Chael Sonnen explains why not all wrestlers transition well into MMA 

Chael Sonnen recently explained why decorated wrestlers sometimes fail to make it big in MMA. 'The American Gangster' provided a breakdown of the difference between traditional and MMA grappling.

Sonnen explained the concept of 'wrestling to' your opponent, which means going for the takedown right where your opponent is. Conventional wrestlers then have to pause the action momentarily as they run the risk of going out of bounds.

Sonnen compared this to MMA wrestling, where you constantly need to put your opponent on the backfoot. 'The American Gangster' labeled this, 'wrestling through' your opponent, where you do not get to halt the action. There is no chance of stalling the action after grabbing a limb as it leaves one exposed to a variety of other attacks. The 45-year-old recently said on YouTube:

"In the sport of wrestling, you'll do what's called, wrestle to your opponents ... Wherever he is, wrestle over there, you're gonna be fine. In MMA, you must wrestle through your opponent. You cannot shoot to a leg and stop on your knees. You cannot get to a double and stop. That's called wrestling to your opponent. In collegiate wrestling, you can and in some parts you have to. If you don't know how to stop the action in a wrestling match, you'll go out of bounds. In MMA, whatever you do to attack a guy, you had better knock his momentum backwards. If you can do that and you can wrestle through your opponent, then your skills are gonna work beautifully."

Watch Sonnen's video below:

Chael Sonnen's wrestling pedigree

Born in Milwaukie, Oregon, Chael Sonnen started wrestling at the age of nine. 'The American Gangster' attended West Linn High School, where he was a state runner-up.

After high school, Sonnen joined Brigham Young University but moved to the University of Oregon after BYU decided to cut their wrestling program. It was here that the former UFC fighter earned his All-American honors.

He was a two-time PAC10 runner-up, a silver medalist at the 2000 Greco-Roman World University Championships, and a two-time Dave Schultz Memorial International Greco-Roman winner.

Watch a college wrestling match between Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz below:

'Uncle Chael' transitioned to MMA in 1997 at the age of 19 and plied his trade at various promotions around the world before joining the UFC in 2005. Although he built his career with a wrestling-heavy fight style, Sonnen only picked up two UFC victories via submission. 'The American Gangster' later founded his own grappling promotion called Submission Underground.