Chael Sonnen Talks Submission Underground
Chael Sonnen Talks Submission Underground
Chael Sonnen may just be the hardest working man in the fight business. While the transition between fighting in front of thousands--if not hundreds of thou
Chael Sonnen may just be the hardest working man in the fight business.
While the transition between fighting in front of thousands--if not hundreds of thousands--and retirement has been a difficulty for many fighters, Sonnen isn't among that collective. In addition to his role as an analyst on ESPN Sonnen is also the host of the hit show "You're Welcome" which airs on the Podcast One network.
And even though Sonnen is currently wearing numerous hats, his latest partnership with FloSports promises to keep him moving forward at a rapid rate. Sonnen has lined up an amazing card for Submission Underground, and the event set to take place on July 17 in Portland, Oregon.
Sonnen's days of fighting may have come to an end, but his reputation for helping others has been rock-solid throughout his entire career. Sonnen is looking to continue those efforts with Submission Underground, and he's happy to provide opportunities in a space where they can sometimes be difficult to come by.
"When I started the UFC was doing five shows a year and that has increased to 53," Sonnen said. "There is a lot of opportunity there now, but in grappling there's not. I belong to a team filled with guys who work very hard and sacrifice to improve their grappling but they never get to show it off.
"That was really the reason I wanted to do Submission Underground, but in the matter of doing it right and presenting it correctly was an issue that came down to finding the right partner. I didn't have to look any farther than FloSports. Everything they touch they do it right."
While Sonnen is intent on creating space for more grapplers to compete with his new promotion, he's upped the ante by using EBI rules for every match, which is a system named after it's creator in Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Eddie Bravo.
Under Eddie Bravo Invitational rules a match isn't finished until one of the competitors submit, and Sonnen believes that structure will be the future of grappling. All too often the highest profile matchups end in draws because competitors are allowed to stall out when they find themselves in danger. That won't be the case at Submission Underground.
"It's very interesting because as a promoter you are normally promoting the winners and things of that nature, but we've gained major traction by going the opposite way and saying, 'Listen, this is about who is going to lose," Sonnen said. The EBI rules eliminates the draw situation. At the end of the match there will be one winner and one loser.
"They will go back-and-forth in an overtime format. There will eight minutes where they can figure it out on their own--no score, no anything, just look for submissions. If they don't figure it out we will put them in positions where one guy goes and then the other guy goes and they will go all dang day if they have to, but there will be a winner. And it will be by submission."
"When you look at Vinny [Magalhaes] you have the best of the best right there and he's competing against Ronny Markes," Sonnen said. "Vinny is the world champion in jiu-jitsu and it's not likely he's going to tap, but one of those guys are going to lose.
"That's far more fascinating than who is going to win. Who is going to lose? That's compelling and something people want to see."
It's also Sonnen's sincerest hope the example the promotion sets will spark widespread change across the BJJ community.
"The system is bigger than just this event because when a guy he has to be able to train with his teammates doing the same thing," Sonnen said. "You can walk into any basketball or wrestling practice in the country and they are all doing the same thing because it's the same rules everywhere they compete. That's not the same in jiu-jitsu because the rules change depending on what event you participate on.
"Eddie stressed the importance of promoters banding together to make one set of rules the way MMA has it's unified rules. Eddie has figured this thing out and done so in a way that allows advancement. If you want to have a championship--and we do--you have to have advancement. Even when I talked to Ralek [Gracie] about that he said, 'Our rules are pretty great too but it does make it tough to build contenders.' If you have a draw and go with the guy you think really won that doesn't make sense. If he really won then why wasn't he the winner?"
The announcement of Submission Underground sparked excitement throughout the world of combat sports, it didn't take long for Sonnen to experience the roller coaster ride that comes with event promotion.
Shortly after announcing a clash of former MMA champions between Jake Shields and Benson Henderson in the main event of the debut card, the former UFC lightweight champion and current Bellator welterweight suffered an injury that forced him off the card. He was later replaced by former UFC standout Chris Lytle, and a new co-main event was set.
"I had a heck of a time finding anyone to face Jake Shields in this event," Sonnen said. "No one wanted to step up because Jake is incredible, and with the rules we have in place, there's a big chance they are going to lose. A lot of guys were afraid to put it all out on the line but Chris Lytle wasn't one of them.
