How good was Chael Sonnen at his peak?

[Gracious Warrior]

Sorry for being the new MMA fan who asks dumb questions but I'm still learning about the history of the sport and the fighters from previous generations.

I watch Chael on YouTube a lot but it occurred to me that I never really watched him fight.

So I went to fight pass and watched a few and he appears to be a good wrestler but his striking was not that great by today's standards. I watched his fight with Anderson and he was a few seconds away from beating the guy people thought was the goat at the time and ending Anderson's streak. His record is like 34-17 which is average and he was apparently susceptible to submissions and good BJJ.

What am I missing?

 

[chinarice]

A really good fighter who was even better at grasping defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[corrupted]

He was very good at choking.

 

[HuskySamoan]

Chael Sonnen at his peak was probably around when he beat Paulo Filho 2007/2008 until 2013 or so when he lost to Anderson in the rematch and then Jones. Chael had made millions at that point and became a star, he didn't need MMA anymore and never took it as seriously again.

Chael had his flaws like his submission defense mainly but the guy who ran through Filho, Marquardt, Okami, Bryan Baker, Stann and Bisping was elite. Easily would be top 10 by today's standards, his striking output, wrestling, cardio, toughness and tenacity.

I actually think Chael would have a real case at beating Israel Adesanya. I would favor Chael to beat Alex Perreira, Sean Strickland, Darren Till. I think he'd be able to have a competitive fight with Cannonier, Brunson, Costa and Vettori not sure who I'd favor in those though. I don't think Chael has much of a chance vs Whittaker or Muniz.

 

[GirlCasual]

This thread was started by Chael.

 

[Luthien]

Chael Sonnen was 1 round away from beating both Prime Anderson Silva and Prime Jon Jones

 

[b00tysweat]

34-17 in the UFC is average?

Chael is probably good enough for HoF. Never ducked, very gritty style and a treasure on the mic

 

[leatherf4ce]

This thread was started by Chael.

Not possible, because one huge flaw is that TS stated Chael has losses on his record.

On a serious note, Chael talked himself into fights, yeah, but he never asked for the easy fights. He always called out the baddest man at the time, punked them at the press conference, made it to the cage, and win or loss he always respected the opponent afterward. Best was his retirement interviews commenting about his father and his words about Lyoto.

Best Chael quote is, "Tito always says I'm using my mouth to get my opportunities. The only person I know that made money using their mouth is his ex-wife" Jon Slusser having to fight off laughing out loud the entire presser was priceless.

 

[Cowboy Kurt Angle]

He was really decent

 

[RemyR]

Greatest of all times

 

[jx820]

In a world without Anderson Silva he'd have been a world champion. His biggest problem was inconsistency. But second biggest was fighting in the era of the best champions in the sports history.

 

[BJJ Lover]

Chael Sonnen was 1 round away from beating both Prime Anderson Silva and Prime Jon Jones

Less than 30-60 seconds in both cases actually.

 

[yekmurat]

A cheater juicehead with some grappling skills

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Sorry for being the new MMA fan who asks dumb questions but I'm still learning about the history of the sport and the fighters from previous generations.

I watch Chael on YouTube a lot but it occurred to me that I never really watched him fight.

So I went to fight pass and watched a few and he appears to be a good wrestler but his striking was not that great by today's standards. I watched his fight with Anderson and he was a few seconds away from beating the guy people thought was the goat at the time and ending Anderson's streak. His record is like 34-17 which is average and he was apparently susceptible to submissions and good BJJ.

What am I missing?

Good. #2 in the world in his division level good. He was at #2 for quite awhile.

However, he was a journeyman until he started taking tons of PEDs. PEDs got him from being top 50 to top 5. He claims he started taking them after the Brian Baker fight so he went from beating top 50 competition:



to Top 10 competition



Like most things in MMA and in this world, how we balance out these several facts will lead many of us to very different conclusions.

 

[Bret 'The Hitman' Hart]

Good enough to clown prime Anderson Silva for 4¾ rounds

 

[RollSonnenRoll]

Chael Sonnen was 1 round away from beating both Prime Anderson Silva and Prime Jon Jones

It’s really that simple. Undefeated and undisputed.

 

[OodlesofNoodle]

As a hardcore Chael nuthugger who still stans the American Gangster to this day; not that good. Don't get me wrong he was pretty damn good contextually but definitely not "elite". He was however an absolute goddamned workhorse who had less quit in him than he had naturally produced testosterone. He dramatically over performed in his second UFC run and went from being a solid potential win on a prospect's resume to a guy that's still brought up in MMA conversation today.

 

[cooks1]

34-17 in the UFC is average?

Chael is probably good enough for HoF. Never ducked, very gritty style and a treasure on the mic

LOL at HOF. Chael was a colorful fighter one step above journeyman status. He was 7-7 in his UFC career....with 7 finish losses.

 

[Snake Fist]

Chael on the roids was relentless, a nightmare for anyone in the division.

Constant pressure, great double leg takedowns with a smothering, suffocating top game.

 

[wrestlefan]

He was one of the best wrestlers in MMA at one point. I remember when he fought Okami and Marquardt, people were saying he wouldn't do much and he totally ragdolled them