The Bad Guy Has Finally Reached the End of the Road… MMA Legend Chael Sonnen Has Retired After a TKO Loss to Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222…
Chael Sonnen is always going to be one of the greatest personalities in MMA. One of the first fighters in the sport to actually be a successful trash talker, he never won a title with a major promotion, but will always be regarded as a legend regardless.
His fight with Anderson Silva will go down in history as one of the best, even though the American lost. He holds notable victories over Quinton Jackson, Michael Bisping, ‘Shogun’ Rua, and Wanderlei Silva. A title challenger in the middleweight and light-heavyweight divisions, his wrestling style was highly effective.
Now it’s all over for the 42-year-old after he officially retired from MMA after a final loss to Lyoto Machida in New York. It was an ignominious way to go out, but hey, he was doing what he loved.
The Flying Knee did the trick for @lyotomachidafw 💪#Bellator222 pic.twitter.com/UJEocCqWnT
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 15, 2019
Last Time
Sonnen actually started this fight well, putting the pressure on The Dragon immediately. He had his back against the cage, but Machida was able to get free and quickly landed a kick to the body followed by a jumping knee that dropped the American. After taking a beating on the ground the fight was nearly stopped but Sonnen got to his feet and was saved by the bell.
He looked in decent shape considering the beating he had just suffered. He came across the cage and shot for the takedown but Machida landed another savage knee, dropping him. Then the Brazilian swarmed him with Sonnen unable to escape. The referee stopped the fight. Afterwards, Sonnen officially retired and summed it up:
“I had a hell of a lot of fun. I had a good run. I’m walking out. I appreciate the memories.”
https://twitter.com/BennCarroll/status/1139752339143823360
Championship
Bellator 222 was also significant for historical reasons. Opening the main card was a massive bantamweight fight between Bellator champion Darrion Caldwell and RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi. The two had fought earlier on New Year’s Eve with the Japanese fighter getting the decision and defending his title.
Now in the rematch, it was the American’s belt on the line. While the fight itself wasn’t the most exciting in the world, Horiguchi asserted himself as one of the top fighters in the world by becoming a cross-promotion unified bantamweight champion. He now has to defend both belts at least once a year to keep them. This could be a massive precedent for other cross-promotion championship fights in the future.
Chael says goodbye. pic.twitter.com/9RPsSevIHT
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 15, 2019
Big Fights
Elsewhere on the card, Conor McGregor wannabe Dillon Danis submitted another sacrificial lamb in Jake Humphreys. The pair fought at a catchweight for some reason and we look forward to the day that the New Yorker actually fights somebody decent. He called out Jon Jones after his win and we say yeah cool. Give him that fight. It would be absolutely hilarious.
Highly touted prospect Aaron Pico got knocked out again, this time by an incredibly brutal knee. His rise to the top has been well and truly punctured by that one. It could be a while until we hear about him again. Brendan Schaub is crying right now in his living room.
