"Never heard him say yes" - Chael Sonnen says former UFC middleweight champion is known to turn down fights
Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the UFC rankings and noted that a former UFC middleweight champion has been known to turn down fights.
'The American Gangster' uploaded a video to his YouTube channel, where he shared his thoughts on the latest ESPN rankings. While discussing the significance of the rankings, Chael Sonnen turned his attention to 185lbs and noted that former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is a top-ranked fighter that turns down fights.
He said:
"I have never in my life read a Robert Whittaker interview where he accepts a challenge. I have never in my life heard him say the word yes. I've only heard no and excuses and reasoning he's come to in his own conclusion as to why the answer's no...I've never heard him say yes." [4:03 - 4:29]
Chael Sonnen continued by bringing up that 'The Reaper' recently declined Brendan Allen's challenge following his third-round submission win over Paul Craig. He mentioned rankings shouldn't be factored into the decision to accept or decline a fight unless the fighter is the number-one contender, saying:
"Your ranking has nothing to do with anything. If you're not the number-one contender, what difference does it make?...If you're not getting the title fight, what difference does it make?...Ultimately you're saying that he's not as good as you. If he's not as good as you, why would you not take the easy day? [5:10 - 5:45]
It will be interesting to see whether Robert Whittaker will reconsider, especially considering that Dricus du Plessis is scheduled to receive the next middleweight title shot.
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Chael Sonnen sounds off on The Rock following his appearance on JRE
Chael Sonnen recently sounded off on The Rock for denying and not being open about his allegedly lying to his fans about his steroid use.
The former UFC middleweight title challenger uploaded a short to his YouTube channel, where he spoke about the WWE superstar-turned-actor's denial of steroid use. He mentioned that he has been misleading the public about his diet and workouts, and even compared him to Liver King, saying:
"As soon as you start doing that and try to influence and motivate and bring people along the journey but you lie to them about the journey, right? I mean, he's Liver King. You're Liver King all over again. It's the exact same thing."