- Chael Sonnen suspects Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa wouldn’t come to fruition
- “The Bad Guy” thinks both top middleweights are not promoting their fight
Chael Sonnen has accused Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa of not doing their job of promoting their middleweight showdown at UFC 298.
It’s not gonna happen
Speaking on his YouTube channel, “The Bad Guy” compared Whittaker vs. Costa to Jon Jones vs. Anthony Johnson several years ago. According to Sonnen, he didn’t have a legit source but his gut feeling said “Bones” and “Rumble” will not fight. He feels exactly the same with “The Reaper” and “Borrachinha” as neither of the top middleweights are acting like they have an upcoming bout.
“If you were just to guess, I’ve had a couple fights in my life where I’ve seen them and read about them and thought, ‘That’s not going to happen.’ And that was my reaction. I loved them and they were exciting, possibly a situation where it was too good to be true but there was something about it, I didn’t feel it was going to happen,” Sonnen began.
“I was asked what I thought about Jon Jones and ‘Rumble’ Johnson,” he rememberd. “And I simply responded ‘That fight will not happen.’ That was it, and a couple of weeks later, the fight blows up and it doesn’t happen… I never had any inside scoop, I just never felt that that fight was going to happen.”
“I didn’t ever believe that those two were going to walk out there and for what reasons, can’t fully remember. I am not that bullish on Paulo Costa versus Robert Whittaker,” he continued. “I am not that bullish but boy it’s along the same vein. It doesn’t feel like those guys are getting ready to fight.”
“I’m not here to make a prediction, I’m not here to tell you that they’re not going to fight,” he added. “But I will make an observation, and that observation is that Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker are not behaving, and are not actively doing what other guys put in the same position that are three weeks, closing in on a fight that’s televised and monetized on pay-per-view. They are not doing what two opponents generally would do, that are going to plan to face each other.”
Whittaker wants to hurt Costa
At this point, it’s kind of hard to believe Sonnen’s claim, especially with Whittaker previously stating that he plans to hurt Costa “with bad intensions” at UFC 298.
Prior to this, Sonnen also said that he thinks Costa should not face the former middleweight champ in his return. Instead, “The Bad Guy” suggested that the Brazilian takes an “easier fight” than Whittaker.
For the record, Whittaker vs. Costa is still officially the co-main event of UFC 298.
Watch Sonnen’s full video below:
