Chael Sonnen reacts to the Paddy Pimblett vs Ariel Helwani beef
Chael Sonnen is weighing in on the ongoing beef between UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett and The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani.
Chael Sonnen recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he reacted to comments that Pimblett made during his podcast with guest Dana White. He mentioned that the UFC lightweight targeting journalists and stressing that fighters should charge a fee for interviews wasn't really a bright idea, saying:
"There's not a secret there. If you think there is and you think that you just cracked a code and you advertise the code to the world because you're the one that figured it out, you're a little bit stupid."
The former UFC middleweight title challenger also mentioned that he found 'The Baddy's comments quite bizarre, especially considering his was making the comments while sitting across from a fight promoter like White, saying:
"It was a very bizzare thing for Paddy 'The Baddy' to say to a promoter who operates purely and solely on that exact premise of having something interesting. It's a star driven business whether you like it or not. And the more people that come in, it affects the bottom line. I thought that was very bizarre for Paddy 'The Baddy' who operates under that promoter's arm with that exact same premise."
Sonnen added that there was a time when he shared the same sentiments as Pimblett as it pertained to charging a fee for an interview. He noted that as a result, the number of media requests he received went lower. Having fewer media requests also meant that he wasn't able to maximize his exposure.
Chael Sonnen has had many memorable interviews with Ariel Helwani
Ariel and the Bad Guy.
@arielhelwani trying to keep a straight face 😂 https://t.co/LsE00twCn0
Prior to Chael Sonnen hosting Ariel & The Bad Guy with Ariel Helwani on ESPN, the two have had many memorable interviews during the former UFC middleweight title challenger's MMA career.
'The Bad Guy' would frequently use his interviews as a platform to sell his upcoming fights and even tell stories to further another rivalry. One of his most memorable interviews was when he was involved in a rivalry with Wanderlei Silva.
'The Bad Guy' didn't take kindly to 'The Axe Murderer's attempt at a threat and told Helwani that he found it funny that he celebrated his wins in Pride, calling the circuit fake, which likely angered Silva. In the same interview, he also shared the infamous story of the Nogueira brothers trying to feed a bus a carrot (11:05 - 11:26).