Chael Sonnen
Active 2010–present · rated in 1 edition · peak overall 83.0
Scouting report
Chael Sonnen wrestled at the University of Oregon, earned All-American honors in 1998 and won silver at the 2000 World University Championships. He joined Team Quest in Portland soon after it opened in 2000. He fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight title twice, losing a triangle armbar in round five at UFC 117 on August 7, 2010 and a TKO in round two at UFC 148 on July 7, 2012. The first fight was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2024.
Peak ratings
Chael Sonnen: a Greco-Roman wrestler who became a title challenger
Sonnen's early UFC career was mixed. Sobral and Horn submitted him in 2005 and 2006, and Demian Maia did the same at UFC 95. Then he won three in a row. He took the Dan Miller fight at UFC 98 on 22 days' notice, beat Yushin Okami at UFC 104, and beat Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. A BJJ black belt under Fabiano Scherner, he has said working with a sports psychologist helped with the submissions he lost from winning positions.
Sonnen, rating by rating
Boxing. 78. All three of his wins in 2009 and 2010 went to the judges: Dan Miller, Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt.
Kickboxing. 68, far below his wrestling. Jon Jones stopped him with elbows and punches at 4:33 of round one at UFC 159.
Wrestling. 92. He was ahead on the scorecards heading into round five at UFC 117. His 74.4 percent control rate is among the UFC middleweight records.
BJJ. 66, lowest on the card. Silva's triangle armbar came at 3:10 of round five, and Maia and Sobral had also caught him with triangles.
Strength. 82. He beat Marquardt on a unanimous decision at UFC 109, which won Fight of the Night.
Durability. 82. Rashad Evans stopped him with punches at 4:05 of round one at UFC 167 in November 2013.
Cardio. 92, matching his wrestling. He beat Michael Bisping over three rounds at UFC on Fox 2 in January 2012, after Bisping replaced Mark Munoz.
Fight IQ. 82. Lyoto Machida finished him with a flying knee 22 seconds into round two at Bellator 222 in June 2019, after which he retired.
Wrestling at 92 turned a title fight into a grind
The first Silva fight is the proof. UFC.com named it Fight of the Year for 2010. He also beat Okami, Marquardt and Bisping on decisions, and Mauricio Rua with a guillotine at UFC Fight Night 26, a Submission of the Night.
BJJ at 66 and the fights that ended on the mat
Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn and Demian Maia caught him with a triangle, an armbar and a triangle in the first two rounds. Silva twice, Jones and Evans stopped him in the UFC, and Fedor Emelianenko stopped him in the first round of a Bellator semifinal in October 2018. Tito Ortiz choked him in the first round at Bellator 170 in January 2017 after a layoff from 2014. A fighter with a good scramble and a good guard is the opponent to watch.
Keep exploring
Closest middleweight profiles to Chael Sonnen, measured by how near their peak attribute ratings sit across all eight categories.
- Mark Munozbest wrestling 88 · weakest kickboxing 68
- Derek Brunsonbest wrestling 89 · weakest kickboxing 73
- Yushin Okamibest wrestling 84 · weakest kickboxing 70
- Tim Kennedybest wrestling 84 · weakest kickboxing 75
- Middleweight division guide: how the whole division rates and who to draft from it.
- Grappling vs striking in the draft: a guide that fits Chael Sonnen's strongest attribute, Wrestling.
Draft Chael Sonnen into your build
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Ratings shown are my own estimates, made with AI assistance and informed by how Chael Sonnen is regarded by the MMA community. They are unofficial and do not constitute an assessment of Chael Sonnen's real-world abilities. How the ratings are made. See the disclaimer below. Ratings and write-ups by Haaris A. Last reviewed 2026-09-30; spot an error? Tell us. Read our editorial standards.