Ben Askren has known Chael Sonnen for a long time, so when it was announced that Sonnen is heading to the boxing ring, he was a bit thrown off by the idea.
Sonnen faces his biggest competitive rival Anderson Silva in a boxing match on June 15 in Brazil. Askren, who ventured into the boxing world after retiring from MMA and was stopped by Jake Paul in 70 seconds in April 2021, doesn’t understand Sonnen’s motivation.
“Chael, I love you, I don’t know why you’re boxing,” Askren said on Funky and the Champ. “At least when I took my boxing fight, I thought [Jake Paul] sucked. Like, I thought he was really bad. Unfortunately for me, he’s not all that bad, and he’s kind of continued to be a boxer and win boxing matches.
“I really don’t know why Chael’s doing it. Anderson is a very good striker, he’s actually had multiple boxing matches. He did lose to Jake Paul, but he beat Julio Cesar Chavez [Jr.] — Darren Till is fighting him [at Paul vs. Tyson on July 20] — so I don’t know why [he’s boxing].”
Silva and Sonnen had a heated two-fight rivalry in UFC while Silva was middleweight champion. Their first bout at UFC 117 in August 2010 will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame in June. Sonnen dominated Silva for the entirety of that fight, until “The Spider” threw up a Hail Mary triangle armbar submission in one of the most shocking comebacks in UFC history.
They met again two years later at UFC 148. This time, there was no drama, as Silva finished Sonnen with strikes early in the second round.
Silva has found some success in the boxing world — picking up wins over Tito Ortiz and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. — but lost a decision to Paul in his most recent bout in August 2022.
While Askren was surprised to hear Sonnen is boxing Silva, he wishes “The American Gangster” the best in the fight.
“They both gotta be now, late 40s, and they’re boxing? I just, I don’t know,” Askren said. “Listen, I am ‘Team Choose Your Own Life,’ do what you want, I’m not going to tell people what to do. But I don’t know. I guess we all have that competitive instinct in us, and we always want to live that out, but I don’t know if boxing is the best way to do it. I hope he does great.”
