"Shakespeare could not have written this better" - Chael Sonnen weighs Alexander Volkanovski's chances of being backup for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira
Chael Sonnen has weighed in on the likelihood of Alexander Volkanovski being the backup fighter for the lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. 'The Great' has stated that he would love to be the replacement should anything go wrong for either Makhachev or Oliveira at UFC 281.
Volkanovski is eyeing double-champ status following his demolition of the current crop of featherweight contenders. Chael Sonnen believes that although 'The Great' would be the perfect backup fighter and, better still, no one else is fighting him for that spot:
"Shakespeare could not have written this better. And I read it to you, I read you guys the quote but on the back end of it I came and said, 'Of course he's going to get it. Who is possibly going to tell him no?' There is no other backup fighter, there is nobody asking for that spot."
Watch the interview below from 1:01:
However, Sonnen also believes that Dana White isn't hugely keen on Volknovski being the backup fighter. He mentioned that no reporters have asked White about who the replacement fighter would be, until last night, and Sonnen did not appear to like White's response:
"Guess what he [Dana White] said? He said, 'I have no problem with Volkanovski being the backup fighter.' Now, okay I didn't see that coming. Dana White has no problem with him being the backup fighter. I have a real problem hearing him say that."
Chael Sonnen claims people aren't upset with Khamzat Chimaev over missing weight, but something else
Chael Sonnen believes that MMA fans have only turned on Khamzat Chimaev because the Chechen did not appear to be sorry for missing the weight, nor did he apologize for doing so.
Sonnen compared Chimaev's situation to that of Jon Jones a few years ago, when Jones tested positive for PEDs and the entire fight card was moved from Las Vegas to California. 'Bones' did not appear remorseful for his issues, and he fell out of favor with the fans:
"Now I'm bringing those two examples together, that's actually why you're upset with Chimaev. But what is it that you wanted him to do? You think that you wanted him to apologize, that's what you're saying. But would you respect him?"
Watch the video below from 4:20: