Chael Sonnen has a surprising take on the backlash Gable Steveson has received since UFC 331.
Steveson suffered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when he was knocked out by Sean Sharaf in just 12 seconds
this past Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Steveson was heavily booed throughout fight week and received even more backlash when he exited the octagon before Sharaf got his hand raised.While many feel Olympic gold medalist Steveson (4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) was rushed to the UFC, Sonnen still sees greatness. He just advises him to tap into his roots more.
"A week ago, I believed Gable will be UFC champion," Sonnen told MMA Junkie. "Today, I believe Gable will be the UFC champion. If we can all learn something about this, and we keep
getting smacked in the face with this same thing: When you are a wrestler and you come into MMA, there's going to be a built-in narrative that all you can do is wrestle. You're going to want to resist to that narrative and then you're going to want to use it as evidence, your performance where you're out there not wrestling. There should be an urgency. It should be the opposite.
"If you were the gold medalist in wrestling, you should be able to take this guy down – the end. And you don't have to be on the top wrestling. Randy Couture showed us you can wrestle on your feet. You've got to make contact and get your hands on that guy. If you don't bring that skillset with you, with an urgency – I just watched him at RAF; he had an urgency to get his hands on the guy. He had an urgency to take the guy down. He had prioritized this. If you go into MMA and you don't prioritize that, you're basically spotting your opponent 10 years of wrestling. ... Every wrestler buys into this."
Jones attempted to take some heat off Steveson by claiming that it was his idea to have him walk out of the octagon before the outcome was read, which Sonnen thinks was the right move.
"I loved everything that Jon did there," Sonnen said. "It's also true. ... Jon Jones is the most successful guy ever. I don't know of anyone he cornered before. I'm sure he has, but I don't remember seeing him there. So for him to say, 'I've never been in this spot.' I accept that. I accept the 'silly me' defense. The one thing I didn't like about that, the one thing that jumped off the page was he used the word 'friend.' If that is true and that is your friend, you've got to go.
"That's just not how this works. Everyone that's in your corner has got to be like a father-type role. It's got to be a big brother at minimum. Friend doesn't work. I think Jon was looking for an adjective there. But if those two go out and get beers together, he can't be in his corner. It just doesn't work that way. As far as Jon getting the hell out of there? Fine, I have no problem with it."
Sonnen believes Jones has "done a very good job as a coach and mentor" to Steveson. He got to see first hand what Jones is like when he served as the opposing coach during Season 17 of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2013. The pair later fought, with Jones finishing Sonnen by second-round TKO.
"As I've watched him grow, I've been very impressed with him as a coach," Sonnen said of Jones. "I caught a seminar of his, and he was just fantastic. His ability to relay information. ... Jon Jones' post-career, in many ways, is more responsible. In many ways, that very tweet is more manly, more macho. He's stepping in front of things and taking the heat. He's very sensitive. Jon Jones gets his feelings hurt on social media. He knew this was going to blow up in his face. But he also knew it was the right thing to do for his guy. I really respected it."
Steveson released a statement himself saying he won't be denied after his first-career loss. Sonnen remains a believer.
"Bully's only take fights they can win," Sonnen said. "I don't think that about Gable. I think he's not only going to get back in there, I'm sure he's calling Dana as many times as he can today saying, 'Please, put me back in there as quickly as possible. I'm ready for anybody. Short notice. Just give me a call.' I'm sure he has much more of that stance than, 'Oh, I got shown something, I'm going to go hide.' I don't get that. It's not the mindset of any wrestler that I know. That's some punk stuff like that."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chael Sonnen comes to Gable Steveson, Jon Jones' defense after UFC 331
