Dana White Praises Chael Sonnen After MMA Retirement Announcement
Former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger, Chael Sonnen, has decided to end his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
Sonnen was defeated by Lyoto Machida in his last outing at Bellator 222 this past weekend. After the fight, which ended via second-round TKO, Sonnen announced he was done competing inside the cage, and thanked fans for the memories. UFC President Dana White was recently interviewed on Sirius XM Radio, and offered his thoughts on Sonnen after his announcement.
White had nothing but good things to say about Sonnen, who departed from the UFC back in 2016 to sign with Bellator MMA:
“I like Chael a lot,” White said. “I have a very good relationship with Chael. I like the fact that – this is the hardest place in the world to stay and make a living here. You have to be one of the best in the world to stick around here. When guys can’t stick around here anymore, and when they go somewhere else and they can get paid and make money, I love it. Good for them.”
Sonnen has been dubbed “The Bad Guy” for most of his career, due to his heel persona and professional wrestling heel-like gimmick. However, White doesn’t necessarily see Sonnen as a “Bad Guy,” he was simply a master at getting under fighters’ skin:
“”I don’t think Chael was necessarily a bad buy, I think Chael was very good – you know, before Conor McGregor, Chael was the best guy out there that knew how to push buttons, and not only piss off other fighters, but piss off the fans and things like that. And use very calculated and very smart in the way he conducted himself in this business.“
