Anderson Silva trains with Steven Seagal; Chael Sonnen puts in emergency call to Chuck Norris

Chael Sonnen doesn’t stand a chance in hell against Anderson Silva at UFC 117, especially now that the middleweight champ is training with Steven Seagal.

Laugh all you want – and Seagal’s girth certainly makes it easy to do so – but the direct-to-video action star is a legitimate aikido master (just check out his first and best movie, Above the Law, for some serious joint-popping, bone-breaking action). Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Seagal, having trained in aikido for many years until moving on to Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu, and I still use some of the leverage and joint-lock techniques when I roll to help me get out of tricky situations.

As for this video of Seagal and Silva training at Black House, in all likelihood Silva was just looking to experience a different martial art, much as Bruce Lee experimented in the creation of his Jeet Kune Do, which I also dabbled in for a time. Still, it would be cool if Silva pulled off an aikido move against Chonnen. And who knows, given the way he tends to clown his opponents I wouldn’t be surprised if he did try out a Seagal impression at some point in the bout.