Is Chael really THAT fearless?

I respect that Chael isn't ducking guys, and I by no means would call him coward. But as this has been said I also need to say that I don't buy the claim that he is the most courageous fighter, or one of them, around.
The reasons why he fights anyone anytime is for these two reasons:
a) He has never had great legacy, aura or win streak. He has good legacy with good performances and his 3 fight win streak in the UFC etc. have been good but he has never had anything to guard. He has never amazed anyone, he was undefeated only for his first 6 fights against nobodies, he lost his UFC debut and he has always been "that other guy" by his credentials. He has been defeated 14 times and finished 13 times. He's like the greatest journeyman/gatekeeper in history and has reached contender status many times too, but he's always been the guy who comes there to compete and doesn't really seem to care that much whether he wins or loses.
b) He turtles up when it goes bad for him. I would probably too instead of taking meaningless damage. Doesn't change the fact that he knows that he either wins or loses without much damage. Not very scary for pro fight veteran! Even after being finished he looks like he was having sparring instead of title fight.


This is not fighter bashing, I just don't think he is most fearless guy around. If he had legacy like Mayweather or if he always fought till' the end like Cigano and he was still willing to fight anybody up to HW on 3 days notice while injured, I would understand the hype. He just doesn't have anything to guard and he gets props just by showing up against anybody even when losing. Win-win situation.

InB4 angry Shael fans crying or angry moderators Wastlanding this bish.

 

He was willing to take Jones on a weeks notice. That takes ball.

 

he should've never fought at lhw. he did great when he returned to the ufc and fought at mw losing to only maia and silva, while beating undefeated miller, beat ranked okami, nate, stann, bisping, so he is very good at mw. Still i feel vitor is going to ko him

 

Any smart UFC fighter who likes money and job stability would do exactly what Sonnen is doing.

So I agree - Chael is not necessarily "fearless" per se, he's simply a fighter.

 

It's shitty though because he goes in there and just gives up like he did against Jones and Rashad. And he did the same thing in the 2nd round with Silva. He hasn't looked good since he beat Stann. It would be best if he didn't fight anymore. It's the opposite of fearless to me. I swear even some of the people that say Sonnen is all talk still believes some of the stuff he says. He's just a business man and without trt, Belfort will be his last fight win or lose.

 

I'd say it's 50% guts and 50% smart business sense.

 

Them crazy Oregonians, way out in the sticks.

 

He takes fights that are high reward and low risk (well not low risk in terms of him losing, but low risk in terms of his loss really having a negative impact on him)

 

vs Evans we saw a Bob Sapish Sonnen , so no he is not that fearless

 

It depends how you define fearless?
Does he get nerves when having to face someone like Anderson or Jones? Of course.
But he will step up and fight ANYONE at short notice. That seems pretty brave to me.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

He's fought a lot of big money fights, for someone with his boring fight style and limited skills. And I give him props for that. Fighting JJ must have earned him a shitload.

 

As fearless as they come.

 

Nah, Chael just doesn't care about his ranking or losing cause he knows the UFC will give him a massive paycheck and another shot at the title no matter how many times he loses.
If I got paid the amount that Chael gets paid, I'd fight all these guys no problem. We all know that Chael will just give up in the 1st round and tap to strikes if it's not going his way.

 

A Title fight he didnt deserve, when he had already been training for Jones knowing his Training partner was injured lol

 

Doubtful, as the fight didn't happen.

 

You seem to be associating fear with talent.

Sonnen will fight anyone, anywhere, regardless of skill discrepancy.

That is pretty much the definition of having no fear in regards to MMA.

 

you guys are a bunch of crackheads, the guy had an operation before the evans fight and is the first guy to completely smash Rua's half guard

 

This is most of Chael's pre-UFC career, and not much has changed except for no longer taking fights at HW. Has Chael ever pulled out of a fight? Has he ever come up injured? He fights sick, hurt, injured, whatever, he never ducks, turns down fights or pulls out of fights.

 

Yawn.

 

Yes, Chael is pure awesome.