Dana White on Chael Sonnen's future, "Big fights, TV deal"

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29783/ufc-boss-says-chael-sonnen-still-in-line-for-big-fights-likely-to-earn-television-deal.mma
CALGARY – If you just can't get enough Chael Sonnen in your life, don't worry. UFC president Dana White doesn't think he's going anywhere any time soon.

White, who said he hasn't spoken directly with Sonnen since the middleweight's UFC 148 loss to Anderson Silva, believes the self-proclaimed "gangster" still has big fights ahead of him, not to mention a television career.

"He's got a lot of options," White today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "FOX loves this guy. He's going to end up with a television deal."

In addition to his fighting career, Sonnen has made a handful of appearances as an analyst on FOX and FUEL TV pre- and post-show broadcasts, as well as on FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight." White said network executives have been pleased with Sonnen's work and anticipates he'll land a more full-time gig sometime in the future.

However, White believes the 35-year-old Sonnen still has a few big fights left before he walks away from competition.

"Hell yeah, he does," White said. "He's the only one to ever challenge Anderson Silva."

Whether or not those fights take place at 185 pounds or, as Sonnen recently teased, at light heavyweight remains to be seen. Some MMA pundits have even pressed for a third fight between Sonnen and Silva despite the challenger falling short in two previous bouts with the champ.

White didn't seem as enthused about a potential trilogy between the two rivals, but he stopped short of completely ruling out such a plan.

"I never say, 'never,'" White said. "I mean, anything is possible, but he he beat him twice. It's tough to do a rubber match when the guy is 2-0 on you."

So it seems Sonnen has plenty of choices available to him. Fights in two different divisions are possible, and there appears to be a spot at the broadcast table open, as well. White said he's not sure when the 15-year veteran will make a decision on his next move, but he did say the choices are plenty.

"I think Chael has a lot of cool options right now," White said.

Before you can move forward, sometimes, you have to look back to get a proper gauge for where you fell short:

Quote :

"You know, I haven't re-watched the fight, and I probably won't. I've got a vision of what happened, in my head. It hurts. The real problem came when I fell down. I paused. I paused, and I waited for him, and you can't do that. I can live with a loss, but I just wish I wouldn't have paused."

Sonnen continued in his analysis of the fight and where he felt things went awry:

Quote :

"He did some different things that made it hard. He went backwards a lot, and it's very difficult to fight someone when they're not coming forward and fighting with you. In practice, guys don't usually run away. They come in, and they engage. So, it made it a little bit harder, but I certainly was ready for that. We had envisioned that as being within his skill set."

Some have accused Sonnen as being a fighter who looks for a way out. Many felt that he looked for an exit, at the end of his first fight versus Silva, when he made a gigantic mistake and allowed himself to be smothered inside of a triangle choke. Those same critics claim that his loss at UFC 148 was just a repeat performance.

Sonnen doesn't believe that to be the case at all.

Quote :

"No, I don't want out of it, right now. I wish I was in that moment, right now. The only thing I would do differently is I would have got him. I would have had to take some punches. That was risk. That's why I waited for him, but that didn't work out. I wish I would have gone with the other option, which was to get up and start fighting."

Finally, Sonnen described the infamous last few moments of the fight; moments that will probably always hold at least a small portion of controversy:

Quote :

"It felt like a really long time. That surprises me that it was only a second. I remember sitting there, looking at him. I was watching his hands. All he's allowed to do is punch in that position. He came with a knee. It caught me offguard, and it kinda ruined the night for me."

So, what's next? Will he be fighting at middleweight or at light heavyweight if he continues in the UFC? He's still not sure, but he has no desire to keep fighting if it isn't with the title as his goal:

Quote :

"I'm not after the second one. I love Rich Franklin. I think he's done an awesome job. That's not for me. I'm in it purely for the championship, and if I don't have a clear road to the title, I'm gonna move on."

Sonnen was asked if Alexander Gustafsson, Lyoto Machida or Phil Davis are guys he could possibly be matched up with, were he to make the move up to 205 pounds.

According to him, he's had talks that have not included any of those names, but if it were to happen, he would definitely be fighting a top ten opponent:

Quote :

"Probably none of the above. I've had a couple of names thrown my way. It was none of those three, but those guys are all studs that would put you in a line for a championship match. I've never had a fight in the UFC that wasn't against a top ten guy."

Following up on the topic of moving up a weight class, Sonnen said that the decision will end up having more to do with the input he receives from his coaches and counselors than his own opinion:

Quote :

"I really don't know. That's the biggest choice I'm trying to make now: Which has a likely path to the championship? Ultimately, I'll have to sit down with my coaches. Mike Dolce will weigh in on that. It's his job to get me to weight. I'll kinda do as I'm told, more than what I think is right."

According to Sonnen, there are also other factors to consider. He's not sure what will happen with Silva. (Who is?) He also has no desire to fight his friend and mentor Dan Henderson, which possibly complicates a move up to light heavyweight:

Quote :

"The landscape changes constantly. There's so many moving parts. Is Anderson ever gonna fight again? Who's he gonna fight? What's he gonna do? So, there's a lot of things that that I need to look at. Also, at 205, if Dan Henderson beats Jon Jones, as I hope that he does, then I'm not gonna go there. I'm not ever gonna compete against Dan. He's a coach and a mentor of mine. So, I don't really know what I'm gonna do."