Chael Sonnen knows exactly how you're supposed to promote yourself as a UFC fighter. That's why he was happy with Paul Craig when he asked to fight Anthony Smith next.
Paul Craig pulled off a huge submission win at UFC London and called his shot by asking for Anthony Smith next. Chael Sonnen may be friends with Smith but he was very happy Craig called him out.
“When Craig was done, he called out Anthony Smith.,” the former UFC fighter said on his YouTube channel. “He called out Anthony Smith – god damn that’s a good idea. Something has been going on with Lionheart. I am friends with Lionheart and I can’t get an answer on what it was. Something. I gotta leave it at something. He wants to fight, to the point where he even told me he will go up a weight class, down a weight class, that is how badly he wants to get back in there. He’s got that itch. He’s training for if any opportunities open up.”
“He’s a very high ranked guy, he’s done eight [UFC] main events. He’s a popular guy, it puts him in a smaller pool, and everybody was booked. Well they’re not now, Paul Craig is apparently open.”
“He said five rounds – that’s what I liked about it. He said let’s do it for five rounds. The reason I like that is he’s now disguising that he wants a main event. Nobody gets anything they don’t ask for, the former UFC fighter concluded.”
Anthony Smith has been called out by many fighters at light heavyweight lately and it's not clear why the UFC hasn't booked him yet. Chael Sonnen seems to think something is going on behind the scenes. It will have to be seen if Paul Craig gets his wish.