Chael Sonnen supports Robert Whittaker move to light heavyweight

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is considering a transfer to mild heavyweight, which is one thing Chael Sonnen would like to see.

Sonnen can communicate from expertise as a result of he challenged for the UFC middleweight and light-weight heavyweight titles – in back-to-back fights, no much less.

With Whittaker’s profession in an attention-grabbing place, Sonnen would like to see the previous champ make the transfer as much as 205 kilos as a result of he believes there are benefits, and returning to 170 kilos the place he started his UFC profession is just not an possibility.

“Let’s encourage that,” Sonnen mentioned on his YouTube channel. “I’m so utterly for that concept, and I don’t completely know what would occur. I simply know I’ve by no means seen Robert Whittaker give up ever. And I additionally know one other factor: The previous expression ‘father time catches everybody,’ that’s not what’s occurring with Whittaker.”

Whereas Sonnen acknowledges Whittaker, 34, is approaching the tail finish of his profession, he doesn’t imagine it’s a serious concern simply but. Sonnen credit Whittaker’s current loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 on account of merely being caught in opposition to a tricky, undefeated opponent.

With age, comes a drop off in velocity and slower response time. Sonnen believes as these days get nearer, Whittaker can make the most of nonetheless being a speedy fighter by taking over bigger fighters now.

“An effective way to masks it’s to go up in weight, as a result of these guys are slower,” Sonnen mentioned. “There has at all times been the misunderstanding that measurement is healthier. It doesn’t matter what number of occasions it will get proven to the viewers that measurement is a detractor. It acquired proven to the world Saturday in (Tyson) Fury vs. (Oleksandr) Usyk. The entire world noticed it. There is no such thing as a such factor as a attain benefit, a top benefit, or a measurement benefit.

“The phrase benefit simply means extra. On this planet of combating once they say he has a attain benefit, they’ve used the flawed phrase. They’ve used the flawed phrase from the historical past of time, but it surely’s reprogrammed individuals. It simply means he extra attain. Peak benefit, it simply means he’s acquired extra top, however statistically talking, they’re not going to indicate me a time when that’s truly been a bonus.”

Contemplating the logjam on the prime of the middleweight division, the shorter path to a UFC title could also be within the mild heavyweight division. Sonnen believes the title image is so convoluted in the intervening time, and Whittaker doesn’t embrace the leisure facet of the enterprise to leap the road.

Regardless of believing Whittaker nonetheless possesses the talents to caputre gold within the division, Sonnen thinks his greatest transfer is to alter weight courses.

“I like the concept of him going to 205 kilos,” Sonnen mentioned. “… Robert Whittaker vs. Anthony Smith could be very attention-grabbing to me. … Proper off the bat, I can see significant matches for Robert Whittaker at 205 kilos, and what I can’t do? He can be a prime draw, and I might not disrespect Robert Whittaker, however I don’t have a match that’s leaping off the web page for me at 185.

“Robert Whittaker vs. Khalil Rountree is a essential occasion, proper now. I identical to the concept of 205.”