Chael Sonnen affirms Ariel Helwani’s epic account of squaring up against Ali Abdelaziz
Ariel Helwani and Ali Abdelaziz had a well-known rift when the former called out the MMA manager for trying to intimidate the media. Furthermore, Chael Sonnen recently affirmed another story of things escalating between the MMA journalist and MMA manager.
During his appearance on The MMA Hour, Sonnen confirmed the events that transpired when Helwani and Abdelaziz had an encounter during a UFC event at the Toyota Center. He confirmed the story and mentioned that the two squared up with each other before they were separated.
He said:
"These two [Ali Abdelaziz and Kamaru Usman] were coming towards us and I thought we all said hi to each other. I felt like I was in the process of saying hi to Kamaru, that's how I remember it in my mind. But then you and Ali are attacking each other...well, there was touching physically."
Helwani added that the altercation began when Abdelaziz told him not to talk about the fighters that he manages. He responded by dropping his backpack and saying, 'And what?' and that's when things escalated until Anthony Smith and 'The American Gangster' tried to diffuse it from escalating further.
The former middleweight title challenger confirmed and mentioned that he had never seen The MMA Hour host like that before, saying:
"This is true, the story is true. 'And I believe it was Anthony, it might've been you who said to me afterwards, 'I never seen you like that before.' Helwani added. 'I know, I said that to you. I didn't know you had that in you,' Chael Sonnen said."
Their ongoing rift is also one of the reasons why some of the fights that Abdelaziz manages haven't appeared on The MMA Hour.
Chael Sonnen blasts Ciryl Gane's credentials and Valentina Shevchenko
Chael Sonnen: I'm not crazy about...
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Chael Sonnen isn't one to shy away from voicing his opinion and he did just that when he blasted Ciryl Gane's credentials for earning another title shot as well as Valentina Shevchenko for being content with not being the main event of UFC 285.
'The Bad Guy' appeared on The MMA Hour, where he analyzed the upcoming vacant heavyweight championship bout between Gane and Jon Jones. He then brought the women's flyweight champion into the mix for not headlining the event.
He said:
"He's [Ciryl Gane] 1-1 in his last two. That guy sucks...This is the guy that's one win away from being a world champion. Oh, and by the way, Shevchenko is jerking the curtain for him. There's a problem with your career if you get to that point."
Chael Sonnen believes that 'Bullet' should be doing more to generate interest in her fights and that there should be a more deserving heavyweight contender.