By Canadian Press

Despite pandemic, the show goes on with former MMA star Chael Sonnen at the helm

Apr 24, 2020 | 8:12 AM

While even the UFC struggles to stage a show during the global pandemic, Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground grappling promotion is going on strong.

On Sunday, the former mixed martial arts star stages Submission Underground 13 in Portland, Ore., his second card during the COVID-19 lockdown. The main events pits Australian Craig Jones against Brazil’s Vinny Magalhaes in a battle of Brazilian jiu-jitsu icons.

“That is the biggest grappling match you could possibly put on in that space,” Sonnen enthused. “Those two have to wrestle and they’re going to … Man, I’ve never been more excited for a show.”

Sonnen believes Sunday’s main event is his best ever, better even than the Submission Underground 2 in December 2016 when Jon (Bones) Jones defeated Dan Henderson in a matchup of MMA royalty.  

There is Canadian content on Sunday’s card with Montreal’s Ethan Crelinstein taking on American Andrew Alexander.

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The submission-only contests last five minutes with all submissions legal, with overtime if needed.

The 43-year-old Sonnen, as good a talker as he was a fighter, has proved equally adept as a promoter. His last card, SUG 12 on March 29 also in Portland, had been on the books for months but had to cap ticket sales after the state banned gatherings of more than 250. That then dropped to 100, then 50, then 10, then eight.

The show went on, without spectators — streamed on the UFC’s Fight Pass as Sunday’s show will be — from an empty grain silo.

Sonnen called the action off a monitor from a different room.

Every fighter had to be kept separate until it was time to walk to the cage. They did away with camera operators, using remote cameras instead with a director in yet another location.

“We had to bring in the heaters, the electricity. We had to bring in everything. It was literally a grain silo,” Sonnen said.

The cage was sanitized before each match and competitors wore long-sleeved rash guards and compression leggings.

“The only people on the floor at the same time were the referee, doctor and then when it was time, red corner, blue corner (fighters) walked in. As soon as they were done, they were separated and had to leave the facility,” Sonnen explained.

“So yes, it was tricky. We stayed under eight (people). In fact we cut in half. We got it all the way down to four — four because the governor kept changing. We thought ‘Well by the time we do this, it could be four, five, six (people).’ So we tried to get ahead of the curve.”

“It was a nightmare,” he added. “I really felt like an achievement when it was done. I really did kind of throw my hands up in victory.”

The show opened with a speeded-up shot from the front of car, speeding down a road to a soundtrack of COVID-19-related news clips. It then cut to Sonnen intoning “But the show must go on.”

Sunday’s card is at another Portland venue, which meant more hurdles to jump. This one has fewer rooms than the last so they have pitched a row of 20 tents with complete mats so fighters can have their own space prior to competing.

Sonnen will call the fight from a back room, which they just finished painting black for the show. 

This time, the fight space will feature the two fighters, referee and a doctor with a camera operator positioned 80 feet (24.4 metres) back from the cage in addition to remote cameras.

Sonnen (30-17-1) retired from MMA last June after a loss at Bellator 222 to former UFC champion Lyoto (The Dragon) Machida. A former all-American wrestler at the University of Oregon, Sonnen’s MMA career dates back to 1997 with stints in the UFC, WEC, Bellator, Bodog Fight and Pancrase.

He challenged the legendary Anderson Silva twice for the UFC middleweight title, losing both times but taking the Brazilian champion into the fifth round at UFC 117 in 2010. He was beaten by Jones, the light-heavyweight title-holder, at UFC 159 in 2013.

He holds wins over Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva, Mauricio (Shogun) Rua, Michael (The Count) Bisping and Quinton (Rampage) Jackson.

In addition to be a promoter, Sonnen serves as an MMA analyst for ESPN. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2020.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press