Chael Sonnen has praised Jorge Masvidal for taking the very risky fight against Colby Covington.
In the main event of UFC 272 on March 5, Masvidal and Covington will finally settle their differences. It’s a highly-anticipated bout as they used to be roommates and close friends; however, they had a massive falling out and have taken shots at one another for years now.
For Sonnen, he says he is surprised “Gamebred” took this fight, as it is a tough matchup for him coming off two losses in a row and with very high stakes.
“In all fairness, I really got to show respect to Masvidal because this is a career-ending fight,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel (via Sportskeeda). “It is that big of a deal, there will be that much attention and that much focus and that much hatred going into this battle. Jorge, who is the second biggest draw in combat [sports] right now who’s coming off of two defeats.
“If he goes out there and he gets taken down and he gets mauled for 25 minutes, it is going to take a lot of luster off of the shine that is the second biggest draw [in MMA], the BMF, Jorge Masvidal. It’s a big deal and Jorge signed up anyway. God damn, I respect that,” Sonnen concluded.
Jorge Masvidal was a massive star in 2019 as he scored a KO win over Darren Till, the flying knee KO over Ben Askren, and a TKO win over Nate Diaz to win the BMF belt. Since then, however, he has lost two straight to Kamaru Usman for the belt, including the last being by KO, which many viewed as the knockout of the year in 2021.
If Masvidal loses to Covington, it would be three straight and would likely signal the end of his time as a top contender. It would also hurt his damage as a superstar, which is the chief reason Chael Sonnen is praising Gamebred for taking this scrap.
Are you surprised Jorge Masvidal accepted the fight against Colby Covington?
