Kelvin Gastelum on Learning from Chael Sonnen

When Kelvin Gastelum is asked 22 minutes into this clip, what the most useful thing he learned from Chael Sonnen was, he replies:

He tells me that for a fight you can't worry about the outcome, you just have to worry about performing and that's what I'm thinking coming into every thing. I'm not thinking I'm going to win, just thinking about performing and doing what I need to do to get the job done.

Chael Sonnen on Working Hard

Chael Sonnen on the important of training hard and staying motivated during long and grueling training camps:

Workouts are really important. It's easy to get motivated on fight night but it's tough to get in the gym twice a day. I never miss practice.

This kind of relates to what another hard worker in the sport, Dominick Cruz, says about training:

When you go out and fight you give everything you have, there's too much on the line...What translates into the fight though is the camp...You can't mess up in practice, it translates into a fight.

Chael Sonnen on his respect for Shogun Rua

 

Chael Sonnen has been known for his entertaining trash-talk, but for his UFC on Fox Sports 1 opponent, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, he has nothing but kind words. He noted the following in his interview with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani:

I don't like him because I want to like him, I've been around him and he's a good dude. I've been entertained by him over the years, I've been inspired by him at times as most fighters have over the years. That's what I think of him.

Chael Sonnen on Discipline and Mental Toughness

Fight Magazine has done a great job asking a variety of fighters what they think is the most important skill set in MMA and in this video they ask UFC dual division contender Chael Sonnen to illuminate us on this topic. He replies:

Mindset has got to be up there. But there's some mentally tough guys that don't have discipline. I've been mentally strong at times and loved going to practice but I've also been distracted before, but I still go to practice. I personally am very disciplined. Whether I want to be at practice or not I show up every day. Whether I'm healthy or I'm sick or hurt or tired, I show up every day. I never ever miss. And I think discipline's a big deal. When I read about the top guys, Randy Couture was a big discipline guy; he always showed up whether he felt like it or not. Georges St-Pierre always goes to practice and you'll hear stories like that; if Georges goes on vacation, he brings a training partner with him. If he goes on a media tour, he brings a training partner. And those are disciplinary actions more than anything. And discipline's also a sign of mental toughness, so somewhere in between those two for anything in life will bring you the most success.

Chael Sonnen on Respecting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Chael Sonnen has been known to throw out some trash talk, but don't expect to see that leading up to his fight with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC on Fox Sports 1. Sonnen has the utmost respect for Shogun, who is has been lauded universally for his warrior spirit, striking skills, and very humble and respectful disposition. Chael Sonnen has only praise Shogun:

"It'd be nice to not like Shogun, but he's a very hard guy not to like. He's impossible to not respect."



UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen takes place on August 17th at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
 

Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne
Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara
Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle
Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson

Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Uriah Hall vs. John Howard
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler
Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda

Preliminary card (Facebook)
Manvel Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick

Chael Sonnen on fighting anybody in any weight class

There a lot of fighters coming up the ranks who weren't even born when the first UFC started out in 1993. Then there is a relic of a fighter that is very relevant today and appreciates the warriors who did combat at UFC 1, and that man is Chael Sonnen. He got into the sport to be the UFC champion when there was no such thing as a weight class, time limits, rounds, and rules themselves were scarce. Even today as the sport has advanced to the form it now is, he still embodies the same spirit of a Royce Gracie, who would take on behemoths much larger than him and wasn't interested in segmenting the world of fighting into weight categories.

Chael Sonnen on steroids and PEDs

Chael Sonnen's funny take on steroids and performance enhancing drugs
There's two things you can do. If somebody does steroids, you can kick him out and throw him away forever. Or, you can just open up an all-steroid league and let the games begin

Chael Sonnen: Everything is a fight?

Chael Sonnen on life reflecting fighting and vice versa:
Everything's a fight...Everybody gets faced with the same question: Can I go on? How bad do I want this?...Is it easier to just give up? Give up on your dream or your goal.

Chael Sonnen on what his dad taught him

Chael Sonnen on the lessons from his father:

My dad taught me a lot of valuable lessons, but the main thing was that you work hard. If you're a man you need to honor your obligations; if you say you're going to do something, you got to do it. And above all else, a deal is a deal. Some deals are good deals and some deals are bad deals, but if you make a deal, a deal is a deal.

Chael Sonnen: I've never had a bad job experience

Chael Sonnen, who enjoys hard work and worked as plumber putting himself through college, feels he has never had a bad work experience:

I've never had a bad job experience...I've never had a bad job, I like to work hard.