"How we're supposed to pretend that matters?" - Chael Sonnen disapproves of Tony Ferguson's next matchup, reveals he doesn't know who 'The Leech' is

Chael Sonnen is not a fan of Tony Ferguson's upcoming matchup at UFC 279, where 'El Cucuy' will face Li Jingliang.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Sonnen revealed that he had no clue as to who Ferguson's welterweight fight on September 10 is against.

"You're giving him, I don't know 'Leech', I don't know if that's his nickname or that's his name... I assume you call a guy 'Leech' like he clings to people... I haven't got the foggiest idea how he got opposite Tony Ferguson or how we're suppoed to pretend that that matters."

Sonne continued:

"If the 'Leech' wins, then what happens? If Tony wins, he gets another fight, he gets to hold on to his crypt. No, I don't love it. I don't think that should have been breaking news. I don't think there should have been a press start. I don't think it was worthy. That's the fight, you lay out the card and then you mention it."

Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Tony Ferguson's next fight below:

Tony Ferguson will have the chance to end his four-fight losing streak when he faces the Chinese fighter in just over two weeks' time. Ferguson is coming off a devastating KO loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274.

Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion, has been one of the most popular faces in the sport and was 15-1 in the UFC before a series of unfortunate injuries put a stop to his dominant run.

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Josh Thomson explains why Tony Ferguson's switch to welterweight will benefit him in the long run

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson, who faced Ferguson in the octagon during his career, recently discussed how the switch to welterweight will be beneficial for 'El Cucuy'.

Speaking on the Weighing In podcast, Thomson said:

"The reason I'm going to agree with what he's going to do (move up to welterweight) is that it's not him making that call. It's Greg Jackson, it's that camp. That camp's saying, what are you doing? Why are you killing yourself? ... It's obvious in his face he's cutting a lot of weight and as he gets older, he's having a hard time keeping the weight down. He's a f**** animal, he just trains and trains and trains."

Catch the full episode below:

Tony Ferguson will hope that the move to welterweight will aid him in returning to winning ways against the No. 14-ranked Jingliang. Additionally, at this stage of his career, Ferguson has moved to a formal training camp and will expect the change in weight class to lead to a late resurgence.

The veteran's last win came against Donald Cerrone at UFC 239 back in June 2019. Since then, he has lost fights against Justin Gaethje Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush and Chandler in the lightweight division. He will be aiming for a change of fortune come September 10.