"I dig it" - UFC lightweight is all for Chael Sonnen taking over as UFC president
UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney has backed Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen to take the reigns and become UFC president should Dana White retire from his position anytime soon.
McKinney responded to a post on social media by a fan who was hoping 'The American Gangster' will one day be in charge of the company. 'T. Wrecks' was all for the idea and responded immediately.
Twitter user @AmyCrx_ wrote:
"Honestly, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Chael Sonnen would make a fantastic UFC president when Dana retires."
McKinney replied:
"I dig it"
I dig it https://t.co/4e6e5znRXF
McKinney has enjoyed a fruitful start to his career in the UFC. The 28-year-old won his debut bout in 2021 via first-round KO and followed up the victory with yet another first-round finish, this time via submission.
In his third fight against Drew Dober, Terrence McKinney suffered his first UFC loss, losing via TKO in another action-packed first-round. The lightweight prospect was able to immediately right his wrongs, however, and defeated Erik Gonzalez via rear-naked choke, meaning all three of his UFC victories have come inside round one.
The American prospect is set to make his fifth UFC appearance at UFC 283 next January. McKinney will face Ismael Bonfim and hope he can yet again build an impressive win streak.
Chael Sonnen explains what it takes to sell a fight in the UFC
Chael Sonnen is widely regarded by fans as one of the greatest MMA fighters to never hold a title. Sonnen fought some of the best in the octagon and narrowly came up short on multiple occasions.
In a recent discussion with Henry Cejudo and Mark Madsen, 'The American Gangster' shared what he believes is the best way to sell and market the biggest fights, using his own as an example:
"These stories don't have to be the world's most complex... We're not trying to work for NASA here. We're not trying to solve the homeless crisis. We're trying to tell a story as to why me competing with this guy matters. Why it matters to me, why it matters to him, and why we think that you will care and very few guys come in with a story."
Sonnen added that fighters aren't just there to compete, they must also sell the story of the fight:
"They talk about guys that are great promoters, what does that mean? They put up more billboards than the other guy? They put out a more interesting advertisement than the other guy? What does it mean to be a great promoter?... A good promoter is a good storyteller. A fight that's huge has a story that the people love. We're in the storytelling business."
Catch Chael Sonnen speaking to Henry Cejudo here: