Chael Sonnen explains why the UFC censoring trash talk would make it 'pro wrestling'
Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the backlash Colby Covington received after making a remark about Leon Edwards' deceased father during the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference.
The press conference had many in the MMA community blasting the former interim welterweight champion for going too far to promote a fight. 'The American Gangster' uploaded a video to his YouTube page, where he shared his thoughts on trash talking in MMA and explained why censoring fighters' trash talk wouldn't be very wise.
Sonnen said:
"It's one of the most important reasons why the promoter cannot come to you and tell you what not to say because that by virtue is telling you what to say and now all of the sudden it's scripted, it's pro wrestling. And you never really know what you're looking at." [9:33 - 9:53]
The former middleweight title challenger added that fighters and the things they say aren't scripted, which is why some remarks may be taken differently to what they may have pictured in their heads.
He mentioned that the press conference is an opportunity to create interest for a fight and each fighter can use their words to influence viewers, saying:
"If the moment is good, you will be invited back and get more of these moments, that's the reward. If your moments are bad, you won't be invited back, that is your punishment. And if you believe anything else, if you believe that those are not planned and designed for very specific things, then you are a mark." [12:58 - 13:27]
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Chael Sonnen believes Paddy Pimblett's win over Tony Ferguson was his worst performance
UFC 296 featured the return of Paddy Pimblett, who earned a unanimous decision win over Tony Ferguson.
Despite defeating a former interim lightweight champion, Chael Sonnen wasn't sold on Pimblett as he believes it was the Englishman's worst performance. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The American Gangster' was critical of Pimblett's performance, but gave him props for pulling through and getting the job done:
"This was his worst performance and he won all three rounds against a former champion...The only thing that you could say is that he got fatigued in the third round, but he pushed through it anyway." [0:59 - 1:20]