The biggest star drinks beer out of a shoe - Chael Sonnen slams "useless waste of talent" in UFC heavyweight division
![Chael Sonnen (left) and Tai Tuivasa (right) [Images courtesy of Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/02/1926d-16457890184950-1920.jpg?w=500)
Chael Sonnen recently shared his take on the current state of the heavyweight division.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen felt that though there was enough talent in the division, nobody was interested in marketing themselves and asking for big things. 'The American Gangster' believes that Tai Tuivasa is the biggest star in the division, but he's known more for a gimmick than his ability:
"I've talked to you guys until I am blue in the face about the useless waste of talent within the heavyweight division. No heavyweight is speaking up, none. The biggest star at heavyweight drinks beer out of a stranger's shoe. That's a gimmick. It's not a skill, it's not a talent. It's a ruse. It's also the only gimmick or ruse in the entire heavyweight division. So, of course it's the best... You've no heavyweight that is even aware of their division, all they have to do is sneeze and everybody will talk about it."
Watch Sonnen talk about the heavyweight division below:
Tai Tuivasa has made the 'shoey' celebration a trend in the UFC, where he drinks beer out of a shoe. He did the ritual after his latest knockout win against Derrick Lewis as well. UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill also followed suit. 'Sweet Dreams' did a 'shoey' after making weight for his fight against Johnny Walker last weekend.
Furthermore, Sonnen went on to take the example of Jairzinho Rozenstruik, who he believes is a cool individual with charisma. However, he is not going out in front of the camera enough to sell himself.
The former middleweight challenger feels Rozenstruik deserves some credit for going toe-to-toe with Francis Ngannou in a striking battle despite losing. According to Sonnen, 'Bigi Boy' needs to take more risks like that to make a better case for himself.
Chael Sonnen was one of the biggest heel characters in the UFC
Chael Sonnen was a very good fighter with high-level grappling skills. However, what fans remember most about him is his ability to rile up his opponents. He completely got under the skin of Anderson Silva before their fight in 2010. To be fair to 'The Bad Guy', he backed up his trash talk against the legendary Brazilian with one of his best performances, albeit in a losing cause.
Check out the first fight between Silva and Sonnen:
His rivalry with Wanderlei Silva was also one that fans thoroughly enjoyed. The pair once clashed on the set of The Ultimate Fighter show. They later fought in Bellator, where Sonnen won a unanimous decision.
Watch Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva below:
Chael Sonnen was a master promoter for his fights, using his mic skills to get fans intrigued. He showed the way to other effective trash talkers in the UFC, such as Conor Mcgregor, Michael Bisping, and more.