Chael Sonnen claims the UFC is aiming to book "golden goose" Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa in a No. 1 contender fight with a condition

Sean Strickland [left], Chael Sonnen [center], Paulo Costa [right]

Chael Sonnen thinks the UFC will hand Sean Strickland a title shot if he wins a rumored fight against Paulo Costa.

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya gave Jared Cannonier a nod when he admitted that he wants some "fresh meat" in his next title defense. Cannonier is very likely to be next on deck, but Chael Sonnen is interested in talking about who comes after 'The Killa Gorilla'.

Israel Adesanya wants his "fresh meat" in a June matchup with Jared Cannonier. Book it. ✅

#UFC271 | Full video: bit.ly/3oJlZ0i https://t.co/C1Q6O08sso

According to 'The Bad Guy', it has come down to Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa in a No.1 contender's matchup with a caveat.

In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen claimed the UFC has already decided that Strickland will get the next crack at the middleweight belt if he beats the Brazilian. However, Costa may not get the same deal if he wins the matchup:

"It is crystal clear Sean Strickland [is] one win away [from a title shot]… Well then, let’s go back to the rumor at hand which is Paulo Costa. I love in a fight when we have a semi-final match. When we have a number one contender's match, it's extremely rare. More common is to have a big match and if this guy wins, in this case, Sean Strickland, he gets to fight for the belt. But that doesn't mean it's a number one contender's match because if this guy, in this case Paulo Costa wins, he does not."

Furthermore, Chael Sonnen feels that Strickland is just one win away from a world title fight, and it doesn’t matter if he beats Costa or some other fighter:

“If we got our next golden goose in Sean Strickland… it doesn’t matter who Sean beats, Sean just has to get a match in between now and the next availability to a world title fight.”

Watch Sonnen give his opinion on the matter below:

Chael Sonnen calls out the entire UFC middleweight division

As things stand, Sean Strickland is on a six-fight win streak but has never competed for a title. Meanwhile, Paulo Costa has already lost to Israel Adesanya and is coming off back-to-back defeats. Then you have Jared Cannonier who could give 'The Last Stylebender' a tough fight, having stopped Derek Brunson in less than two rounds at UFC 271.

However, Chael Sonnen has previously stated that whoever is next for Adesanya should be able to bring something different to the table:

"Give him something nobody else has. Give him a rival, give him a yin to his yang, give him an opponent. And the first thing you have to do to be Adesanya’s opponent, unless you want him to just end up [dominant] like Anderson [Silva] [is to] go out there and question it. Step one, change the narrative, create another one."

Check out the full video below: