Chael Sonnen News

Chael Sonnen believes Khamzat Chimaev could serve as back-up fighter for UFC 312 main event
Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes Khamzat Chimaev may end up serving as the back-up fighter for the UFC 312 main event. As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is a top contender in the middleweight division. While Dricus du Plessis may be defending the belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 312, we all know ‘Borz’ is waiting for the winner. In addition, many believe he’d be the favorite against either of the two potential champions.

Chael Sonnen confirms Colby Covington's next opponent will likely be Gilbert Burns: "He will fight again"
Josh Evanoff - February 4, 2025
Chael Sonnen has revealed Colby Covington will likely face Gilbert Burns in his UFC return. The ever-controversial ‘Chaos’ is fresh off his return to the cage at UFC Tampa in December. Colby Covington famously went on hiatus following his loss to Leon Edwards in late 2023, but he stepped up on short notice to face Joaquin Buckley. ‘New Mansa’ entered his first UFC headliner red-hot, last scoring a knockout win over Stephen Thompson in October.

Chael Sonnen is convinced that Islam Makhachev is eager to leave lightweight division
Harry Kettle - February 4, 2025
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has explained why he believes Islam Makhachev is eager to leave the lightweight division. Islam Makhachev is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship right now. He’s also the UFC lightweight champion. Oh, and he’s also heavily teased the idea of moving up in search of a second world title. So, in summary, he’s pretty busy these days.

Chael Sonnen reveals Colby Covington will be his assistant coach on TUF 33
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2025
Chael Sonnen will be coaching TUF 33 opposite Daniel Cormier and he revealed his coaching staff. TUF 33 is set to debut on May 27 and will have two legends as coaches, instead of current fighters who are usually booked to fight after the show airs. Ahead of the show airing, Sonnen revealed in an interview that Colby Covington will be one of his assistant coaches.

It isn't safe for Conor McGregor to fight again, says UFC legend: 'He shouldn't do any form of combat'
Chris Taylor - January 31, 2025
One well-known MMA personality doesn’t believe it’s safe for Conor McGregor to fight competitively again. McGregor has not been seen inside the Octagon since July 2021 where he suffered a broken leg in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier. The former two-division UFC champion was planning on making his return against Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 303. An injury derailed that plan, and fans have since been wondering if the Irishman will ever return to prizefighting.

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen speak after being named coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 33: "We'll have to grapple!"
Josh Evanoff - January 20, 2025
UFC Hall of Famers Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen can’t wait to coach The Ultimate Fighter. It’s no secret that the UFC’s long-running reality show has seen better days. Since the creation of the Dana White Contender Series in 2017, The Ultimate Fighter has taken a bit of a backseat. While the show has continued to run with the likes of Conor McGregor as coaches, ratings have badly declined.

Chael Sonnen criticizes Mackenzie Dern for not calling for title shot
Harry Kettle - January 15, 2025
MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has criticized Mackenzie Dern for not calling for a title shot after defeating Amanda Ribas. Last weekend, Mackenzie Dern avenged her 2019 loss to Amanda Ribas with a really nice submission win in their main event clash. Following the bout, she suggested that she wasn’t interested in calling for a title shot right now. Instead, she wants to focus on improving.

Former Jon Jones opponent predicts 'Bones' will retire after fighting Tom Aspinall in 2025
Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 2, 2025
Chael Sonnen believes that 2025 will mark the final year in the historic career of Jon Jones. Jones is widely regarded as the most dominant fighter throughout MMA history. His lone defeat has been heavily debated, as it was a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill back in 2009. “Bones” has reigned as both the light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, and many are wondering when the 37-year-old legend will call it a career.

UFC legend urges Robert Whittaker to move up to light heavyweight: 'Let's encourage that'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 27, 2024
One notable name in the UFC history books is vouching for the idea of Robert Whittaker moving up to light heavyweight. Whittaker was recently asked on his podcast about a potential change in weight class. The former UFC middleweight champion ruled out a return to the welterweight division. With that said, “The Reaper” did throw out the possibility of moving up to light heavyweight.

