• TUF 17 Finale

White: A 'fan' tried to punch Sonnen in Vegas

ESPN staff
April 19, 2013
Chael Sonnen is a divisive character © Getty Images
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UFC president Dana White revealed on Thursday that Chael Sonnen was the subject of an attack from an irate Brazilian at the TUF 17 Finale in Las Vegas.

Sonnen made an enemy of Brazil during his prolonged attempts to lure Anderson Silva into a title fight. He ended up losing twice to the middleweight champion, but memories of his trash talk live on.

Sonnen belittled both the country and its most respected stars as he broke boundaries of political correctness, delivering a tongue-in-cheek account of how the Nogueira brothers - Rodrigo and Rogerio - "tried to feed carrots to a bus" when they landed in the US.

Such statements did not go down well in Brazil, and White revealed Sonnen almost paid the consequence at last week's TUF event.

"He was there, shaking hands with everybody and everything, and this guy says, 'Hey Chael! Chael! C'mon over here,' White said.

"Chael goes over there and the guy starts swinging on him, tried to punch him.

"[Security] bundled the guy up and dragged him out and he's saying, 'F*** you! You are a piece of sh*t! I'm from Brazil!' and all this other stuff."

White then confirmed that security did not exactly go easy on the rebel: "It was a bad move. They didn't take him out of there politely. He got bundled and dragged over every stair on the way out," White said.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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