Oban Elliott opens up about heartfelt embrace from his MMA idol Chael Sonnen: "Most surreal thing I've ever seen"
Oban Elliott recently opened up about his reaction to Chael Sonnen making a full YouTube video about him. The UFC welterweight stated it was a surreal moment for him. He has credited the former UFC middleweight title challenger for inspiring him and expressed his gratitude for the kind and heartfelt gesture.
Despite only being 26 years old, 'The Welsh Gangster' has gained plenty of experience as he competed in 7 amateur bouts before turning pro. After an impressive stint in Cage Warriors, Elliott earned a UFC contract following his majority decision win on the 'Contender Series' and has since won back-to-back fights this year. Sonnen has taken notice of his skills and heaped praise on him in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel.
During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the Welshman discussed 'The American Ganster's' influence on his career and even hinted that he could walk him out for his upcoming bout at UFC 309. Elliott mentioned that Sonnen, making the aforementioned video, took him by surprise and expressed his gratitude toward him:
"This is the most surreal thing I've ever seen when I looked at it, I thought this can't be right...Come up on my YouTube, yeah, sh*t, [Sonnen] just didn't mention me in the cage once, just 10 minutes talking about me as a human being and I just could not believe it."
Check out Oban Elliott's comments below:
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Oban Elliott explains what he admired most about Chael Sonnen
In addition to sharing his reaction to Chael Sonnen's YouTube video about him, UFC welterweight Oban Elliott explained what he admired about him during his career.
During the aforementioned clip, Elliott mentioned that Sonnen was the total package in terms of his charisma, skill-set, and path toward his title shot and jokingly referenced his famous quote about being undefeated throughout his career:
"It was the promo work, the way he just scratched and clawed. [Sonnen] had a few losses on his record. Obviously he didn't lose, but the records suggested...I trained martial arts every day and then I saw that and I thought, this is it. If there's something made for me, there it is...Yeah, just latched onto the way he was talking his trash and selling the fights. It was brilliant."
Check out Chael Sonnen's YouTube video about Oban Elliot below: