You could say he’s divisive, a love him or hate him kind of guy, but really, you have no choice but to love him. MMA's self-proclaimed ‘Bad Guy’ redefined what it meant to be a fighter, turning the sport into a theater of wit, bravado, and undeniable entertainment. Long before trash talk was a standard promotional tool, Chael blazed the trail, turning pre and post-fight interviews into must-watch television and selling fights like no one else. An uber-accomplished competitor in the Octagon, he has seamlessly transitioned into an outspoken ambassador for the sport, never shying away from controversy. Opinionated, charismatic, and forever sharp-tongued, Chael brings personality to everything he does. As the face of the World MMA Awards for numerous years, his entertaining and unpredictable nature is everything that fans want. Whether he’s making you laugh, think, or cringe, one thing’s for sure—Chael Sonnen always delivers. After the awards night, we caught up with him to get some not-so-straight answers in ways only he could articulate.
Hosting the awards has become almost synonymous with you—how do you keep the energy fresh every year?
Thankfully, nature has provided a limitless supply of jobbers, imitators, ideological deadbeats, and fools for me to ridicule out of existence off the top of my head. So there's always a ‘topic’ shambling over to tell his story, which I will use for cheap, mean-spirited mockery poorly disguised as well-meaning humor. We'll get by on that this, and every, year. Rain or shine, there's always a ‘bumper crop’ of morons, and their silly ideas and meaningless accomplishments, to harvest for a paycheck
Any unexpected things that have happened to you while hosting the awards?
No. I thought for a minute you were going to ask an intelligent question. THAT would have been unexpected. Thanks for NUTHIN'
How do you balance humor with respect for the fighters during the ceremony?
I lay about 4 bushels full of humor on one side of the scale and a fly-speck of respect on the other side, count them as even, then blow the speck of respect away with my first mean joke.
Who was the most deserving winner this year, and why?
‘Most Deserving’ and ‘Winner’ are no longer ‘Synthetic Analogues.’ They are linguistically shifting to opposite ends of the cultural globe, like Continental Drift. They no longer belong in the same sentence. Next.
As a host, do you write jokes in advance or thrive on spontaneity?
I steal jokes, then write them down. Like French Directors Truffaut, Rohmer, Bazin, I then become the ‘AUTEUR,’ or ‘Author’ of the joke by dint of my ‘interpretation’ becoming artistically superior to the raw subject matter because of its focus and approach. I don't expect you to understand this.
With MMA rapidly evolving, how do you think the awards reflect the growth and diversity of the sport?
The awards reflect the growth and diversity of our sport because MMA is evolving so rapidly, or whatever you said. Yeah.That's it.
If you could create a new award category, what would it be?
I would say an award for best questions for an outstanding journalist would be nice. Quick award since no nominations.
With your storytelling gifts, does any of that skill translate into your hosting duties?
None. It's all about the nominees.
Are there any current or former fighters you’d like to see host the awards?
Are there any hacks you'd like to nominate to ask next year's questions? Submit your list, I'll put my list up, we'll compare. If there's somebody on both lists, let's both agree to give that person our jobs next year, and we'll both stay home. Pinkie swear?
