Following the passing of martial arts icon Chuck Norris, UFC veteran and analyst Chael Sonnen took time to reflect on what the legendary martial artist meant to the MMA community. Speaking candidly, Sonnen offered an honest and personal tribute.
“Chuck Norris has passed away. Very sad,” Sonnen said. “Matt Brown said that karate was not going well in heaven, so Chuck Norris went to sort it out. I like that theme.”
Sonnen made clear why Norris commanded such deep respect within the combat sports community in a video:
“He was very supportive. He represents karate. He’s a karate guy. Mixed martial arts likes to tease karate, right? Karate doesn’t work. And then you meet a guy like Wonder Boy. You meet a guy like Lyoto Machida and you start to rethink that.”
What set Norris apart, according to Sonnen, was his willingness to acknowledge other disciplines:
“Chuck Norris was very interesting because he embraced the other side of it. There are videos out there of seminars that Chuck Norris put on from well over 30 years ago where he brought in Rickson Gracie and he explained very openly, this is important to know. I can show you things on your feet, but there’s a whole other realm to () and it’s what this guy does.”
Sonnen continued:
“Chuck was very good about that. He was very respectful to the grapplers and the wrestlers. And it wasn’t just a respect to be kind. He truly understood that in a real () situation it isn’t necessarily what I have done or what I would help to depict in a movie situation. But it was for this very reason that our community was so open to Chuck Norris and liked him so much.”
He wrapped up his tribute by drawing a contrast with Bruce Lee before returning to Norris:
“Chuck was a guy that went out there and competed. Chuck was a guy that went out there and put it on the line. He won seven world championships and then he goes over to film and he makes martial arts cool. He lends his name and he lends his experience and he never stepped out over his skis.”
“He managed to leave a really wonderful reputation behind him. And that’s a rare thing. It’s a very rare thing.”
