Chael Sonnen questions the star power of ‘narcissists’ Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz
UFC legend, Chael Sonnen (30-17-1 MMA) has explained why believes Alex Pereira (7-2 MMA) and Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1 MMA) are “narcissists” that don’t know how to sell a fight.
Sonnen’s outburst follows the announcement from UFC President, Dana White who revealed that Alex Pereira will take on Jan Blachowicz in the co-main event at UFC 291.
‘Poatan’ was originally the UFC’s middleweight champion ensuing from his TKO finish over rival, Israel Adesanya (24-2 MMA) at UFC 281 in 2022. The Brazilian’s win over the long-standing 185lbs champion shocked the world, winning UFC gold in just his fourth UFC bout.
Pereira’s decision to move up to the 205lbs division came after he was finally defeated by Adesanya in what was a dramatic knockout loss at UFC 287.
The former light heavyweight champion, Blachowicz is set to welcome the new addition to the 205lbs division, Alex Pereira next month.
With it being Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight debut in the UFC, ‘Poatan’ is hoping it will put him on track to another UFC title in a weight class that requires a less minacious weight-cutting experience.
The winner of this showdown will most likely be rewarded with the next title opportunity. Although there is much at stake for both combatants, Chael Sonnen isn’t falling for the hype, believing fans don’t have that much of an interest when it comes to Pereira Vs. Blachowicz.
Chael Sonnen labels Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz “narcissists”, and explains why they aren’t big draws when it comes to the UFC
In a recent upload to his YouTube channel, Sonnen explained why he thinks both Pereira and Blachowicz assume it’s their fighting ability and previous accomplishments are selling the fight. Instead, the 46-year-old reaffirms that neither of them are draws in the eyes of the UFC.
“From the department of who cares comes Błachowicz vs. Pereira, well I don’t mean that to sound like a jerk, but you have two guys that don’t have the ability to bring interest to anything. They’re just not equipped with that. So you gotta understand you’re dealing with two narcissists, both Błachowicz and Pereira. I never met them. You’re dealing with two narcissists clinically,” Sonnen stated.
Chael Sonnen used the term ‘narcissist’ to describe both Alex Pereira and Jan Blachowicz. He believes that the issue comes from both fighters and the promotion, as they assume that the average fan will know the backstory of the fight. Sonnen also clarified that anyone who competes in combat sports is typically going to be a narcissist and he would know because he is one.
“Along with narcissism comes an idea that everybody knows what it is that you have done. Everybody knows the significance of this fight,” Chael Sonnen exclaimed.
“I could make this a really great spoiler, and I could do it really quickly. They narcissistically believe that I already have, and I don’t mean me, your intellectual superior Chael Sonnen. I’m talking just the average viewer.”
“The average viewer has already put together that we have a guy who beat a guy three times vs. the guy where they fought once, and it was pretty competitive but he got taken down, and we got a world champion here vs. a former world champion up here. This guy’s first time coming up, and this guy’s known for the power on his feet, but this guy is as technical as they come. They think the world knows that, and they don’t. The viewer that watches every single Saturday doesn’t find what I just said to be interesting.”
The Oregon native feels that the UFC’s decision to put the light heavyweight bout as the co-main event was a tell that the UFC didn’t feel that it would sell as well as Dustin Poirier (29-7 MMA) vs. Justin Gaethje (24-4 MMA) at UFC 291.
This is in spite of the fact that the fight between Pereira and Blachowicz has title implications.
Regardless of whether Chael Sonnen thinks they are draws or not, he admits the fight intrigues him and is looking forward to finding out who will be challenging for the belt he once challenged for against Jon Jones (27-1 MMA) at UFC 159.
