Man Who Bought Brazilians Soap Announces Comeback Event In Brazil

Chael Sonnen just announced that Submission Underground — the grappling promotion that hasn't staged an event in four and a half years — is coming back.

In Brazil.

Florianópolis, specifically. May 17. No-gi, tournament-style. "More details to follow." That's the entire announcement.

For the uninitiated: Chael Sonnen built the most entertaining heel persona in MMA history almost entirely by saying profoundly disrespectful things about Brazil. He told a press conference he bought Brazilian fighters soaps, shampoos, and dental floss because he wasn't sure they had access to basic hygiene products at home. He stood in front of thousands of Brazilians and told Anderson Silva "you absolutely suck." He claimed the Nogueira brothers, upon first arriving in America, saw a city bus and tried to feed it a carrot because they thought it was a horse.

He later admitted he made that one up. Which might be the most Chael Sonnen detail in existence.

His material got so out of hand that his own mother publicly begged Brazilian fans not to hurt her son before The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. The UFC arranged what Dana White called an "epic security operation" to keep Sonnen alive during press events in São Paulo.

This is the man now asking Florianópolis to buy tickets.

About the promotion. SUG launched in 2016 out of Portland, Oregon, and ran 29 events mixing MMA fighters with elite grapplers in submission-only bouts. It was chaotic, fun, and occasionally produced legitimately great grappling. The final event was December 2021 — Andy Varela submitted former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Then: silence.

Why? According to Sonnen, UFC Fight Pass — their broadcast partner — "forgot the deal." The promotion didn't die from bad business. It died because someone didn't return a phone call. Sonnen called it "an open wound."

Four and a half years later, the comeback plan is: go to the one country whose people the founder spent a decade insulting, and ask them to show up.

There are practical concerns beyond the diplomatic ones. Mason Fowler, SUG's reigning absolute champion, is under an exclusive UFC BJJ contract and can't defend his title. No other athletes have been announced. No broadcast platform confirmed. No ruleset details released. The announcement was an Instagram post and a promise.

In fairness, this could work. Brazilians love grappling more than almost anyone alive, Sonnen is genuinely funny in any language, and "the villain coming to your town" is a proven box office formula. Every heel who ever drew money knew that heat sells tickets. Sonnen just spent a decade generating heat from an entire country and is now trying to cash the check.

He has not yet clarified whether he'll be bringing soap.

Sources

• Chael Sonnen Announces Submission Underground Return
• Chael Sonnen Talks About SUG: 'It's An Open Wound'
• What Did Chael Sonnen Say About Brazil?
• Chael Sonnen's Mom Begs Brazil Not To Hurt Her Son
• Chael Sonnen's Legendary 'You Absolutely Suck' Callout

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked above. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.