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Chael Sonnen and Ariel Helwani engaged in a heated confrontation during the former UFC veteran's recent appearance on The MMA Hour on Tuesday.
While Sonnen and Helwani previously engaged in friendly and passionate discussions about combat sports during their co-hosting days on Ariel and The Bad Guy, their recent interaction took a more contentious turn. The MMA journalist invited Sonnen to react to Francis Ngannou's split decision loss to Tyson Fury last weekend, prompting a heated debate.
The former UFC middleweight title challenger contested Helwani's assessment of Ngannou's potential earnings from his boxing debut, claiming that the pay-per-view event hadn't performed as well as claimed. The disagreement eventually led to a confrontational exchange, during which Sonnen went so far as to issue a menacing remark about "strangling" Helwani, while the 41-year-old host persistently accused Sonnen of being untruthful.
After several minutes of heated back-and-forth shouting, Chael Sonnen abruptly terminated the interview. Ariel Helwani was left uncertain about whether Sonnen's anger was genuine or not.
Check out the entire turn of events below:
After the conclusion of their intense verbal exchange, Ariel Helwani revealed that he had received direct messages (DMs) from Chael Sonnen while he was live on the show. However, Helwani chose not to disclose the exact content of the messages, leaving some suspense about the state of their relationship. However, he playfully responded by sending a selfie showing a smiling thumbs-up.
Check out the video below:
Chael Sonnen wants to see Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury rematch
Former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou has gained immense recognition in combat sports following his performance against Tyson Fury in his pro boxing debut.
His success has opened up numerous opportunities, including interest from British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn actively scouting for a bout with Anthony Joshua. While PFL chairman Donn Davis is also exploring a hybrid MMA fight with Deontay Wilder.
Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen is of the opinion that 'The Predator' should have promptly requested a rematch. Sonnen expressed in a recent video on his YouTube channel:
"Francis should have demanded a rematch. He's surrounded by all these fake friends... If they're truly your friends, why haven't they stood up? Why haven't they talked about what a bunch of garbage this was? His real friends did; Kamaru did, Izzy did... Francis should have demanded a rematch right then. Even KSI was smart enough to demand a rematch ... Francis doesn't demand a rematch."
Check out Sonnen's comments below (from 3:30):
