Chael Vs Fedor Full Fight

• Chael Sonnen Vs Fedor Full Fight
• Chael Sonnen Vs Fedor Full Fight

A decade ago, when Chael Sonnen was just starting his ascent toward championship contention in the UFC, he developed a routine for his fight camps. Three nights a week, after a long day of training in the gym, he would go out for a run. It would wind him down, clear his head. Rain, snow or whatever the Oregon night put in his path, Sonnen was out there in the fresh air doing his road work. And thinking.

'I'd be thinking of Fedor,' he said on Monday during an appearance on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show. 'Every step I took.'

2018 MMA fight – Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Chael Sonnen – full fight Video Bellator Posted on 2018//10/14 by ATBF Editorial Board Review by AllTheBestFights.com: 2018-01-20, disappointing fight between Quinton Jackson and Chael Sonnen: it gets two stars. Bellator 208 - Fedor vs. Sonnen pits Fedor The Last Emperor Emelianenko vs Chael Sonnen fight in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum at NYCB Live, Uniondale, New York, United States on Oct 13, 2018. 2018 MMA fight – Fedor Emelianenko vs Chael Sonnen – full fight Video Bellator 208 Posted on 2018//12/14 by ATBF Editorial Board Review by AllTheBestFights.com: 2018-10-13, great fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen: it gets three stars.

Now, that would have made perfect sense for Sonnen's runs over these past several weeks, as he has been preparing to fight Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in a semifinal of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.

But back then? In the late 2000s, Emelianenko was king of the heavyweights, in the midst of a fearsome 28-fight unbeaten streak that would last nearly a decade. Sonnen wasn't even a contender yet. And, oh yeah, he was a middleweight.

Still, when the shoelaces were tied and out the door Sonnen went, the soundtrack playing in his mind would be of all 185 pounds of him cutting fantasy promos for a fight with 'The Last Emperor.'

Why Fedor? Why a guy two weight classes away?

'He was the biggest star, and I always hated the biggest stars,' said Sonnen. 'I always hated the people who everybody wanted to talk about: 'This guy's so great.' What a bunch of chickens! 'Oh, this guy's so good. Don't fight him. He'll kick your butt.' I don't give a goddamn. It's a fistfight.'

As things have turned out, Sonnen has found himself in fistfights with some of the most feared fighters in the game. In 2010, he fought UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva and was on the verge of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the sport before the Brazilian foiled him with a last-ditch submission. Less than three years later, Sonnen stepped up to the light heavyweight division and challenged the indomitable Jon Jones for the belt.

Add in this weekend's tussle with Emelianenko, and the 40-year-old Sonnen has amassed quite the collection of candidates for G.O.A.T. status. (If only we could get him into a cage with Georges St-Pierre, Chael would have a complete set.)

Of course, the 2018 version of Emelianenko bears little resemblance to the motivating figure who fueled Sonnen's nightly runs, the fighter who terrorized the Pride Fighting Championship back in the day. After three straight losses in Strikeforce at the start of the decade, Emelianenko left the big stage to compete in lesser promotions in Japan and his native Russia, picked up some hollow victories against over-the-hill opponents and even retired for a spell.

Then Bellator enticed him into its cage last year. In his debut, Emelianenko was KO'd by Matt Mitrione in just over a minute. It looked as though one of MMA's great careers might be over. But then the Heavyweight Grand Prix came along, and the 41-year-old Russian was all-in. And in a wild first-round fight with ex-UFC champ Frank Mir, Emelianenko overcame a quick knockdown to win in just 48 seconds.

Those two fights earned Emelianenko a fan. 'He lost to Mitrione and he was down and out. Where was Fedor going to go from here?' said Sonnen, who beat Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson to make the semis. 'And I was at the Mir fight, and I saw him rise back up and walk in there with a former two-time world champion, dig deep, get knocked down, get off the canvas and find a way to get his hand raised. I admire guys like that.'

Now the man whom Sonnen once hated and has grown to admire is his opponent, the winner moving a step closer to the Bellator heavyweight championship. That last detail actually provides Sonnen with some solace, in the knowledge that Saturday's fight with Emelianenko is his only fight this week.

'I used to have two fights,' said Sonnen. 'First you've got to beat the scale. And then you've got to go beat your opponent.'

Preparing to compete as a heavyweight for just the second time, he is still adjusting. Years of having to cut to 185 pounds required relentless discipline -- 'It's a lifestyle thing' -- and when the irritable byproduct of that inner focus was absent in the lead-up to the Rampage fight, Sonnen said, 'I went through a bit of a panic.' He went to his wife and asked, 'Is my eye off the ball here? Why am I not crankier? Why am I not focused?'

Then he realized that his mind and body were feeling unburdened because he didn't need to cut weight. He could focus on his opponent -- his only opponent. This is a good thing for a fighter who now is a father, broadcasts Bellator fights, has his own 'You're Welcome' podcast and also co-hosts ESPN's Ariel & The Bad Guy. His attention is so divided in day-to-day life that it's refreshing to be a heavyweight, single-minded in fight preparation.

'So far I'm undefeated at it,' said Sonnen. 'But the other side of the story is, I've only done it once.'

This Saturday night Oct 13th Bellator 208 is on at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York and will have the second semifinal of the Heavyweight Grand Prix. The main event will see Chael Sonnen face Fedor Emelianenko and in the co-main event Benson Henderson will fight Saad Awad. The winner of the main will go on to fight in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix later this year. The fight card in full is below along with the latest Bellator Betting Odds.

Bellator 208 Fedor vs. Sonnen Fight Card

Bellator 208 Main card (Paramount / DAZN 9pm ET/ 2am BST)
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Chael Sonnen (Heavyweight Grand Prix SemiFinal)
Benson Henderson vs. Saad Awad
Cheick Kongo vs. Timothy Johnson
Alexander Shlemenko vs. Anatoly Tokov
Henry Corrales vs. Andy Main

Chael Sonnen Vs Fedor Full Fight

Preliminary Fight Vard (Paramount Network / DAZN 7pm ET/ 11pm BST)
Tommy Espinosa vs. Suhrob Aidarbekov
Frank Buenafuente vs. James Gonzalez
Jeremy Puglia vs. Eric Olsen
Mike DiOrio vs. Andrews Rodriguez
Zarrukh Adashev vs. Christian Medina
Ryan Castro vs. Dennis Buzukia
Jerome Mickle vs. Nick Fiore
Robson Gracie Jr. vs. Jamal Pottinger
Jennifer Chieng vs. Jessica Ruiz
Shaquan Moore vs. D. Meshkhoradze

Bellator 208 Betting Odds

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Chael Sonnen Vs Fedor Full Fight