That was beautiful: Chael Sonnen reacts to Israel Adesanya mocking Pereira’s son

11 April 2023

Chael Sonnen feels that Israel Adesanya did something beautiful when he mocked Alex Pereira’s son after the UFC 287 knockout win.

Talking during the MMA Hour, Sonnen said that Adesanya turned heel with the move.

“I think he went heel — and it’s a big deal. If he has gone heel, it matters. And the reason I say that is when they throw to them backstage and Izzy’s trying to cheer up what’s-his-name, and Izzy is telling him, ‘Hey, great job, you’ll always be a champion to me,’ and then he goes into a post-fight press conference, he says, ‘Everything is square in the world. Forget that he beat me three times and took everything I wanted and ran me out of a sport and beat me in front of the world, Madison Square Garden. I’ve won this one time,” he said (h/t MMA Fighting).

ALSO READ | I have Africa behind me: Dricus Du Plessis hits back at Israel Adesanya

Chael also went on to compare the situation of Chuck Liddell.

“The only time I’ve ever seen that — and it was embarrassing the first time — is when Chuck [Liddell] lost to Tito [Ortiz], and Tito, who’d been cleaned up, lost his belt, lost his fame, lost his money, lost his position in the company, goes over to some show that nobody watched, lands a shot on a guy that’s 48 years old, and then tells you, ‘Well, everything’s good.’ Well, no, it’s not good. Chuck is way ahead of you. He’s millions ahead of you. He’s fights, he’s experience, he’s opportunities, public perception ahead of you. He took all these things. So I saw Tito do that, and now I come back to Adesanya — Adesanya tried to act like we’re square. He ran you out of a sport. He chased you down in this one. He beat you at the Mecca. Not for nothing, but you’re not square — unless you’re a heel,” he added.

ALSO READ | Alex Pereira reacts to Israel Adesanya mocking his son at UFC 287

What do you think of the quotes from Chael Sonnen? Let us know in the comments below.