Chael Sonnen would ask, "What would Steve Austin do?"
Chael Sonnen landed himself a number of big fights during his MMA career thanks to his ability to generate interest with his words. At UFC 159, Sonnen talked himself into a fight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.
Speaking on FLAGRANT, Sonnen was asked if he took inspiration from any pro wrestlers during his MMA career.
"I would definitely ask myself, 'What would Stone Cold?' in this situation. I would sometimes even call Stone Cold and say, 'In this situation, how would you handle this? Your character. How would that happen?' He gave me a couple of promos for Jon Jones. It was more ideas. I ended up not even using it. I called him, he answered the phone, and I was like, 'this guy is a lot younger and bigger.' He says, 'I'm driving down the road right now. Two lane road with a yellow stripe down the middle. It reminds me of Jon Jones. That yellow stripe down his back.' He starts cutting a promo, but it's what is actually happening. It was more to turn my brain as to what a promo was and what people wanted to hear," said Sonnen.
Jones defeated Sonnen by TKO in the first round.
Sonnen is still active in the combat sports world, hosting his own podcast and fighting Anderson Silva in an exhibition boxing contest.
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