"Messi could come walking through" - UFC legend hilariously explains how hometown's indifference to soccer led to huge confusion on Brazil trip
Three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is one of the most well-known names in MMA. At one point, he was the sport's foremost trash-talker, but had little renown outside the MMA bubble. Now, Sonnen has touched on the fame of a global superstar whose worldwide appeal never penetrated the bubble of his hometown.
On his YouTube channel, the former UFC star spoke about the lack of popularity for association football/soccer in West Linn, Oregon. In fact, the apathy of the sport in his hometown is to such a degree that he claimed that Lionel Messi himself would be unrecognized. He said:
"They're leaving their positions and running out to get a photo with me. And nobody called me Chael in Brazil. They all called me Sonnen, 'Sonnen, Sonnen, over here, over here. Sonnen, Sonnen.' I'm with my wife, we're just going to get our bags. And this is where I'm getting a grasp of the sense of how big the sport is in Brazil. It was the number two sport in all of Brazil, but I guess I didn't understand what that meant."
This level of recognition stunned him, as he claimed other more globally renowned sportsmen wouldn't receive the same treatment in his hometown if they represented its second most popular sport.
"In my mind, I don't care if you're number two. If you're behind soccer, you're not a very big sport. There is literally nobody in my hometown of West Linn, Oregon, who cares about soccer. That's a literal statement. Messi could come walking through. Beckham could come walking through if he wasn't with his Spice Girl wife and nobody would bother him. This is true, this is real."
Check out Chael Sonnen's talk about fame and Lionel Messi (7:54):
It is a curious statement by the ex-UFC middleweight/light heavyweight, especially given the red-carpet treatment Messi has received in Miami ever since signing with Inter Miami in 2023.
From his UFC run to his Bellator stint, Chael Sonnen has fought three GOAT candidates
Chael Sonnen is widely known for his deeply personal rivalry with Anderson Silva, with whom he twice shared the octagon. Both attempts saw him fail to beat 'The Spider.' As many know, Silva was once regarded as the MMA GOAT, but that standing has diminished in recent years.
'The American Gangster' subsequently faced Jon Jones, who is currently the most widely recognized GOAT candidate of them all. Sonnen lost the bout, which was for the UFC light heavyweight title in a lopsided fashion. Finally, he faced Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator.
Before Silva's rise to the top, Emelianenko was considered the GOAT, or at the very least the heavyweight GOAT. Sonnen again lost.