In a recent interview with Wrestling Observer Radio, UFC fighter Chael Sonnen
said he credits Paul Heyman with “saving” the current season of UFC’s “The
Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” reality show.
Sonnen noted during the interview that while filming TUF Brazil, he was
starting to become a babyface-type of character due to the actions of rival
coach Wanderlei Silva, something he had not anticipated, nor desired. In trying
to find a way to regain his heel momentum, Sonnen reached out to the one person
he felt could give him advice on how to switch things up a bit — Paul
Heyman.
“I’ve never met him, but I know what he’s done,” said
Sonnen of Heyman. “He’s a little bit older than me, so I felt I could
trust him. I’m breaking a confidentiality agreement but there were circumstances
where I was jammed up and I had to make an executive decision.”
Sonnen described how he was losing his heel edge to Silva during the show.
“To say he was ruining the show may be extreme, but the interaction
between he and I is an element of the show that’s important. There has to be the
interaction of the coaches. It’s an important factor. I didn’t know what to do.
I didn’t know how to handle this. This is the same time I’m losing my grip on my
character as a heel. I can feel it slipping away. He’s being aggressive. He’s
skipping practices. He’s partying.” Sonnen continued, “I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know how to handle this.”
So, Sonnen called the “mad scientist” for some advice. “Paul was a
guy that even without knowing him, I knew I could trust him,” said
Sonnen. “We have mutual friends, Brock Lesnar and (former pro wrestling
headliner) CM Punk. I knew he was an expert in psychology and I was stuck,
working through this spot, having to deal with this, [Silva] not talking to me
and the reversal of roles that I didn’t see coming.”
Sonnen continued, “He told me, `Listen, you have to shoot (be
completely real, not holding back verbally) on him. If he’s not playing along,
you have to drop everything and shoot on him.’ He laid it out a lot more
aggressive than that. `You have to drop everything and come clean.’ He went into
it a lot more detail than that.”
Sonnen concluded, “In many ways, Paul Heyman saved Ultimate Fighter
(Brazil) 3. He kept his word. He kept his secrecy up. So not only should we
thank Paul for the huge ratings, but we can also blame him for all the bad
things.”
