"A monetizable star who's not very good" - Chael Sonnen on Tai Tuivasa following UFC 271 win
Chael Sonnen feels that Tai Tuivasa is one of the most marketable fighters in the UFC right now despite not being one of the best fighters.
Sonnen was amazed at how 'Bam Bam' won over the crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston this past weekend. That was despite knocking out hometown heavyweight Derrick Lewis at UFC 271.
Sonnen even compared the feat to the protagonist of the Rocky film series, Robert 'Rocky' Balboa, winning over a hostile Russian crowd after beating Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Sonnen believes that the UFC can bring in a considerable amount of revenue if they manage to market the Australian fighter properly.
Tai Tuivasa hit the shimmy after knocking out Derrick Lewis 🕺 https://t.co/iZhh4Uymmw
Having said that, Sonnen claims Tuivasa isn't the perfect heavyweight fighter but he seems to be gradually improving. The former two-division UFC title challenger was impressed by how 'Bam Bam' overcame adversity early on in the fight against Lewis before going on to knock him out cold in the second round.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, 'The American Gangster' said:
"This guy [Tai Tuivasa] is wildly popular. This guy had Houston doing shoeys on their feet and cheering him after he beat their guy. This was a Rocky moment, this was unbelievable. The way Tai flipped the hometown crowd was unbelievable... So we see what we have in Tai, which is we have a monetizable star who's not very good. If we're being real fair, we're seeing his skills growing and we're seeing a potential here that we didn't know existed."
Check out Sonnen's take on Tai Tuivasa's future in the video below:
Tai Tuivasa breaks into the heavyweight top-3 following UFC 271
Tuivasa's stunning knockout victory over Derrick Lewis at UFC 271 has established him as a legitimate contender in the heavyweight division. Formerly ranked No.11, the win against 'The Black Beast' has propelled Tuivasa to No.3 in the rankings.
Tai Tuivasa are you kidding me?! Perfect elbow and put Derrick Lewis to sleep for the KO. https://t.co/b3OUk1DHii
Although he is now among the top contenders in the heavyweight division, Tuivasa hasn't demanded a title shot just yet.
He is looking forward to competing against whoever is put in front of him next and hopes to share the octagon with some of the best heavyweights on the planet. Whatever happens, we can certainly expect some more entertaining walkouts and post-fight shoeys in Tuivasa's future.