Former UFC star and longtime MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has spoken about the hatred and condemnation that Conor McGregor has been facing after UFC 264.
According to Sonnen, McGregor went through drastic changes inside the octagon at UFC 264 and one mustn’t wish physical harm on him simply because he said a few things that hurt someone.
However, ‘The American Gangster’ added that Conor McGregor shouldn’t have spoken about Dustin Poirier’s wife.
In an episode of Beyond the Fight on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen opened up on Conor McGregor’s leg injury and the subsequent war of words between the Irishman and the Poiriers (Dustin and his wife Jolie Poirier) at UFC 264.
Sonnen stated:
“Sometimes, I do wonder if people were never taught this. My mother taught us very early – Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. It’s one of those things where you want a guy to be injured. You want a guy to be hurt because he said something in a mean tone that hurt your (feelings). I don’t know about that. Joe Rogan was not wrong, but I would ask that you also give a little bit of pause to the hatred towards Conor McGregor.”
“Things have changed very drastically for him, at least in this side of things. And I hear people taking shots at Conor McGregor all the time, or they pull him down, or they treat him unfairly. There’s some level of scumbag to Conor. And then they will always justify it by going, ‘Well, he’s really rich’. I don’t really have any idea what that; you think he doesn’t have feelings? You don’t think that he has the right to care about his career?”
“I don’t know what part of that because he is really rich that it takes the human element out of it. I’ve never understood that. I wouldn’t tell you that you had to be super nice to a poor guy. I mean, people are people. Be civil. You, be civil. And I think, in this case, if you wanted to be fair, you love to judge people for their actions. But you wanna be judged for your intent. We all do that as people, right? It’s part of the human condition. I would just encourage that you give pause, you show some grace. A guy is hurt. ‘He crossed the line’, Give him a pass.” (*Video courtesy: Chael Sonnen; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Chael Sonnen emphasized that UFC commentator Joe Rogan mustn’t be blamed for conducting an interview with Conor McGregor after the MMA star suffered a horrific leg injury.
Sonnen added that Rogan acquired McGregor’s permission for the interview and only proceeded because the 33-year-old wanted to speak.
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier could clash once again inside the octagon in early 2022
Conor McGregor suffered a lower-leg injury towards the end of round one against Dustin Poirier and was subsequently unable to continue the fight.
The fight was called off between rounds one and two. Dustin Poirier was awarded a first-round TKO (doctor stoppage) win.
Poirier is now expected to fight UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the title later this year.
The consensus in the combat sports world is that Conor McGregor’s next fight will be a fourth fight against Poirier in early 2022.