Chael Sonnen explains his recent Twitter spat with Conor McGregor, whom he sees as his “little brother.”
Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen, two of the biggest “heels” in combat sports, if you may, went at it on Twitter, recently. Sonnen called McGregor a “rich little weirdo,” which didn’t sit well with the Irishman. More things were said until the conversation eventually petered out.
But even for Sonnen’s standards, that brief social media spat with McGregor was a peculiar one.
“I’m done fighting, but so is Conor. I don’t have a license, and I’m not gonna go do another fight. Conor doesn’t have a license, and he’s not gonna do one, either,” Sonnen said in a recent YouTube video he uploaded on his channel.
“So how weird are we? Does the world wanna hear… remember when Joe Frazier went after Muhammad Ali? And it was in 1996 when the Olympic games were on American soil in Atlanta? And Muhammad Ali lit the torch, and Frazier said, ‘I wish I could’ve pushed him right in the fire’? Remember when he did that? It was weird, it was highly uncomfortable.
“You have two guys who aren’t going to compete, and not only are they not gonna compete with each other, they don’t compete with anybody. So what are we talking about?
“You’re banging your chest to be a brave guy when you took yourself out of the brave guy business. I did it willfully, he did it when his leg got snapped, which is very sad, in fairness.
“At what point are we Ali and Frazier? It’s not for me to say that he’s not gonna pursue a license. I do believe he is likely to fight again. He can’t fight right now. He can’t get a license. I can’t either.
“I can’t pass a drug test; he can’t pass an MRI. Do you see where it gets weird? Neither one of us is eligible. I am what many people in the sport call an old man. I’m aware of that. He’s not aware of that.”
“I could fight, and he can’t fight. Do you see the problem? He’s hurt. And this isn’t me being backhanded and pointing this out. I want him to get better. That’s the truth.”
As for the “rich little weirdo” comment, Uncle Chael sees nothing wrong with it.
“I don’t know how old Conor is, I’ll have to look it up. I’m going with 33, I’m going with 34, I know I’m close. But that’s the age where the fact that you’re still doing this is weird. It’s not cool anymore. If you’ve got the belt, if you’re defending something, it’s a little bit different,” Sonnen explained.
“If you can’t get a license because you can’t even pass the medical exam, and you’ve got your shirt off on TV with your drunken buddy behind you filming you in an iPhone that you’re gonna edit and upload later, it’s weird. And that’s all I said.”
Sonnen also claimed responsibility for the creation of the “The Notorious” that we all know today. And at the end of the day, he’s only looking out for his “little brother.”
“I got asked about McGregor, who I have carried for years. In all fairness, I don’t know that Conor has a more public defender than me. And there’s been some rough times. You will look (like) a fool defending some of Conor’s actions.
“I feel I know Conor. I feel I understand Conor. I feel I had a hand in creating Conor. Whether I did or not, but this is how I feel. So I’ve always looked after little brother.
“Much as I said he’s becoming a rich little weirdo, that’s still little brother, and I’mma still look after him. I just am.”