Chael Sonnen explains why Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal "don't know what they're getting into" despite being former teammates

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Chael Sonnen (left) and Colby Covington vs Jorge Masvidal (right) [image credits: @colbycovmma on Instagram]

Chael Sonnen has weighed in on the upcoming grudge match between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

'The American Gangster' spoke about the highly-anticipated fight in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel. Discussing the matchup, Sonnen stated two reasons why the two welterweights' history as teammates won't play a factor in their upcoming fight.

The first reason listed by 'The American Gangster' was regarding their differing weight classes while they were roommates.

"If you were team Colby, you would better get your arms around your guy quickly, right now and let him know, he does not know what he is getting into. And the same thing needs to be done at ATT with Masvidal. Those guys do not know each other, whether they think they do or not. Teammates, workout partners, cornering each other, roommates has nothing to do with it for two reasons. They were different weight classes. Whatever you think you know about a guy's strength or his speed or the positions that you're able to get him in and give him problems there, you don't know once they change weight classes."

Sonnen further added that neither 'Chaos' nor 'Gamebred' had the abilities to headline a UFC event during their days as friends. Add to that the fact the fight will be a five-round affair and Sonnen believes neither will be fully aware of each other's capabilities.

"Secondly, neither one of them was main event quality when they were training. They were both up-and-comers...Three rounds versus five rounds is vastly different. Training versus competition is vastly different. [155] pounders versus [170] pounders, we're in a different conversation. Neither one of these guys knows what they're getting into."

Catch the video of Chael Sonnen talking about Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal below:

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Both Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington are coming off a loss

After a long-heated rivalry, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington will finally face off at UFC 272. Both fighters are coming off losses to the same person - reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

After securing a unanimous decision over Masvidal in their first encounter, Usman knocked 'Gamebred' out cold in their second fight at UFC 261 last April.

'The Nigerian Nightmare' also got the better of Covington in their second fight at UFC 268. Their first encounter at UFC 245 ended in a TKO victory for Usman. At Madison Square Garden last November, Covington took their rematch to the scorecards, but was unable to edge out a decision.

Both Covington and Masvidal will be looking to bounce back in style at UFC 272 on March 5.

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