Ball autographed by the TUF Brasil 3 cast was donated by Sonnen. Photo: Luciana Tavares/Personal Collection
The victory of Chael Sonnen in the TUF Brasil 3 coaches' challenge, in the football competition led by Joel Santana, it ended up becoming a real coup outside of the reality show. Still during the recording of the reality show, the North American asked all the cast participants to autograph the ball used in the competition and donated it to his fan club in Brazil, which in turn will turn the gesture into a good deed. aimed at an institution that fights cancer. In an interview with SUPER FIGHTS, Luciana Tavares, president of “FC Chael Sonnen Brazil”, revealed how the action on the part of the fighter happened.
“Our fan club meets Team Sonnen on February 9th. Three days later, coach Scott McQuary (from the North American team) handed me the ball. At the time, his wife, who had just arrived in Brazil, insisted on being present at the delivery. McQuary told me that it was a gift from him and Sonnen to the fan club, and that they would really like our group to use the ball to do a solidarity action. The ball was autographed by all TUF Brasil 3 participants: Sonnen and Wanderlei, all assistant coaches (except Dida, who had already been expelled) and all fighters (with the exception of Cabo Job, who had already been sidelined due to his injury). The members of Team Sonnen signed with a green pen and those from Team Wanderlei with a yellow pen (alluding to their colors in the program)”, said Luciana.
Detail in the autographs of the ball donated by Sonnen. Photo: Luciana Tavares/Personal Collection
From then on, the “FC Chael Sonnen Brazil” won the support of the fighter Cabo Job to continue the solidarity action. “Our fan club then presented the Cabo Job with the ball. This is because, in addition to his participation in our Team being very significant, he was the one who helped us effectively put ‘Solidarity Action’ into practice. Cabo Job, in turn, decided that the ball will be donated to the cancer-fighting institution that we chose in partnership with the athletes Cabo Job, Vitor miranda and Warley. We are in constant contact with the understanding, but it has not yet been officially decided what will be done with the ball. It is possible to hold a raffle, auction or even give a gift to a patient MMA fan. Currently, the institution serves more than 300 children and, unfortunately, we do not have the financial means to provide gifts to all of them”, he lamented.
Finally, Luciana commented on how the contact between “FC Chael Sonnen” and the American fighter since their meeting in February. “Contact with Team Sonnen is constant and always done via social media. In the case of the ball, coach Scott followed the entire process to carry out the ‘Solidarity Action’. With the others, including Sonnen himself, the chat is almost daily, whether on Facebook or Twitter. We are a very united team. I would also like to highlight the participation of the athlete Montanha, from Team Wand, who promptly accepted our invitation and will be with us on the day of the visit. Because to do good, we are all on the same team: Team Solidariedade”, said Sonnen's fan, who still found time to poke fun at her rival Wanderlei Silva. “Ah, by the way, we’re not going to Las Vegas (to watch UFC 175) because our financial conditions don’t allow it. But, in fact, we are suspicious that in the end Wanderlei will find some excuse and ‘skip out’ of this fight (laughs)”, he concluded.
Comments