UFC's Chael Sonnen Hiding his Profession?
By: Reverend Turk Vangel Posted On: February 12, 2010 at 5:47pmFighters.com seventh-ranked middleweight Chael Sonnen (24-10-1) has announced that he is running for Oregon State Representative. I love the fact that he is looking to venture into politics. This could lead to some positive press for the sport of mixed martial arts, if only he was not hiding the fact that he fights.
Maybe the term hiding is a bit harsh and slightly inaccurate but we will get into that later.
Sonnen was last seen inside the Octagon at UFC 109 where he shocked many in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world by putting on a very dominate performance in route to a win over fourth-ranked “The Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2). Nate was in line to get a shot at current Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) if he were to defeat eighth-ranked “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8). Although according to reports from Tatame today, Vitor has injured his shoulder and looks to be out of the fight with Silva at UFC 112. As I write this Dana has just confirmed this fact.
Chael Sonnen derailed Nate’s title run and has now positioned himself as the top contender for the title. He is also a contender for the State Representative in House District 37.
Today’s major media still looks at mixed martial artists as thugs and neanderthals, bar brawlers if you will. This is always fought with mentioning fighters such as “Ace” Rich Franklin (26-5) who at one time was the UFC middleweight champion and has a masters degree and was a high school math teacher before becoming a full time fighter. Imagine the 180 the press would have to do, and men like Bob Arum, if Chael does what his training partner and friend came up just short of doing.
“The Law” Matt Lindland (21-7)recently ran in the last cycle and finished in second. Now we see another Team Quest fighter making a stand for Oregon.My problem is his lack of information on his site about his real carreer.
Sonnen is not offering up the information on his website devoted to his political career. While searching through www.votesonnen.com I found no mention of him as a fighter until the recently added video from “Fox and Friends” and this concerns me. Chael needs to find a way to incorporate his career in the UFC into his political aspirations. I know some will say he needs to separate them a bit so that he does not turn away potential voters who may feel MMA is barbaric but I think this is a way to show them that he is not a Gladiator in the Coliseum but a professional athlete who trains hard and is on the same level as any NBA or NFL star.
Chael Sonnen gaining a shot at the title only helps his political aspirations in my opinion and he could go a long way in helping to legitimize our sport in the eyes of the uninitiated.
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Comments
I’m kind of surprised that a) you feel compelled to tell Sonnen how to run his life, his political career and his personal business; and b) that you feel that part of his life is any of your business.
Maybe he feels the two are separate, or that he’s taking one step at a time. Like first he wants to get elected, and then he can make a big deal out of being an MMA fighter.
I mean – it would make sense to get himself in where he can do some good for the sport, right? Once he’s been elected, he can utilize his public political standing to help legitimize our sport in the eyes of the uninitiated.
Where did I tell Sonnen how to run his life, his campaign or anything else?
You also say that you are not sure why I ” feel that part of his life is any of your business.”
As an MMA journalist and MMA radio show host anything that is related to MMA is my business.