Imagining an MMA Hall of Fame: Borderline Candidates, Part 2

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Chael Sonnen Battle of Fort Vancouver (1997); Hitman Fighting Productions (2002); Dangerzone (2002); Revolution Fighting Championship (2002); United Full Contact Federation (2002); Xtreme Fighting Alliance (2003); Pancrase (2003, 2004); International Fighting Championship (2003); Gladiator Challenge (2003); Full Contact Fighting Federation (2003); Rumble on the Rock (2003); Mix Fighting Championships (2004, 2005); Rage on the River (2004); Extreme Challenge (2004); SportFight (2004, 2005, 2007); World Extreme Cagefighting (2004, 2007-08); Xtreme Fighting Organization (2004); Ultimate Fighting Championship (2005-06, 2009-13); Bodog Fight (2006-07)
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CASE FOR: As MMA’s most entertaining trash talker, Sonnen will be one of the best remembered fighters of his era. His first fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 117 is one of MMA’s all-time classic fights, and his rematch with “The Spider” was a box-office bonanza. He holds plenty of high-quality wins to back up his talk, too. CASE AGAINST: For years, Sonnen found ways to lose fights he should have won, usually by submission, and he never was able to win the big title. Then there is the matter of the drug test failures. VERDICT: Should he go in? It is hard to imagine a panel of voters putting him in at this point.

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