At UFC 300, Chael Sonnen was treated to an unexpected surprise…
When the promotion revealed that his legendary clash with Anderson Silva at UFC 117 would be a part of the Hall of Fame this summer!
However, despite the recognition, Sonnen humbly expressed that he doesn’t consider himself a true Hall of Famer just yet.
Here is what he had to say in an interview with MMA Hour:
Would I consider [myself a Hall of Famer]? No, I wouldn’t.
You either are or you aren’t. But no, I don’t think so.
I think you have to go in. I don’t think a fight can go in [for you].I don’t think that makes me a Hall of Famer, I think it makes a Hall of Fame fight. That’s always been my interpretation of it.
The guys that go in separately, I feel like are in a different class.
However, it was still a great experience for Sonnen – who didn’t have any idea that he would be inducted:
I never knew.
In hindsight, everything is so obvious.
I was there when they brought Wanderlei [Silva] in [for his Hall of Fame announcement].They put him in the same chair, they brought him up at the same point in the show.
But no, I didn’t know.