Chael Sonnen has never been known to hold back and hide his opinion. The former UFC fighter spoke out on the subject of UFC welterweights being scared to fight Khamzat Chimaev.
Dana White made the claim last week that UFC welterweights were ‘scared’ to fight Khamzat Chimaev. Multiple fighters like Geoff Neal and Neil Magny were quick to speak out against the idea.
Chael Sonnen thinks this shows that Khamzat Chimaev’s potential opponents have already been beaten mentally.
“There’s a lot of ways to beat a guy, but if you can do it psychologically and you never have to get out there,” Sonnen explained on his Beyond the Fight show via MMA News. “Dan Henderson had a great line one time, which is Dan was in a bar with somebody, and the guy said, ‘Hey, Dan. If I get in some trouble, you know, will you walk over there, beat this guy down for me?’ And Dan simply said, ‘Why do I need to beat him down when I can stare him down?’ And that rule of life doesn’t go away.”
Chael Sonnen sees Khamzat Chimaev having that same effect on the UFC welterweights. They were beaten before they ever stepped foot into the cage.
“You can stare a guy down, and he backs down; it is the art of war because the great generals never fire a shot,” Sonnen said. “They don’t need to. They align their troops and make the other people retreat. And if Chimaev is successfully doing that – If less than 20 minutes of action, three double-legs, a rear-naked choke, and a left hook – If that’s going to scare an entire division away in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, then shame on them. Fair play by Chimaev.”
It’s an interesting storyline that has been started in the UFC. Khamzat Chimaev is quickly growing as a legend in the fight game.
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