Three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen may have hung up the gloves for good, but it appears that he isn’t ready to put combat sports completely behind him yet.
“The American Gangster” is set to headline Brazilian jiu-jitsu superfight card Metamorsis 4 on August 9 in Los Angeles when he squares off with highly-regarded black belt Andre Galvao.
Popular MMA twitter personality Front Row Brian, a known close personal friend of Sonnen, broke the story early Friday morning and it was subsequently confirmed by FOX Sports.
Sonnen (28-14-1 MMA) was a two-time All-American Division I wrestler at the University of Oregon but lacked submission defense for a good portion of his career, with eight of his first 11 losses coming via submission.
However, in recent years, Sonnen has trained heavily with multiple-time BJJ world champion Vinny Magalhaes to help round out his game.
Magalhaes served as Sonnen’s jiu-jitsu coach on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter and season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.
While Sonnen’s grappling game is as good as it has ever been, Galvao is one of the best upper-weight submission aces in the game.
Galvao is a two-time world champion, also taking home various gold medals at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) tournament – the world’s premier no-gi competition.
He also briefly dabbled in MMA, compiling a 5-2 record between August 2008 and October 2010, suffering a knockout at the hands of top 5 UFC welterweight Tyron Woodley in his last cage appearance.
The viewing details for Metamorsis 4 have not been announced yet, but rumors have already began circulating that the inclusion of Sonnen could land the event on UFC Fight Pass, the company’s paid subscription network.