“This has really never been done before” - Chael Sonnen lauds ONE Championship’s martial arts exposure
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen has praised the way that ONE Championship has brought together different disciplines of martial arts.
Speaking specifically about his recent experience at Andre Galvao’s gym and the ADCC success of the Ruotolo brothers, Sonnen opened the video by talking about the way that ONE has integrated professional grappling into their events.
“ONE Championship this Friday, Amazon Prime, guys, I've got to tell you, I love this mixed format of martial arts. I really must tell you that. To be able to see kickboxing, to be able to see grappling -- grappling has never been featured on this level. And of course, we're going to see MMA, we know that. But ONE Championship is really changing what it is they bring us.”
He added:
“This has really never been done before, not to this extent. The opportunity and the exposure that Chatri [Sityodtong] is giving to pure grappling, not to mention, I love the rules.”
Chael Sonnen went on to talk about how Andre Galvao has done something that no one in sports has been able to accomplish, being a world champion whilst simultaneously bringing through a new generation of contenders.
After becoming the youngest-ever ADCC world champion, Kade Ruotolo will look to add a ONE world championship to his already impressive resume when he faces Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world championship at ONE on Prime Video 3.
Watch the full video below:
Chael Sonnen suggests ONE Championship could be a good spot for Jake Paul’s next fight
With Jake Paul’s growing significance in combat sports, Chael Sonnen has suggested that ONE Championship may be the right place for him to compete.
Whilst Paul has not fought a professional boxer in his career to this point, he was praised for accepting a fight with MMA legend Anderson Silva and has hinted at an MMA debut sometime in the near future.
In a previous video posted on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen spoke about how if Jake Paul’s announcement tease is real then ONE Championship would be a great move for both parties:
“Do you know who Jake [Paul] needs to speak to? He needs to speak to ONE Championship. I could see something very very interesting with Jake and ONE Championship."
Sonnen added:
“ONE Championship has found its way to America, so we’re gonna need American names, is what I’m sharing with you. Rich Franklin, a vice president in ONE Championship, has announced that ONE is going to come to American soil. They’re on TV right now through Amazon Prime, [but] they’re actually going to do an event on American soil, which just leads you to believe that they’re going to use some Americans. It could be a very helpful place for Jake.”
Watch Sonnen discuss Paul's rumored MMA debut below: