Don’t expect Chael Sonnen to come out of retirement, not even for the Global Fight League.
The GFL has signed a slew of UFC veterans, even luring the likes of Chris Weidman, Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes out of retirement.
Sonnen said the promotion also reached out to him.
“Please, did they try to get Chael Sonnen? They are still trying to get Chael Sonnen,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “It would be irresponsible – like I don’t mind when those phone calls come in, no matter if I already know ahead of time whether or not I’m going to go.
“What I would mind is if that phone call wasn’t placed. That would be a very irresponsible thing to sign the people they’re signing, to do what they’re trying to do, and to not call Chael Sonnen. Of course they called.”
Despite the offer, The UFC Hall of Famer explains why he’s not interested in fighting again.
“I’m not going to fight, and it isn’t because I look at that roster and don’t see some names that pop off the page like man, I’d really like to fight that guy,” Sonnen said. “In my career, I felt like my career would never be complete until I fight Wanderlei Silva, and I fight Vitor Belfort, and I don’t know why. Vitor is the only name left. I don’t have a problem with Vitor by the way. … Before you think this is a callout of Vitor, I’m using that to set the stage for there’s a point where it’s weird.”
The GFL roster is full of aging fighters past their prime, and 47-year-old Sonnen isn’t about to be one of them.
“I’ve seen a lot of relics – they were 40 and they were 42, when I would watch them fight. I would go, ‘What are you doing? There’s nothing cool about that,’” Sonnen said. “This is weird, and I believe that I have entered the phase where it would be weird. So no, I am not going to fight.”
This news first appeared on MMA Junkie. Read the original article.
