"Gonna really miss Deano" - Top journalist shares grief with Chael Sonnen as Dean Henderson completes move to soccer club Crystal Palace
Former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen appears to be back in the fold with the promotion after a lengthy period on the outside looking in.
Sonnen was initially released by the UFC back in 2014 after being flagged for PED usage by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Last month, though, ‘The American Gangster’ returned as an analyst for ESPN for UFC 291, which saw Justin Gaethje stop Dustin Poirier.
However, it’s fair to say that at this point, Chael Sonnen is almost as renowned for his somewhat eccentric activities on Twitter and YouTube than his previous career as a top-level fighter.
The former middleweight star recently took to Twitter, for instance, to randomly hit out at Breaking Bad actor Dean Norris with an erratic diatribe.
Today, though, it appears that ‘The American Gangster’ has become the victim of some random Twitter activity in his own right.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani took to Twitter to air his frustrations on the transfer of goalkeeper Dean Henderson from Manchester United to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace. In doing so, he decided to randomly tag Sonnen.
Helwani is well-known to be a supporter of Nottingham Forest, who Henderson represented last season before returning to Old Trafford this summer.
It therefore makes plenty of sense that he’d be upset with the goalkeeper deciding to join Palace rather than returning to the East Midlands.
Quite why he tagged Sonnen – who has seemingly never aired any opinions on Nottingham Forest or the Premier League – is anyone’s guess, though.
What did Chael Sonnen say about fighter pay?
Chael Sonnen and Ariel Helwani often make for an entertaining duo when it comes to analysing fights online, but they don’t always see eye-to-eye.
This was the case when ‘The American Gangster’ recently appeared on Helwani’s MMA Hour show on YouTube to discuss fighter pay.
Sonnen was quick to point out that when he debuted in the octagon in 2005, entry fighters were only paid $2000 to show and $2000 to win, a figure that now stands six times higher at $12,000 and $12,000.
Helwani, though, was quick to rebut this, pointing out the massive amount of revenue the UFC brings in when compared to the amount they pay their roster.
Watch the exchange between Helwani and Sonnen below.