"I could not do to Luke what Khabib did" - Chael Sonnen reacts to grappling video between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Luke Rockhold

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Khabib Nurmagomedov & Luke Rockhold (left and center), Chael Sonnen (right) [Images courtesy of Chael Sonnen on YouTube and @lukerockhold on Instagram]

Chael Sonnen has reacted to a video of former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully grappling against middleweight Luke Rockhold. Praising the skills of Nurmagomedov, Sonnen admitted that he thinks he would struggle to grapple with Rockhold as well as the Russian is. The former UFC middleweight champion is currently training for a fight against Paul Costa in August.

Luke Rockhold posted a video on his Instagram while training at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). The post includes a video of the middleweight being held down consistently on the mat while grappling with Nurmagomedov.

Chael Sonnen, reacting to the video, said:

"A training video came out of Khabib on the ground with Luke Rockhold. Now, it's not fair to do these. Because we have no idea the context. It could have been 10 minutes of fair and straight up. Luke's fresh, Khabib's fresh, a few minutes later someone grabs the other for 30 seconds. We just don't know. Either way, I saw Khabib in one of these situations that I've only heard about. I've never seen Khabib except for in competition against a 155er. I could not do to Luke what Khabib did to Luke."

Watch the pair grappling in the post below:

Although aware that the videos are only short glimpses of what was otherwise an intense training session, 'The American Gangster' jokingly questioned whether or not 'The Eagle' could beat him up. Sonnen fought at both middleweight and light heavyweight during his career, similar to Rockhold.

"Rockhold is a bear. He's a bear on the ground... Luke is good. Luke is really good on the ground. I could not hold Luke down like Khabib did... There's things I couldn't do. Could Khabib whip my a**? He's a 155er, he's too small right? I could deal with Khabib, right?"

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Luke Rockhold and Khabib Nurmagomedov below:

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Luke Rockhold wants to fight Israel Adesanya

Despite having previously conquered the middleweight division when he defeated Chris Weidman for the strap in 2015, Rockhold has his eyes on the current champion, Israel Adesanya.

The California native has not appeared in the octagon for almost three years following his 2019 defeat to Jan Blachowicz. However, he is confident that his upcoming stint in the UFC will be more successful.

Rockhold is scheduled to face Paulo Costa in August as both fighters look to end their two-fight losing streak. The 37-year-old revealed he is more motivated than ever to fight the best in the division, and both Costa and Adesanya are on that list.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Rockhold explained that he's more interested in testing himself against top fighters, regardless of a belt being on the line.

"Anybody who looks at the belt and just wants the belt is a b***h. I look at a champion and I want to take the champion to be the champion."

Watch the full interview with Submission Radio below:

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