"Chris responded in minutes of me offering the match to him and accepted it on the spot. That shows what type of competitor Chris Lytle is. I think it's going to be a great matchup and the fans are in for a treat."
While the transition between fighting in front of thousands--if not hundreds of thousands--and retirement has been a difficulty for many fighters, Sonnen isn't among that collective. In addition to his role as an analyst on ESPN Sonnen is also the host of the hit show "You're Welcome" which airs on the Podcast One network.
And even though Sonnen is currently wearing numerous hats, his latest partnership with FloSports promises to keep him moving forward at a rapid rate. Sonnen has lined up an amazing card for Submission Underground, and the event set to take place on July 17 in Portland, Oregon.
Sonnen's days of fighting may have come to an end, but his reputation for helping others has been rock-solid throughout his entire career. Sonnen is looking to continue those efforts with Submission Underground, and he's happy to provide opportunities in a space where they can sometimes be difficult to come by.
"When I started the UFC was doing five shows a year and that has increased to 53," Sonnen said. "There is a lot of opportunity there now, but in grappling there's not. I belong to a team filled with guys who work very hard and sacrifice to improve their grappling but they never get to show it off.
"That was really the reason I wanted to do Submission Underground, but in the matter of doing it right and presenting it correctly was an issue that came down to finding the right partner. I didn't have to look any farther than FloSports. Everything they touch they do it right."
While Sonnen is intent on creating space for more grapplers to compete with his new promotion, he's upped the ante by using EBI rules for every match, which is a system named after it's creator in Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Eddie Bravo.
Under Eddie Bravo Invitational rules a match isn't finished until one of the competitors submit, and Sonnen believes that structure will be the future of grappling. All too often the highest profile matchups end in draws because competitors are allowed to stall out when they find themselves in danger. That won't be the case at Submission Underground.
"It's very interesting because as a promoter you are normally promoting the winners and things of that nature, but we've gained major traction by going the opposite way and saying, 'Listen, this is about who is going to lose," Sonnen said. The EBI rules eliminates the draw situation. At the end of the match there will be one winner and one loser.
"They will go back-and-forth in an overtime format. There will eight minutes where they can figure it out on their own--no score, no anything, just look for submissions. If they don't figure it out we will put them in positions where one guy goes and then the other guy goes and they will go all dang day if they have to, but there will be a winner. And it will be by submission."
"When you look at Vinny [Magalhaes] you have the best of the best right there and he's competing against Ronny Markes," Sonnen said. "Vinny is the world champion in jiu-jitsu and it's not likely he's going to tap, but one of those guys are going to lose.
"That's far more fascinating than who is going to win. Who is going to lose? That's compelling and something people want to see."
It's also Sonnen's sincerest hope the example the promotion sets will spark widespread change across the BJJ community.
"The system is bigger than just this event because when a guy he has to be able to train with his teammates doing the same thing," Sonnen said. "You can walk into any basketball or wrestling practice in the country and they are all doing the same thing because it's the same rules everywhere they compete. That's not the same in jiu-jitsu because the rules change depending on what event you participate on.
"Eddie stressed the importance of promoters banding together to make one set of rules the way MMA has it's unified rules. Eddie has figured this thing out and done so in a way that allows advancement. If you want to have a championship--and we do--you have to have advancement. Even when I talked to Ralek [Gracie] about that he said, 'Our rules are pretty great too but it does make it tough to build contenders.' If you have a draw and go with the guy you think really won that doesn't make sense. If he really won then why wasn't he the winner?"
The announcement of Submission Underground sparked excitement throughout the world of combat sports, it didn't take long for Sonnen to experience the roller coaster ride that comes with event promotion.
Shortly after announcing a clash of former MMA champions between Jake Shields and Benson Henderson in the main event of the debut card, the former UFC lightweight champion and current Bellator welterweight suffered an injury that forced him off the card. He was later replaced by former UFC standout Chris Lytle, and a new co-main event was set.
"I had a heck of a time finding anyone to face Jake Shields in this event," Sonnen said. "No one wanted to step up because Jake is incredible, and with the rules we have in place, there's a big chance they are going to lose. A lot of guys were afraid to put it all out on the line but Chris Lytle wasn't one of them.
"Chris responded in minutes of me offering the match to him and accepted it on the spot. That shows what type of competitor Chris Lytle is. I think it's going to be a great matchup and the fans are in for a treat."