Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen was born on April 3rd, 1977 in Milwaukee, Oregon. A wrestler from an early age, Sonnen was a state-runner up in high school, and began training in mixed martial arts in 1996 with the intent to compete in the UFC upon graduation. He would go on to compete as a wrestler at the University of Oregon, earning a silver medal at 2000 Greco-Roman World University Championships, and winning the Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman two times.

Sonnen’s MMA career with the UFC began in 2005, earning his first win by defeating Trevor Prangley at UFC Fight Night 4. He would later defeat Tim Credeur in 2006, Paulo Filho in 2008, and Dan Miller and Yushin Okami in 2009.  UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva would then defeat him in 2010. A 2012 rematch at UFC 147 would see him lose to Silva once more. He is well known for his trash talk and banter as a fighter, and after a series of victories and defeats in 2013, Sonnen announced his retirement from MMA in June, 2014. He has since made his 2017 debut in Bellator MMA, fighting both Tito Ortiz and Wanderlei Silva and earning a loss and win respectively.