Chel Sonnen is widely credited with ushering in a new era of trash talk in the UFC. His work on the microphone is partly responsible for his three title shots and the inspiration for stars like Conor McGregor.
Sonnen said, and still says, some of the most outlandish (and patently false) things on the microphone. But he doesn’t swear unless he’s playing a character in a movie. It is his personal line, albeit a relatively small one.
Sonnen believes that spectators, not promoters or regulators, should be the ones deciding what’s in and out of bounds when it comes to the lines others cross. So considering what Colby Covington said to Leon Edwards before UFC 296, he personally doesn’t agree with it.
“Yeah, of course my dad’s comment was like that,” Sonnen said Wednesday. MMA hour When asked whether Edwards’ controversial comments about his late father went too far, Covington said:
But for Sonnen, there is a big difference between the theory of speech control and its practice. He agrees that fines and other penalties are unilateral, but there is too much ambiguity in how they are applied, leaving room for interpretation and consistency.
There’s an easier way. That’s what you do through the crowd.
“If the audience doesn’t like it, even if you write this down, make sure you understand what you can and cannot do. That’s largely done — [UFC CEO] Dana [White] “Don’t go out and say bad things,” they say, and it’s true even on live TV. You won’t get a bonus for swearing in your post-game speech. “Don’t badmouth me because I’m taking the night away from you, but that’s as far as you can go,” Sonnen said. “And the reason I even bother bringing up the four-letter word is because Colby wouldn’t have done that. I mean, if you had written it in, Colby could have gotten away with it.
“By the way, what he said was so mean. It was designed to be mean. But in that case, the audience pays. To say you think Colby would respect that is… I get that, but I think other fighters have observed this and seen this, and that’s where you start to see where that line is. The line is always moving.”
Ten years ago, the UFC tried to draw a line in the sand when it created the UFC Code of Conduct, which gave the promotion broad authority to punish fighters for making offensive comments. Several fighters have violated this, including former WEC champion Miguel Torres, who had his contract terminated for parroting jokes about sexual assault on social media.
But the promotion in recent years has taken a far more hands-off approach to what fighters say inside and outside the Octagon. White leans toward the idea that the UFC is a place for free expression, even if certain types of expression are restricted, such as fighters bringing national flags inside the Octagon. Although Mr. White did not say so explicitly, he suggested that the flag ban was a response to the Russia-Ukraine war. ESPN, the UFC’s broadcast partner, also edited out at least one statement of support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
A move like this appears to be an acknowledgment by the UFC that there is at least a line it shouldn’t cross. Sonnen sees them as a sign of the times.
“Someone was singing my mom’s favorite songs from the ’70s,” Sonnen said. “His name was Elvis Presley. And their parents, their mothers, their fathers, they stopped the high school girls from seeing Elvis or going to his concerts because at one point during that three-hour performance… And because Elvis moves his hips, not in a sexual act, but he just moved his hips. But that was the most forbidden thing.
“Remember that guy named ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin that they tried to kick out of wrestling because he said the word butt at a pay-per-view? So what I want to share with you is that what is crossing the line and where the line is is always in motion. Some of that is even in your delivery, but it’s not like Colby is going to go out of his way to come out and say, “No, that was great.” I want to go back and do it 10 more times. ” Test things, learn, and move on.
“There shouldn’t be any rules. That’s what I think you’re saying. I hate that idea. Please don’t fall for that. This world is a weak place. Words alone can destroy you. You can’t hurt them. They can’t do that.”
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