cagefighting

In December 2007, Sonnen fought Paulo Filho for the WEC middleweight championship. Sonnen was defeated by submission at 4:55 of the second round. There was controversy stemming from the fight stoppage, however. Sonnen did not tap out but yelled out, and the referee took that as a verbal submission and stopped the fight. In his post-fight interview Sonnen said that he told the referee not to stop the fight, and continually said "No" when the referee asked if he wanted to submit.

A rematch between the two was scheduled for March 26, 2008, but was cancelled due to Paulo Filho checking himself into a rehabilitation clinic for an unknown substance abuse problem. Sonnen instead faced undefeated WEC middleweight contender Bryan Baker and completely dominated him for three rounds, winning a unanimous decision. Sonnen and Filho eventually met again on November 5, 2008 where Sonnen soundly defeated Filho by unanimous decision. Prior to the fight, Paulo Filho did not make weight, weighing in at close to seven pounds over 185, thus taking away the chance for Sonnen to rematch for the WEC title. After Filho lost, he announced he would ship Sonnen the championship belt.

Return to the UFC

Following the dissolution of the WEC's middleweight division Sonnen was moved back over to the UFC, in his first fight in the promotion since UFC 60, he lost via triangle choke to Demian Maia at UFC 95.

Sonnen defeated Dan Miller at UFC 98 on May 23 in a unanimous decision. Sonnen came in as a late replacement for Yushin Okami when Okami sustained a torn ligament while training. Sonnen took the fight on 22 days notice and lost 36 pounds to compete. Incidentally in his next fight, Sonnen beat the world-ranked Okami at UFC 104 by unanimous decision.

Sonnen was expected to face Nate Marquardt on February 21, 2010 at UFC 110, but the fight was moved up and the two fought at UFC 109 on February 6, with Sonnen winning via unanimous decision after outwrestling the heavily favored Marquardt for three rounds. Marquardt caught Sonnen in two very deep Guillotine Chokes in the first and third rounds; however, Sonnen managed to get free. With the victory Chael Sonnen solidified his position as the next fighter in line for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Middleweight Championship Bout and Future

Sonnen fought Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship on August 7, 2010 at UFC 117. Sonnen trash talked during the build up to the fight, which caused some controversy, going so far as to claim he was going to retire Silva. Sonnen scored takedowns in 3 rounds, and ended up in the top position in all 5 rounds. Compustrike reported that Sonnen landed an MMA record 289 strikes during the fight. Sonnen won each of the first four rounds on all of the judges' scorecards, with the score heading into the fifth round being 40-34, 40-35, and 40-36. However, Sonnen lost to Silva via triangle armbar at 3:10 of the fifth round. Silva became the third man in the UFC's history to finish a fight in the 5th round and the second via submission.

Sonnen stated he wanted another shot at Silva but did not want to wait around for a rematch while Silva recovered from a rib injury which he carried into the Sonnen bout. However, the anticipated rematch is expected sometime in early 2011.

Mixed martial arts record

External links

• Professional MMA record for Chael Sonnen from Sherdog

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