Stories from Chael Sonnen are well renowned for being humorous even though they don’t always seem to be real. The former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight championship challenger’s tale about the Nogueria brothers and a bus that was allegedly mistaken for a horse may be his most memorable one.
The mixed martial arts commentator spoke on the reaction to the interview when recently appearing on the FLAGRANT podcast, saying:
Chael Sonnen clarified his remarks, saying:
“I avoided swearing. I did not use threats. A four-letter word has never been used by me. I’ve been dubbed the sport’s best s**t talker, but I’ve never cursed. Because he was so out for the gimmick, this guy was going to take my licence. He believed I was such a nasty guy and I was doing such bad things.”
Sonnen asserted that although he was merely acting the heel, it wasn’t typical at the time. He continued by saying that Brazilian fans wanted him dead and that during filming The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, he had a six-person security detail wherever he went.
What did Chael Sonnen say about the Nogueira brothers?
When he was a fighter, Chael Sonnen was notorious for making contentious and occasionally absurd statements. The mixed martial arts analyst claimed that if he had known that Brazil had computers, he would not have disparaged the nation online. He made this assertion in an interview with Ariel Helwani in 2011.
To make his point, Sonnen cited Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, saying:
When the Nogueira brothers first arrived in America, I was in Las Vegas. Little Nog attempted to feed a carrot to the bus as Big Nog petted it as it approached a red light. He mistook it for a horse. This actually did occur. You’re telling me that country has computers after he tried to give a bus a carrot? I was unaware of that!
Sonnen was never supposed to confront either of the Nogueira brothers, so it’s unclear why he chose them as the subject of his joke. Later, “Big Nog” refuted the allegations, saying that whenever he posts a photo of his horses, people always ask him about the incident.
