Chael Sonnen talks about whether the Nogueira brothers forgave him for the infamous bus story
It doesn't appear as though the Nogueira brothers will be making dinner plans or joining Chael Sonnen on his YouTube channel anytime soon.
During his appearance on FLAGRANT with comedian Andrew Schultz, Sonnen talked about the infamous bus story he told Ariel Helwani in a past interview and whether the legendary Brazilian brothers ever forgave him for that or understood that he was leaning into being a villain. Despite Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira speaking about and handling it well since then, the former UFC middleweight title challenger mentioned that it's not the same reaction in private.
He said:
"I know the exact piece you're referring to, it was a Q and A and he handled it so cool. He sounded like such a cool guy. So that's infront...behind the scenes, he's one of the coldest guys to me. He will not say hello when I see him in person, he frowns." [47:33 - 47:47]
'The American Gangster' even recalled being at a restaurant with a friend and the UFC Hall of Famer questioned the friend on why he was hanging out with him. He mentioned that 'Minotauro' hasn't figured out that he was in character and trying to build up his fights, saying:
"I was even visiting with Bamba - a Brazilian friend of mine - we're at a restaurant we get separated, he comes up to Bamba and says, 'Why are you hanging out with this guy? He's no good.'...Yeah, of everybody that I've ever dealt with, Nogueira, who's been nothing but polite publicly, is one guy behind the scenes that never got it." [47:48 - 48:04]
It remains to be seen if the Nogueira brothers' opinion will change like Sonnen's other rival, Wanderlei Silva's opinion has in recent years. It also didn't help that the former UFC middleweight contender once compared a black-belt from the Nogueira brothers as being the equivalent to getting a toy in a Happy Meal from McDonald's.
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What was Chael Sonnen's infamous bus story
Chael Sonnen telling the Nogueria brother bus story is still legendary https://t.co/MrzWiAtngj
Chael Sonnen was in top form when he was committed to his character and building up his fights with Brazilian fighters.
While speaking to Canadian MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, 'The American Gangster' responded to Wanderlei Silva's threat and turned it around by sharing a story of witnessing the legendary Nogueira brothers arriving in America and mentioning that they were feeding a bus a carrot thinking it was a horse.
He said:
"This is a true story. There was a bus that pulled up to a red light and 'Little Nog' tried to feed it carrot, while 'Big Nog' was petting it. He thought it was a horse. This really happened...He tried to feed a bus a carrot and now you're telling me that country [Brazil] has computers? I didn't know that."
The story is still one of 'The American Gangster's most memorable when he was an active fighter.