Chael Sonnen explains what would've happened if he fought Jorge Masvidal and a handful of other fighters
Harry Kettle - December 19, 2024
UFC analyst Chael Sonnen has explained what would’ve happened if he fought Jorge Masvidal and a handful of other fighters in his career. When it comes to discussing the kings of trash talk, Chael Sonnen is up there with the very best of him. While he was obviously a very talented fighter in his own right, he really came into his own when it came to what he was able to do on the microphone. That, in many ways, is what made him a legend.

WATCH | Chael Sonnen consoles Colby Covington following brutal loss at UFC Tampa
Josh Evanoff - December 16, 2024
Colby Covington has released footage of his conversation with Chael Sonnen following his loss at UFC Tampa. ‘Chaos’ returned over the weekend in the Sunshine State. Back for the first time since a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards last December, Colby Covington faced the fastly rising Joaquin Buckley. The former interim welterweight champion took the fight on short notice, stepping in after Ian Machado Garry was pulled to face Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.

Chael Sonnen reveals he was about to throw in the towel for Colby Covington before doctor stoppage
Cole Shelton - December 16, 2024
Chael Sonnen was going to end the UFC Tampa main event had the doctor not. Just seconds before the end of the third round, the doctor got called in to look at a nasty cut above Covington’s eye. The doctor ended up stopping the fight which Dana White didn’t think would have happened had the fight been in Las Vegas. However, Covington’s new coach, Sonnen said he saw how bad the cut was and was about to throw in the towel.

Chael Sonnen nominates rising welterweight to face Jorge Masvidal in UFC return: "Whip Jorge in my place"
Josh Evanoff - December 6, 2024
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen wants to see Jorge Masvidal vs. Oban Elliott. ‘Gamebred’ is currently on the comeback trail. Last April, Jorge Masvidal retired after being handed a decision loss by Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, his fourth defeat in a row. However, almost as soon as he hung up the gloves, he began discussing a comeback. Earlier this year, Masvidal headed to the boxing ring for a one-off bout against Nate Diaz.

Chael Sonnen claims UFC title shot for Kai Asakura is “right”
Zain Bando - December 3, 2024
Chael Sonnen, a former UFC fighter-turned-analyst, quickly gave his thoughts on the UFC 310 pay-per-view main event between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura, which headlines this Saturday. Sonnen never won a UFC world title. Between 2010 and 2013, he came up short on three occasions against former middleweight champion Anderson Silva (twice) and current heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Chael Sonnen believes UFC will give Jon Jones two options for his fighting future and Alex Pereira isn't one of them
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 1, 2024
Chael Sonnen doesn’t believe the UFC is without leverage when it comes to Jon Jones’ future. Jones hasn’t shown eagerness to have a title unification bout with Tom Aspinall. Both men currently split the UFC Heavyweight Championship, with Aspinall being the interim titleholder. Despite this, “Bones” has been more interest in a clash with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

Chael Sonnen reveals the concern he has for Tom Aspinall in a potential Jon Jones fight
Cole Shelton - November 19, 2024
Chael Sonnen says there is a major concern about Tom Aspinall if he does land the Jon Jones fight. After Jones defended his heavyweight title with a third-round TKO over Stipe Miocic, many fans were hopeful that he would face Aspinall next. Yet, ‘Bones’ was quick to admit that he wasn’t too interested in that bout when speaking at the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. However, if the bout does eventually happen, Sonnen says Aspinall’s lack of fight time in the Octagon is a concern.

UFC legend thinks Ilia Topuria is on pace to surpass Conor McGregor's stardom
Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 8, 2024
One former UFC title challenger believes Ilia Topuria is on track to run past Conor McGregor in terms of stardom. Topuria has certainly seen his stock soar thanks to his success rate inside the Octagon. It also helps that Topuria is charismatic and has become a big name in Spain. After results such as being the first fighter to knock Max Holloway out, Topuria might just see himself becoming the hottest active star in the UFC.

Chael Sonnen warns Jon Jones fans ahead of UFC 309 title clash with Stipe Miocic
Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 6, 2024
Chael Sonnen isn’t ruling out a possible upset win for Stipe Miocic over Jon Jones. Miocic is scheduled to challenge Jones for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 309. The pay-per-view event will be held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 16th.