Chael Sonnen is surprised to see Charles Oliveira booked in a title eliminator.
Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) takes on Arman Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a No. 1 contenders bout April 13 at UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Sonnen is confused by this booking.
Oliveira was scheduled to rematch lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, but a cut forced him out of the fight. He was replaced by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who was knocked out in Round 1.
Many expected Oliveira to be next in line, but with Makhachev injured, “Do Bronx” was booked in a title eliminator vs. Tsarukyan. Not only is Sonnen convinced that the fight won’t happen, he doesn’t think Oliveira even wants to fight Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC).
“How does Charles find motivation in No. 1 contenders matches when it draws him to the only thing he doesn’t want? And I’m not – guys, I’m really not giving Charles a hard time,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I’m the one that was right. I’ve been telling you guys. I’ve been telling you for five months, I got to read your comments, ‘Chael, you’re so hard on Charles.’ I’m right about Charles. I understand him, I don’t pick on him at all.
“He’s great, he’s proven he’s great, he’s the second-best fighter in the division. He has proven he’s the second-best fighter in the division. That’s pretty damn impressive, but what I’m sharing with you, there’s one thing that he does not want. This isn’t Chael’s opinion. I got my opinion from him, he told me this, three times, and I just told you guys that he doesn’t want to fight Islam. He doesn’t want to fight Islam to the degree that he has refused to fight Islam.”
Oliveira was dominated in a submission loss to Makhachev in their title fight at UFC 280 in October 2022. He was able to rebound with a first-round TKO of Beneil Dariush at UFC 289.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
