“Sorry About Mom Too RIP”- Chael Sonnen’s Innocent Request for Christmas Met With a Heartbreaking Story

We are at the closing moments of this year as fans are gearing up for the final UFC event headlined by Colby Covington and Joaquin Buckley. On the other hand, the festivities have already started, as former UFC legend Chael Sonnen appears to be looking for a good Christmas present. And so ‘The Bad Guy’ turned to social media to ask for some suggestions when he came across a fan with a rather sad story.

On X, the former three-time UFC title challenger asked his followers, “When a 9-year-old asks for ARMY GUYS, but doesn’t say GI JOES specifically, what’s “cool?” What do the kids like these days?” This would prompt a response from a fan with the username ‘Shrewdness’, who narrated a fond memory he had of his mother, who had passed away and gave him a set of marbles and army soldiers every 25th December.

“We are close in age, I have you by a few years. Every year since I was a young boy, my mother(RIP) would get me a bag of marbles and a bag of army soldiers,” the fan replied to Sonnen. “When I was a kid, we would set them up and then use the marbles to strategically take out the other troops, using the small marbles and a few of the boulders. Good clean fun and they won’t forget it, for a lifetime. Easy purchase. check zon.”

Chael Sonnen was taken aback. After all, he wasn’t expecting such a response to a query about presents. Nevertheless, he’d extend his condolences to the fan, saying, “I’m so sorry, that’s heartbreaking. Sorry about mom too RIP.” 

‘The American Gangster’ has a heartbreaking story of his own, and that included one of his parents and a promise that he sadly could not keep.

UFC legend Chael Sonnen wanted to win the world title for his father

After his storied UFC run, Chael Sonnen had a respectable stint in the rival promotion Bellator during the mid-late 2010s. ‘The American Gangster’ was scheduled to take on Tito Ortiz in the main event of Bellator 170, and there was a promo package that was released on social media with Sonnen spewing the truth about the reason he wanted to become champion.

Of course, there’s a competitive nature in sports, and wanting to be a champion is what everyone strives for. But for Sonnen, it was more than just about climbing the top of the mountain. It was about keeping the promise he made to his father, Patrick Sonnen, who was a plumber and had sadly passed away in 2002. And to add to the emotional side of things, ‘The Bad Guy’ made that promise when his father took his last breath.

“When my dad died, the last thing I ever said to him… ‘I’m gonna beat Tito Ortiz and I’m gonna win the world championship,” said Chael Sonnen. For context, the 47-year-old had four shots at an MMA world championship. The first one was during his time in World Extreme Cagefighting. The next three title shots came under the UFC banner as Sonnen lost once to Jon Jones and twice against Anderson Silva.

As such, he hoped to at least beat Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170. But as we all know, that didn’t happen as ‘The American Gangster’ got submitted by the former UFC light heavyweight champion, but when asked later about the promise to his father, Sonnen said, “I’d just tell him I tried.”

Losing a family member is always a hard feeling to swallow, but showing a little warmth, as Chael Sonnen showed to his fan on X, goes a long way. Let us know your thoughts on this exchange between the fan and the UFC legend in the comments down below.