God Chael is such a useless internet edge lord.
Former UFC star Chael Sonnen has assessed Tai Tuivasaās rising popularity and questioned whether heās become a more favorable athlete for the promotion than light heavyweight legend Jon Jones.
In quick time, Tuivasa has risen from a power-hitter low on the UFC ladder to a top-five contender. He accomplished that feat by rebounding from a three-fight losing skid with five straight wins inside the Octagon, including over Augusto Sakai and former title challenger Derrick Lewis.
And despite seeing his title hopes fall away, for now at least, at the hands of former interim champion Ciryl Gane last month at UFC Paris, the Australian knockout artistās performance, as well as the fact he was able to drop the previously untouched āBon Gamin,ā meant his stock as a legitimate contender took little damage.
Perhaps just as notable as Tuivasaās results inside the cage, though, has been his antics before and after delivering viral KO blows. From entertaining walkouts to shoey-laden celebrations, āBam Bamā has developed a level of popularity that is virtually unparalleled.
With a package that comprises charisma, knockouts, and status as a fan-favorite, Sonnen believes that the UFC has struck āgoldā with Tuivasa, and perhaps more so than one absent GOAT contender.
Sonnen: āIf You Have Tuivasa, I Feel Like You Have Goldā
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen discussed Tuivasaās rise to prominence in the past couple of years, and described the important questions that were answered and outcomes that emerged from the Aussieās defeat in the French capital.
āIf you have Tai Tuivasa, I feel like you have gold in this regard: you can do anything you want with him,ā Sonnen said. āYou could grab anybody at random and you could put Tuivasa in there with him. Now that was questioned, including by people like me, who recognized the gains in skills and the absolute popularity, but questioned where he was at in terms of fundamentalsā¦ That got called into question until Tai Tuivasa fought and almost beat Ciryl Gane. Now all of a sudden you go, āOkay, even if heās a little bit unpolished in certain areas, heās damn good and he could compete with anybody.'ā
As well as having demonstrated a skill set thatās worthy of matchups throughout the division, Sonnen pointed out the immense fanfare Tuivasa creates inside arenas, which the fighter-turned-analyst described as a āphenomenonā he never experienced prior to seeing the #4-ranked heavyweight compete live.
āTo explain to you the phenomenon that is Tuivasaā¦ Iāve been in the arena on four separate occasions when heās foughtā¦ Guys, itās unbelievable,ā Sonnen noted. āTai Tuivasa walked into Houston to take on their favorite fighter, Derrick Lewis. They were cheering Derrick like madā¦ Tai won the fight, and the eruption of the crowd in a positive manner was louder for Tai post-fight when the match went the opposite way that the fans wanted.
āTheyāre on their feet, theyāre drinking shoeysā¦ Iām looking around going, āThis is one of the most fascinating sociological and psychological experiences Iāve ever actually witnessed,'ā Sonnen continued. āTai is what we call āoverāā¦ Tuivasa is extremely unique.ā
With his penchant for knockouts, now-proven ability to go toe-to-toe with the best and most technical athletes in the division, and popularity, Sonnen believes the UFC has reached a much-desired position with regards to Tuivasaās status ā one thatās a lot less complicated than former two-time light heavyweight king Jon Jones.
āIf I was a promoter and I could get hold of him, I realize heās not the world champion, but I also realize that his contract in absent of being a former world champion is something fairly reasonable, and I have eight, or nine, or 10 different options I can do with him. Juxtapose that against Jon Jones,ā Sonnen continued.
āIf you donāt match Jon Jones up with the best guy, youāre going to send somebody to the emergency room. If you put Jones in there with the absolute best guy, many times, that guy has been in an ambulanceā¦ Youāve got a real responsibility, that is how good Jon is. But I have seen some athletes lose their career to success.ā
Sonnen went on to describe how Jonesā latest outings were perceived during the buildup, suggesting that his dominance had reached a point where fans simply werenāt enthused by the prospect of seeing him fight anymore.
āI would love to have been as good as Jon. If Iām coaching a guy, Iād love for them to be as skilled as Jon,ā Sonnen stated. āI would love for the guy to be as popular, and multi-versatile, and have as many big fights in front of him as Tai does. Tai, right now, has had more massive fights. Jon Jones, for the last four fights of his career, has never sold out an arenaā¦ There wasnāt one single sold-out arenaā¦ Some of those fights turned out to be awesomeā¦ but we didnāt expect that going inā¦ Your own success starts to harm you.ā
With that considered, Sonnen posed the question: whatās more valuable to a promotion, a versatile fighter who can face anyone and entertain at all times or a former champion who can only be put in there with a small pool of elite competitors?
āItās a very tricky question. If youāre the promoter and you could have one guyā¦ Iāll give you the contract; one means your bells and whistles better be damn straight and one means you get a little bit of room for air. Would you rather have the contract or Tai Tuivasa? ā¦ I am curious,ā Sonnen concluded.
Jones hasnāt appeared inside the Octagon for well over two years, having vacated the 205-pound gold in preparation for a move to heavyweight. Despite appearing keen to compete, nothing has been announced regarding a return, with reports suggesting that desired opponent Stipe Miocic hasnāt been ready.
And with champion Francis Ngannou still on the sidelines, Jonesā search for possible comeback opponents certainly hasnāt seen a long list created.
Opposite for me. I couldnāt care less about the HW division until JBJ fights
HWās that look like Tua, D. Lewis and that guy who does flips after fights I just canāt get on board with
Give me back the Lesnarās Carwinās, Cainās of the HW division over these tubbies