American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Chael Patrick Sonnen was born April 3, 1977 in West Linn, Oregon. Before starting his professional career he attended the University of Oregon as a collegiate wrestler and was NCAA All-American Division I, two time National Champion in Greco Roman wrestling. He was also an alternative for the United States Olympic team. Up until June 16, 2010, Sonnen was running for state representative on a Republican ticket in Oregon’s House District 37, however he dropped out of the race for the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He is also a real estate agent.
In 2002, at age 24, Sonnen began his MMA career by defeating Jason Miller. In his first five fights he went 5-0 until he lost to Trevor Prangley. He would later avenged that loss in 2006 at the UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4. In his first 20 MMA fights he went 13-6-1.
At 185 pounds, the 6’1″ Chael Sonnen is currently signed on with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and is ranked #2 middleweight in the world, according to Sherdogcom. On August 7, 2010 Sonnen had his first shot against Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 170 – Silva vs. Sonnen. Over four rounds he dominated the champion, but was caught and submitted in the fifth with a triangle choke.
Chael Sonnen has noteworthy wins over champion Nate Marquardt (former King of Pancrase), Jason Miller (former ICON Sport Champion), Dan Miller (former IFL Champion), Trevor Prangley (former BODOG Champion). Paulo Filho (former WEC Champion), Yushin Okami (former WEC champion) and Jason Lambert (former WEC champion).
On December 3, 2008 the WEC formally announced the dissolution of their middleweight division. Chael Sonnen was then transferred to the UFC and his next fight against Damian Maia at UFC 95 he lost due to a triangle choke.
In UFC 98, Sonnen was brought in as a late replacement for Yushin Okami who had sustained a torn ligament while training. Having only 22 days notice, Chael Sonnen lost over 36 pounds in time to compete against Dan Miller. Sonnen beat Miller in a unanimous decision.
The UFC 104, by unanimous decision, Sonnen beat world-ranked opponent Yushin Okami.
In the controversial promotion of Sonnen’s fight against Anderson Silva, Chael claimed he was going to “retire” Silva. As the event progressed, Sonnen was in top position through the entire fight, and according to all the judges scorecards easily won the first four rounds. At 3:10 into the fifth round, Sonnen lost to Silva in a triangle arm bar. After the fight Sonnen stated he would like another shot at Silva. Sometime in early 2011 a rematch should be expected.
